As well as donating raffle prizes to some of our customers’ local charity events, we have chosen to support two charities who play a critical part in ensuring the safety, welfare and livelihood of fishermen and their families. Donation boxes are available in the shop, and we run very successful charity auctions throughout the year.
We personally match every single penny donated by customers and are very proud to know that our fundraising really does make a difference
#TeamFish actively support The Fishermen’s Mission which is the only fishermen’s charity that provides emergency support alongside practical, financial, spiritual and emotional care, helping all fishermen, active or retired and their families. Over many years, Sue & Duncan have helped to raise funds and awareness for this very worthwhile charity and were very proud to be awarded their Outstanding Achievement Award in 2013.
The Fishermen’s Mission http://www.fishermensmission.org.uk/
Andrew Sevens, our Lobster Fisherman, is one of the 25 volunteer crew members of Penlee RNLI, which is why it’s our second charity and very close to our hearts. Located in Newlyn Harbour, Cornwall Penlee RNLI has a very rich heritage, descended from the first Lifeboat Station in Cornwall and the thirteenth Lifeboat station in the UK. They have 2 lifeboats – an All-Weather Severn Class, ‘The Ivan Ellen’ and an Inshore B-Class Atlantic 85, ‘The Mollie and Ivor Dent’, stationed in 2016. #Team Fish were very lucky to be invited out on the Ivan Ellen in 2017 for a very exciting morning run along the coast.
RNLI Penlee Lifeboat Station http://www.rnli-penleelifeboat.org.uk/
Working so hard all day, every day, we like to have some fun together as a team. Over the last few years we’ve had some wonderful #TeamFish away days, visiting fish festivals and suppliers.
Each year Newlyn held their annual Fish Festival to raise money for the Fishermen’s Mission, and in 2016 & 2017 we took TeamFish to experience it for themselves. As well as spending the day at the Festival, we were treated to a trip out on the Ivan Ellen with the Penlee Lifeboats, a tour round the famous Newlyn Gillnetter, the Ajax with hake-hunter Alan Dwan, and Jasmine even got to pull in some lobster pots off the coast of Mousehole with Andrew, our Lobster Fisherman
In 2017, we took the Team to Dorset Seafood Festival in Weymouth. It’s such a great event, again a fundraiser for the Fishermen’s Mission, and we managed to enjoy all the wonderful seafood on offer. Afterwards we spent the evening with Nigel Bloxham at the Crab House Café in Portland and Nigel very kindly took us on an impromptu foraging course, showing us all the wonderful delights to be found just outside the restaurant
2018 took us to Porthilly Shellfish where we got to see how our Oysters and mussels are grown. Just opposite Padstow on the banks of the Camel Estuary, it was a fabulous day and wonderful to see where some of our shellfish comes from
In the summer of 2019, we headed down to Romsey and visited Chalkstream Farm. A truly stunning location, we saw the whole process and learnt why the chalkstreams of the Itchen and Test Rivers produce such delicious fish
This was a big one! 36 hours in Turkey spent visiting the farms where our farmed bass and bream come from. It was really interesting and informative and we got to see so many different areas of the process. Starting off out in the med seeing the fish harvested, we then went to the hatchery where we learnt about the whole growing cycle and feed and finished the visit at their R&D facility to understand how they develop the perfect broodstock to ensure the health and resilience of the fish.