New 'Plymouth Fish Finger' could be served to pupils in future
It's made from local catch that would otherwise go to waste
School children in Plymouth have been testing a new type of fish finger - made from fish that would otherwise have gone to waste.
It's National Fish and Chip Day on Friday 6 June, and the University of Plymouth has partnered with a number of local organisations to co-design a new 'Plymouth Fish Finger'.
Dr Clare Pettinger, an active food system justice researcher at the University of Plymouth, explained: "The project is making use of ‘bycatch fish' - which would otherwise go to waste from local fishers - taste testing them with school children and co-designing fish fingers, with a plan to serve them in school meals locally.
"Fish species involved include whiting, pouting and dogfish, and the project ensures small scale coastal fishers (ie vessels under 10m) receive a fair price for something that is normally low-value and underutilised, while getting healthy and sustainable food into local schools."
How did it come about?
Dr Clare Pettinger is an active food system justice researcher at the University of Plymouth, with a keen interest in understanding – and overcoming – the barriers to healthy sustainable food consumption in the local community. As part of FoodSEqual, she held several workshops with the local community in Whitleigh, Plymouth to see what they knew about fish, and what might encourage them to eat more of it.
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, pupils at Sir John Hunt Community College held a series of taste sessions for the fish and breadcrumbs to design and make the new product.
There's more about Dr Pettinger's work here