With just 50 days to go until the start of Seafood Week, the seafood industry is being urged to join others in getting behind the biggest celebration of seafood in the UK, which will run from 9th- 16th October this year. Led by Seafish, the industry authority on seafood, Seafood Week will provide the perfect platform for encouraging more people to eat more fish more often, focusing as it will, on the themes of Cook Me, Dine Me, and Buy Me across a range of platforms designed to engage with consumers and industry.

On each of the eight days, the campaign will highlight recipes, offers, and products that can be cooked at home, eaten out, or purchased via a retailer. Seafood Week will also focus on offering health advice, cooking tips, behind-the-scenes stories on how seafood is caught and sourced, and a range of activities and insights that will combine to make this one of the biggest and best showcase events for seafood in the industry calendar.

One of the first industry partners to pledge their support to Seafood Week was retailer Morrisons. Huw Thomas, Fisheries & Aquaculture Manager said:"Morrisons are delighted to be supporting Seafood Week 2015. Our seafood offer to our customers is something we are extremely proud of and we have invested heavily in our supply chain and staff training over the past few years. We have been extremely pleased by the innovation shown by Seafish over this initiative and are happy to be on board in order to help people get more seafood into their diets. Seafood is healthy, delicious, and easy to cook so we will be encouraging our customers to try more of it through recipes, offers and at counter advice over the course of this week and beyond.”

Seafood Week 2015 is both about getting consumers to eat more fish at home and also to enjoy more seafood in foodservice establishments. Leading the charge of foodservice outlets signing up is Derek Marshall, head chef and owner of Gamba in Glasgow, winner of The Caterer and Seafish Seafood Restaurant of the Year for 2015.

Derek said: "Here at Gamba, we’re committed to cooking and serving our customers the best quality fish and shellfish. As a chef, I love the versatility and flavour seafood offers and I’m encouraging other chefs and restaurant owners to get involved in this celebration of seafood. Seafood Week is an ideal opportunity to enjoy the wonderful range of seafood available and to get more people eating it both at home and when they’re eating out.”

In order to get involved, industry is being encouraged to download the Seafood Week campaign toolkit available via the www.seafoodweek.co.uk website, and join the retailers, food service outlets, fishmongers, fish and chip shops and suppliers already signed-up for a week of celebrating the best the UK has to offer. The toolkit, which is free of charge, includes Seafood Week brand assets for use in store and online, templates for use with PR and social media campaigns, as well as helpful hints and tips on how businesses can make the most of the week and adapt the themes within it to their own purposes in order to increase sales.

"We are aiming to establish Seafood Week as the jewel in our crown when it comes to helping industry increase the consumption of seafood across the board in the UK”, added Mel Groundsell, Corporate Relations Director at Seafish.

"We have seen through the success of our Omega 3 health campaigns, our National Fish & Chip Awards, our on-going Fish is the Dish consumer engagement, and our support to the first ever National Fish and Chip Day this year, just how successful campaigns such as this can be when industry supports it. We’re really excited about our offer and believe that it presents a great opportunity to get people cooking, eating, and buying more seafood.”