Plymouth chippy celebrates haul of awards

Visitors to Kingfisher Fish & Chips in Plympton, Plymouth, will be no stranger to an award-winning fish supper and the chippy’s latest accolade means that they can be confident they are helping to protect the world’s oceans too.

Kingfisher has been awarded Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, an international certificate of sustainability and traceability. It gives customers assurance that fish labelled with the MSC^s blue fish-tick is sustainably caught. The award comes just a month after Kingfisher was a finalist for the Good Catch National Fish and Chip Award, which recognises the most sustainable chippy from entrants across the UK.

The MSC^s sustainability standard is considered to be the highest in the world, and Kingfisher is one of only a handful of fish and chip shops in the UK to have the certification to allow the use of the ecolabel on the menu.

Craig Maw, owner of Kingfisher Fish & Chips, is understandably proud, “This is absolutely fantastic to be MSC certified, we are so very proud. We work very hard to ensure we source the very best ingredients for our fish and chips and MSC certified fish is the very best. At Kingfisher we have always promoted sustainable fishing, and made it a pledge to only serve sustainable fish which can be traced back to the boat. MSC certification is proof of our commitment to sourcing sustainable fish. Fish and chips is such a fantastic iconic British delicacy we need to make sure there is plenty available for generations to come”.

Loud and proud: Craig Maw

George Clark, UK Commercial Manager for the MSC, said, “Plymouth has a long-held connection with the sea and Kingfisher is making it easy for customers to make a responsible choice when they choose fish. By choosing MSC certified fish at Kingfisher, Plymouth customers are helping to protect the oceans for future generations.”

The MSC want to encourage more and more restaurants to get MSC Certification, which is open to any business which serves fish. Kingfisher was one of the founding members of a new ^ROC Group^ set up to make the certification process easier and the MSC hopes it will open up MSC certification to thousands more restaurants. Ruth Westcott, the founder said, “MSC certification is the gold standard for sustainability but I believe lots of restaurants can achieve it. There are huge benefits to getting the MSC ecolabel on the menu and it is vital if we are to transform the way the world^s oceans are fished.”

You can find out more about Kingfisher^s sustainability story at http://www.kingfisherfishandchips.co.uk/, or about getting MSC certification at www.msc.org, http://www.myrocgroup.co.uk/