London restaurants launch eco-friendly fish options

Four top north London restaurants have come together to offer discerning diners something special – sustainable fish dishes with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)[1] eco-label.

The four restaurants: The Duke of Cambridge [2], Konstam at the Prince Albert [3], Moro [4] and Moshi Moshi[5] have all completed the MSC's traceability audit to prove that the fish can be traced right back to the certified sustainable fishery where it was caught.

Each restaurant will present a signature dish to sample at the launch.

For the environmentally conscious customer, choosing fish can be a complicated business but the MSC eco-label, which is backed by third-party independent scientific assessment of the fisheries, provides an easy way to make the best environmental choice. MSC eco-labelled products have been in our supermarkets for a long time – in fact there are over 200 different products available in the UK and well over a thousand worldwide – but, until now, it has been difficult for Londoners to find the eco-label on restaurant menus. 

 Oliver Rowe, owner and head chef at Konstam says: “It can be hard for diners to know whether the fish they're eating is sustainable or not, but the MSC logo on the menu reassures them that we're working together to do what we can.”

Sam Clarke, co-founder of Moro says: “We can no longer take eating fish for granted.  By working with the MSC, we are not only helping to raise awareness of the problems of over-fishing, but also offering people a positive, sustainable choice.”

Caroline Bennett, proprietor at Moshi Moshi says: “Trying to do the right thing for our planet is fraught with difficulties when it comes to fish. With everyone jumping on the band wagon of  'local ' or 'sustainable ', the MSC provides a restaurateur complete reassurance  they are doing the best they can for our oceans.  

As you might expect, peace of mind doesn't come for nothing, and the Chain of Custody presented our chefs with more paperwork than they would normally be asked to do. But with the goal of better managed oceans at stake, it's a small price to pay.”

Geetie Singh, owner of the Duke of Cambridge says: “Choosing sustainable fish is a minefield. MSC certification provides you with the assurances you need. With our group we hope to have created a straightforward, cost effective model that other restaurants can follow - wouldn't it be fantastic to be able to order sustainable fish on menus everywhere in London?”

Charlotte Jarman of London Food Link [6], who helped the four businesses to go through the certification process, says: “We're really pleased to have been able to work with the MSC on this exciting project.  Restaurants can have a huge influence on diners' eating habits, and these four businesses are setting a fantastic example by serving and promoting certified sustainable fish.”

“We've really seen an explosion of interest in MSC eco-labelled options” says MSC Foodservice Manager, Laura Stewart, “With Tom's Place - the new Chelsea chippy - being recently certified too, there is now a great selection of restaurants offering sustainable MSC fish in London. Whether you choose mackerel and egg on toast with an organic ale at the Duke of Cambridge, MSC wild Alaska teriyaki Salmon at Moshi Moshi, Dover sole with Russian kale, crème fraiche and dill at Konstam or mackerel escabeche at Moro, you'll be in for an eco-friendly treat.” 

Ends

Notes to Editors

For further information and high resolution photos, please contact:
James Simpson, MSC, on +44 (0) 20 7811 3315, email: james.simpson@msc.org

[1] The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) runs the only widely recognised environmental certification and eco-labelling programme for wild capture fisheries. It is the only seafood eco-label that is consistent with the ISEAL Code of Good Practice for Setting Social and Environmental Standards and UN FAO guidelines for fisheries certification. The FAO 'Guidelines for the Eco-labelling of Fish and Fishery Products from Marine Capture Fisheries', require that credible fishery certification and eco-labelling schemes include:

• Objective, third-party fishery assessment utilising scientific evidence; 
  
• Transparent processes with built-in stakeholder consultation and objection procedures;
  
• Standards based on the sustainability of target species, ecosystems and management practices.

In total, over 90 fisheries are engaged in the MSC programme with 26 certified, 68 under assessment and another 20 to 30 in confidential pre-assessment. Together the fisheries in the MSC programme record annual catches of over 5 million tonnes of seafood. They represent over 42 percent of the world's wild salmon catch, 40 percent of the world's prime whitefish catch, and 18 percent of the world's lobster catches for human consumption. Worldwide, over 1,100 seafood products resulting from the certified fisheries bear the blue MSC eco-label. For more information, please visit http://www.msc.org/.

[2] Duke of Cambridge 30 St Peters Street, London, N1 8JT - 020 7359 3066
http://www.sloeberry.co.uk/duke.html     

[3] Konstam at the Prince Albert, 2 Acton St, London, WC1X 9NA - 020 7833 5040
http://www.konstam.co.uk/     

[4] Moro  34 - 36 Exmouth Market, London, EC1R 4QE - 020 7833 8336    
http://www.moro.co.uk/

[5] Moshi Moshi 24 Liverpool St, Islington, EC2M 7PY - 020 7377 5005
http://www.moshimoshi.co.uk/

[6] London Food Link works to get more sustainable food into the capital, and is currently helping London restaurants and caterers to improve the sustainability of the ingredients they purchase.  For more information see http://www.ethicaleats.org/.  London Food Link is part of charity Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming (see www.sustainweb.org).