THE OCEAN FISH GROUP
The Ocean Fish group based in Cornwall is a well-established seafood processing company with a consolidated supply chain.
“My personal mission is to raise interest in the fish that we catch off our British shores,” said Retail Director Victoria Townsend.
Report by Romana Moares.
Ocean Fish is a seafood and fishing processing company based in Cornwall, with a fishing heritage dating back to 1740. For seven generations, the Lakeman family has been fishing out of the Cornish port of Mevagissey, which has been the family’s home for over 400 years.
From sailing simple wooden fishing boats in the 16th century, the business has developed into a modern company operating a fully integrated supply chain model, with its own fleet of fishing vessels and trucks, market management, and fish processing factories.
From catch to customer
Ocean Fish supplies over 35 different species of fish, fresh and IQF or plate frozen products in bulk or retail pack formats. Fish can be supplied as whole, gutted, de-scaled, as fillets, butterfly fillets, or any other format to customer specification.
The company claims that the majority of fish is processed within 48 hours of landing while over 60% of the volume is guaranteed to be processed within 24 hours. Ocean Fish holds all the necessary accreditations including BRC Grade A, and meets the MSC Custom Chain of Custody as well as the ASC Chain of Custody standards.
Retail Director Victoria Townsend explained that Ocean Fish Group’s business is split into three divisions – Ocean Fish Retail, Ocean Fish Wholesale and W Stevenson’s and Sons, which is the Group's catch sector subsidiary. “Through those three different divisions, we sell to major retailers and wholesale markets throughout the country and internationally,” she said.“Approximately 70 per cent of the fish that we catch through the Wholesale Division goes into Europe – to Portugal, Italy, Spain, France and onward from there – some as far as the Middle East and Singapore.
“Meanwhile, the Retail Division imports s pecies such as sea bass, sea bream, basa, cod and prawns for further processing and packing into UK retail.”
Expanding consumer choice
Ms Townsend pointed out that, surprisingly , it is not British fish that is most demanded by British consumers: “The reality is that most of the UK eats five species of fish, the majority of which is imported, and British fish don’t really feature in the UK supermarkets. This is something we’d like to change.”
Ocean Fish strives to engage consumers on various fronts. The company has won numerous awards including the MSC award for 2022 Product of the Year with its Cornish sardines with mediterranean marinade and in 2022 launched a new range – Hook Line and Sinker, featuring British fish species with marinades and butters, all of which are easy to prepare and quick to cook.
“We have a wealth of good quality species landed in the UK,” continued Ms Townsend, “such as hake, John Dory, pouting, whiting and many others. Unfortunately, supermarkets – as a rule
– don’t stock them, so consumers are only given a very limited choice.”
The company has had some success with Ocado, who have listed 27 lines of British fish on their online site. “They've been real advocates of supporting British fish and listing different species that you don’t normally see in the high street,” said Ms Townsend. “That has been a great success story for us.”
Ocean Fish is now looking to get into direct supply into supermarkets with its unique proposition of being a fleet market processing retailer, according to Ms Townsend: “It’s the most direct
supply proposition into any retailer that anyone can offer, and we also emulate that model on British fish for all other sourcing for imported species like sea bass, sea bream, basa, tilapia and prawns.”
Sustainable fishing
Ms Townsend confirmed that Ocean Fish is committed to the sustainable use of the seas and the protection of the marine ecosystem. The company is accredited by the Marine Stewardship Council, is a member of the Cornish Sardine Association and is actively working with the Seafish Authorities and taking part in many
discussions and forums in matters of sustainability prioritisation.
“A lot of focus has been put on the management of the southwest fisheries,” Ms Townsend explained. “Catches are monitored to ensure that landings are in line with sustainable catch limits for those fish managed by quota. One of the strengths of the southwest fishery is the diverse species landed but this can present challenges for certain species, as although data is collected on all stocks landed, not all stocks have full scientific stock assessments.
“The UK is currently developing longterm fisheries management plans for species not currently covered by
quota and our fishermen are actively; contributing in that data collection, working with CEFAS scientists on developing robust credible assessments to assess to stocks.
“We are hopefully, that this drive to better inform fisheries managers, to close knowledge gaps that exist, will improve the fisheries management and ensure that southwest fishery continues to be a leader in sustainability. I am hopeful that improved knowledge on the non-quota species will lead to an increase in consumer confidence in our fisheries and lesser-known British species such as pouting.”
Funded to grow
Ms Townsend is determined to change this situation: “My biggest challenge is getting in front of supermarkets to try and persuade them to accept a new line in British fish, to list British fish on their shelves, to make them support the British fishing industry: an industry that is integral to the British Isles.
“As a lot of the supermarkets are closing, or have closed their fish counters, our proposition of supplying fish in pre-packed format could be very attractive to them. This would create an opportunity for the consumer to actually try a variety of fish that's landed on British shores.”
Pursuing these efforts may intensify, as Ocean Fish has very recently secured a substantial, eight-figure funding agreement with HSBC, which would enable it to create new jobs and modernise its fleet of vessels and support business growth.
“We are doing everything with a considered approach,” Ms Townsend concluded. “We are going to think carefully how we would invest the money - possibly on the fleet, new equipment, recruitment or better marketing. The ultimate goal is to make use of this great opportunity to revive the general interest in lesser-known British species of fish.
“In other words, we want to put British fish back on British plates.”
