Popular Falmouth chippy, Harbour Lights, is benefitting from a new online resource created by the Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

The Cornwall Good Seafood Guide highlights the wealth of sustainable seafood landed by our local Cornish fishing industry. Peter Fraser, owner of Harbour Lights, knows the true value of embracing sustainability having seen his business flourish since he chose to only sell responsibly sourced seafood.

“I wanted to make sure that my customers could be confident that anything they ordered would be sustainably harvested, I didn’t want to be selling the last fish in the sea," he said. "Sustainable fisheries are essential for the future of my business and I didn’t think we should ignore the fact that there are issues with some fisheries. In 2005 I took the, at the time, novel move to ensure that all the fish we sell was sustainable. Many thought it was a crazy idea but my business has thrived.”

One frustration for Peter was that until now it has been very difficult to find accurate information on the sustainability of local seafood caught by Cornish fishermen. In Cornwall only ring net caught sardines and net caught hake are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, but over 60 species are landed and the industry has, until now, had no way of proving its sustainability.

Peter added: “I was very excited to have been involved with the trust’s Cornwall Good Seafood Guide since its inception as finally it has looked in detail at the wealth of fish landed to Cornish ports by Cornish boats and scores them all fairly on their sustainability.”

Cornish favourites such as line caught mackerel, pot caught crab, farmed mussels and Cornish megrim are among the many species listed as recommended. For a full list you can visit the website www.cornwallgoodseafoodguide.org.uk. All businesses who become supporters of this project can use a logo on packaging, menus, fish counters and websites.

“I am very pleased to have been involved and I urge other fish and chip shop owners, restaurateurs and fish sellers to get on board and support Cornwall Good Seafood Guide," said Peter. "What has been created is a valuable eco-brand for Cornwall and for the benefit of its fishing industry. It is hoped that with time the guide will achieve a huge recognition amongst locals and visitors to Cornwall and we think it is a great incentive to the industry to continue to improve its practices. In time it will be great to see all of Cornwall’s fishing industry classed as sustainable.”

This week Peter has been at the international SeaWeb Seafood Conference in Malta, representing the 10,500 UK fish and chip shops and promoting the guide.