The UK’s first “community-supported fishery is to be launched in two UK towns this month – the Catchbox scheme will sell local fish at a fair price to fishermen and consumers to help increase sustainability in the market.

Under the scheme, consumers sign up to receive a set weight of fish from a local fisherman on a weekly or fortnightly basis. Because consumers sign up to receive a share of the whole season’s catch, they will be introduced to a wide variety of less popular and “less pretty species, all part of the experience.

Catchbox calls itself a not for profit cooperative run by the community. This means that all the money it spends goes back into the local economy, supporting coastal communities and any profit made will be spent locally with members deciding how and where.

The scheme doesn’t only aim to help promote sustainability though, it wants to get people eating local seafood again, pay responsible fishermen a fair price for their catch, protect livelihoods and build a sense of community.

Supporters of the scehme include Defra; Brook Lyndhurst – an independent research and strategy consultancy; SeaWeb – an international, non-profit ocean organisation; Co-operatives UK – the national body that campaigns for co-operative enterprises and the Brighton & Hove Food Partnership.

The 12 week pilot scheme is taking place in Chichester and Brighton and the aim is to roll it out nationally at a later date.

Mercator Media Ltd 2013