Sustainable fish fingers invented in Devon

They include Pisces of dogfish and pouting

Plymouth schoolchildren are to be fed a new type of fish finger.

Using what's called 'by-catch' of fish that otherwise would go to waste, the Plymouth Fish Finger it is a pilot for school lunches in the city.

Pupils at Sir John Hunt Community College have taste tested the products, which has includes whiting, pouting and dogfish.

The project ensures small scale coastal fishers (in vessels under 10 metres) receive a fair price for something that is normally low-value and underutilised.

The project is co-led by the University of Plymouth, Sole of Discretion CIC, Plymouth Fishing & seafood Association and CATERed and is part of the national FoodSEqual programme to explore how to improve access to healthier foods for people all over the UK.

Dr Clare Pettinger from the University of Plymouth held workshops with the community in Whitleigh to see what they knew about fish, and what might encourage them to eat more. 

Themes emerged such as finding opportunities to try new fish and improving access to fish, so the focus on a local, sustainable fish finger was born.

Clare worked with Caroline Bennett from Sole of Discretion CIC and Ed Baker from Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association to explore how to bring fishers into the conversation, and when the by-catch species were identified, the students taste sessions for the fish and breadcrumbs to design and make the new product.

The final product (image courtesy: University of Plymouth)

The next challenge is to mechanise the manufacturing process in order to produce the 36,000 fish fingers needed for school meal cycle in Plymouth schools. But they need cash to do so.

Work is also ongoing to ensure the fish fingers adhere to necessary industry standards to be classified as fully ‘sustainable’.

Dr Pettinger continued: “We know this project is a positive thing for the city and we’ve got a proof of concept, it’s just a case of upscaling and finding the necessary support to bring it to more people. At the very least, we’ve shown that a community of practice can achieve fantastic things, so we hope other areas of the UK feel inspired."