Local catch is back on the menu at these U.K. coastal towns
With the majority of the U.K.’s seafood exported to Europe, British fishing communities are on a quest to get Brits eating more local produce.
The smell of wild garlic and freshly baked bread cuts through the Inveraray drizzle as Ivan Rauber and Claudio Poggi serve focaccia sandwiches, generously packed with plump langoustine tails, to a wind-whipped queue. As Ivan shuffles a pan of Shetland mussels, a customer returns to praise the food and tell the lads he never thought his child would try a mussel, let alone enjoy it.
For Inveraray Seafood Shack owners Ivan and Claudio, originally from Trieste and Bologna in Italy, what began as hobbyist fishing trips on Loch Fyne’s bountiful marine-protected waters soon morphed into shares in a boat, and selling langoustines caught with creels (low-impact basket traps) to local businesses.
Then came the seafood shack, which opened in July 2025, selling Italian-inspired, locally sourced, fresh sustainable catch from a modest trailer on Inveraray pier, with their boat, the Ceol Na Mara, moored opposite. The daily changing menu lists langoustines layered between Claudio’s fresh, home-baked focaccia; mussels cooked in a sauce of white wine, breadcrumbs, chilli and garlic (wild garlic if it’s foraging season, chanterelle mushrooms too); along with hand-dived scallops from Tarbert up the road. Oysters and langoustines are sourced so close by, the waters they're harvested from can be seen from the trailer door.
Even before moving to Scotland, Ivan and Claudio knew of the quality associated with Scottish seafood. It was in Italy’s supermarkets. Their shack is one of many such small businesses along the UK coastline trying to encourage people to eat more local seafood.
Beyond the ‘big five’
To explore British seafood culture is to be reminded of two uncomfortable truths. Though we are an island, the majority of our seafood consumption is limited to just five species: cod, haddock, salmon, tuna (mostly tinned) and prawns, 80% of which is imported. In contrast, 80% of the seafood caught by British fishermen is exported, mainly to the EU, where it’s highly coveted.
According to a recent University of East Anglia (UEA) study, fish consumption in the UK has declined by 25% in the last decade, with the majority of British people eating less than the government’s recommended two portions per week — one of those portions being oily fish for its health-boosting omega-3 fatty acids. The report suggested the nation’s imbalance in consumption and exports, especially of abundant, small oily fish, ‘drives up carbon emissions, leaves the UK vulnerable to global supply chains, and pushes shoppers towards the same narrow selection [in supermarkets]’.
The report goes on to suggest that despite declining consumption, there is still curiosity. Nearly half of UK consumers ‘would be willing to try these lesser-known species — especially if they are fresh, locally sourced and reasonably priced’. Supporting small in-shore fisheries in doing so provides a significant opportunity to boost both long-term public health, bolster local economies and protect cultural heritage.
Changing tastes
“Talking to fishermen, they do very well selling [UK catch] abroad, but equally, I get the feeling that they’d love to see the Great British public eating more of our landed product,” says CJ Jackson. In 2025, the cookery writer, teacher and seafood ambassador published The Great British Seafood Revival, a cookbook written on a nine-month road trip across the UK visiting ports and fishing communities. Cockle popcorn, stuffed megrim sole, monkfish ossobuco and sardine tin pie are just a few of the book’s simple, accessible recipes, inspired by both global flavours and historic, local ways of eating.
The book also charts how our tastes have changed over time. Monkfish, previously relegated to the ‘cat scrap box’ at the fishmongers, has risen in popularity whilst generational favourites like cockles and brown shrimp have declined. Sometimes a fish can be a victim of its own name: dogfish for instance, which has been remarketed as rock salmon. CJ suggests that coley, underrated as a cod alternative, is hampered by its off-white flesh, going against our collective preference for ‘brilliant white’ flakes.
Catch & keep
In March this year, the Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association (PFSA) launched the vivid, story-led campaign and associated documentary, A Taste of the Salt, aimed at spotlighting the people behind the Plymouth fishing community and the growing challenges facing the UK’s inshore fisheries. The closure of the city’s auction market was a catalyst for the project.
“It was at one stage the biggest fish auction in England,” says Edward Baker, CEO of the PFSA. “About two years ago it closed, meaning the vessels that landed their catch into Plymouth had to get their fish transported by road to auctions elsewhere in the UK.” That, he says, combined with other pressures, has led to a decline in the local fishing fleet. “The campaign promotes local fisheries to increase desire for local fish and create political pressure to maintain and support the local fishing fleet.”
The challenges faced by small fisheries in Plymouth are not unique. The organisation’s aims speak to wider issues surrounding food security and the disconnect between people and where their food comes from. Research commissioned by the PFSA found that despite fish being landed daily in Plymouth, local people didn’t know where to buy it. In response, the organisation set up a virtual fishmonger, so that fresh fish can be ordered from local suppliers straight to the doorstep.
This innovation mirrors promising national developments. The Covid pandemic inspired a host of online seafood delivery services, many of which operate nationwide. Mitch Tonks’s Rockfish Online Seafood Market sells day-boat fish approved by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) — an international organisation that sets standards for sustainable fishing — connecting consumers across the UK directly with fishers and seasonal seafood.
Rockfish’s online shop is also notable for its championing of tinned fish, stocking a selection of items that are fully traceable to the boat of origin. Tins are delivered in recycled packaging, and a £5 Rockfish meal voucher incentivises returning boxes. Perceptions are also beginning to change. “Tinned fish really is about preserving a catch when it’s in its bounty and it’s plentiful,” says Mitch. “And I think people really understand that concept, rather than tinned fish just being all the rubbish fish in a tin.”
A restaurant-led seafood scene
In July 2026, Newlyn seafood restaurant Argoe turned five. Named after a swashbuckling lugger — a type of traditional Cornish fishing boat that plied local waters in the 1800s — the restaurant was also inspired by owner Rich Adams’ trips to northern Spain and Portugal. The Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded spot serves a menu of seasonal, locally caught fish cooked simply, over a charcoal grill, lightly dressed in olive oil and vinegar or lemon. Vegetable sides follow the same rules of simplicity and thoughtful sourcing.
Most of the seafood on the menu is landed at the same harbour onto which the restaurant looks out. Daily options change with the rhythm of the sea, serving up John Dory, whole hake, megrim sole and monkfish. St Austell mussels are a staple, while cuttlefish is served in a soupy Portuguese-style seafood rice. Lobster and spider crab, perfectly in season during early June, are picked out metres away from a harbourside honesty box system. The kitchen selects one and texts the fishermen a weight in exchange for a price.
At Argoe, a coastal-minded culture is being built. Throughout the year, staff are taken on boat and harbour tours to aid their understanding and knowledge. The restaurant stays open beyond tourist season so that the local community can still eat there, putting on events throughout the year where a more casual, affordable dining offering is available for people who live nearby. In collaboration with the Cornish Sardine Management Association, last year Argoe hosted part of the inaugural Cornish Sardine Festival, grilling sardines and serving a butterflied sardine pizza.
Although Rich doesn’t use the word ‘sustainability’, a term so often lacking nuance and trapped in a perceived binary of good and bad, it’s difficult to imagine a more active representation of the word. “We have this nostalgia for doing these things on holiday [overseas] — smoky sardines over a grill cooked whole — and it seems like the thought doesn’t enter our minds to do that here [in the UK],” says Rich.
“Sardines are so abundant here for us in Newlyn,” he continues. “The boats sometimes just go to the other side of the harbour walls. If you walk across the road towards Mousehole, or to Penzance across Newlyn Green, every night between July and December, you’ll see seven or eight boats searching just around the bay. It doesn’t get more local than that, and to be able to cook and serve that right here in the harbour is a very special thing.”
Where to eat the best British seafood
Angela’s, Margate, Kent
Angela’s is a small, laid-back neighbourhood restaurant with rooms set a stone’s throw from the Margate seafront. It serves simple, wholesome seafood and vegetable dishes inspired by what’s available locally from a network of day boats and small-scale suppliers. Expect neat white plates of turbot, hake, dover sole or monkfish, sat atop nourishing pools of bisque, saucy beans or lentils. Mussels and scallops are also staples. The restaurant is involved in The Perfect Place To Grow CIC, a local cafe and training kitchen that supports 18- to 24-year-olds not in education or work, with upskilling and sustainable employment in hospitality.
South West Sardine Festival, Brixham, Devon
After a successful debut last year, the South West Sardine Festival returns to Brixham quayside this summer on Sunday 9 August [2026] for another mass celebration of the humble sardine. Running from midday until 9pm, the festival sees barbecues fired up and long communal tables winding their way through the harbour, ready for the morning’s freshly caught sardines, grilled to perfection by a host of seafood-championing chefs including Matt Tebbutt, Mitch Tonks, Sam White and Steven Lamb. The festival, which features bars, kids’ entertainment and music, is free to attend. A £12 sardine token can be exchanged for one plate of delicious, locally sourced grilled sardines landed that morning, accompanied by a fresh bread roll and salad.
Orsay Seafood Shack, Islay, Scotland
Located on an idyllic headland overlooking the village of Portnahaven, Orsay Seafood Shack is run by husband-and-wife duo Ashley and Anna Hock. Creel-caught lobster, crab and scallops are sourced within a six-mile radius by fisherman Alex. His boat visible from the picnic tables, Alex’s catch is transformed by Anna into trays of crab and lobster rolls dusted with dried rose petals, loaded crab fries and generous portions of scallops fried in garlic butter. Seals can be spotted frolicking in the distance as you eat, with further potential for dolphin and sea eagle sightings.
Riley’s Fish Shack, Tynemouth, Tyne & Wear
Tucked away on King Edward’s Bay in Tynemouth, North East institution Riley’s makes the most of the shout auction at nearby North Shields Fish Quay, supplied by day boat. Expect exciting, seasonal and sustainable chargrilled and wood-roasted dishes. The stunning breadth of the offering, served out of a rustic shack formed of two shipping containers, can range from squid ragu and polenta parmo to a whole grilled John Dory with a langoustine bisque and tarragon gnocchi depending on what’s at the quay. Breakfast options are available at weekends, deckchairs can be hired and Rick Stein is a big fan of the crab souffle. Riley’s Fish Shop, the shack’s small sibling restaurant and store, is a short walk away in town and continues the ethos.
Osborne’s, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex
British cockles deserve more love, and few places rival the cockling history of the Thames Estuary in Leigh-on-Sea, home to this MSC-certified Thames Estuary cockle fishery. Established in 1880 and now in its fifth generation, family-owned Osborne’s continues to gather, process and sell local shellfish on site, also incorporating a cafe, fishmongers and educational seafood kitchen as part of its historic cockle sheds. Cockle season runs from June to September and is a great time to eat them fresh and simply, doused with malt vinegar and a sprinkling of white pepper.
Beach House, Oxwich, Wales
The golden sands of the Gower Peninsula’s Oxwich Bay provide an impressive wide-angle lens setting for Beach House’s sophisticated, Michelin-starred cooking. Set in a former coal store, surrounded by sweeping sea views, the restaurant looks out over a bay that’s home to three of the boats that supply lobster and seabass, both delivered straight to the kitchen shortly after the fishers disembark onto the beach. Chef-director Hywel Griffith has spent the last decade building a network of local suppliers aiming to spotlight the region’s freshest local produce.
The Seahorse, Dartmouth, Devon
The Seahorse is everything a seafood restaurant should be: warm, hospitable and with a daily menu dictated by availability and close relationships with the local fishing fleet. Opened by Mitch Tonks in 2008 and now in the capable hands of his son, Ben, the restaurant is a self-proclaimed spiritual twin of Al Gatto Nero, a cherished seafood restaurant on the Venetian island of Burano. Italy’s seafood inspiration can be felt throughout. Think roasted gurnard loin with puttanesca sauce and basil, or crisp-fried Plymouth anchovies with salsa limone, with plenty of opportunities to tackle a whole fish.
