Ramus inks direct deals with fishermen from the South West

Saul Astrinsky of Wild Harbour, a West Cornwall fishing company that has just signed a deal with Ramus Seafoods. (S)

Ramus Seafoods will continue to source fish from the local East Coast and Scotland, but says the harbours at Newlyn in Cornwall and Brixham in Devon are unrivalled in their volumes and variety of fish landed.

Fish including sea bass, squid, plaice and pouting is caught by day boat fishermen, fishing in small boats six miles out to sea, and can be delivered to Harrogate within 24 hours of being landed.

Managing director Jonathan Batchelor said he was keen to build on his commitment to customers for sustainable sourcing. “Over the past 10 years the issues of sustainable seafood have been high on the agenda of public opinion and here at Ramus we aim to provide the freshest, most environmentally sound seafood we can.”

One of the key partners is Kevin Penny of Dreckly Fish, a small group of day boat fishermen who fish out of Newlyn.

“We use sustainable and low-impact methods and all our boats are part of the Responsible Fishing Scheme run by Seafish,” he said.

Another partnership is with Abi and Saul Astrinsky of Wild Harbour, whose strapline ‘sustainable, fresh and fair’ sums up the ethos of their company. The husband-and-wife team, who are based in Hayle, West Cornwall, set up the company in 2011 and now boast a team of 26 day boats.

Mr Astrinsky said: “We believe by sourcing direct from the fishermen and paying them a fair price for responsibly caught fish we can go some way to making fishing a truly sustainable industry in Cornwall, now and for future generations.

“We’re thrilled that, through our partnership with Ramus Seafoods, we can now extend our supply of fabulous fish up to Yorkshire.”