The Plymouth Fish Finger: Collaborating with 'blue food' system stakeholders
Co-producing a new, healthy and sustainable fish finger using locally procured and under-utilised fish
Overview
Part of FoodSEqual, this collaborative pilot project aimed to co-produce a new, healthy and sustainable 'Plymouth Fish Finger' using locally procured and under-utilised fish. The fish fingers are made from often undervalued species that would otherwise be discarded by small vessel fishers, minimising their environmental impact. The team hope to get the fish fingers into the local school meal system and are considering how to roll out the product at a larger scale.
People involved
Academics (
Dr Clare Pettinger
and
Dr Louise Hunt
) from the University of Plymouth collaborated with
FoodSEqual community food researchers
, Edward Baker (Plymouth Fishing and Seafood Association CIC), Caroline Bennett (Sole of Discretion CIC), students from a local secondary school (Sir John Hunt Community Sports College) and five primary schools, CATERed (Plymouth's school meal provider), the Food Teachers' Centre and visiting chefs.
Key project activities
Community-led fish workshops
Interactive workshops with community members revealed that the local community wanted better access to locally caught, affordable fish, opportunities to try different species, and closer links to the people working in fish supply chains.
Product development ideas
The team collaborated with Sole of Discretion, an ethical fish retailer and the Plymouth Fishing and Seafood Association to identify types of fish that could be used in a fish finger.
School engagement
A small group of secondary students co-designed the fish finger prototype during several after school sessions, involving creative fish-themed activities, where they met people from the local supply chain, and learnt about different fish species, boats and fishing methods, and sustainability issues. They worked with a visiting chef to cook and test different fish and crumb toppings. They also helped host a school-wide taste test event for teachers and governors and a community taste test event.
Five local primary schools engaged in educational pop-up fish finger workshops, where they learnt about the fish finger, including health and sustainability aspects and then got to taste it. These sessions were supported by CATERed and their school chefs. An
education pack
for schools was created from these sessions.
Policy workshops
In two separate workshops, participants mapped the policy and practice systems around the fish finger project. The findings were then appraised by co-creating a dynamic causal loop diagram to identify key leverage points for interventions that might promote blue food system change.
Fish finger celebration event
This event showcased the journey of the Plymouth Fish Finger so far and launched the fish finger film with opportunities to taste test the product. A zine showcases activities from the event.
Co-production principles
Relationships
Building relationships was considered both an important process and outcome of this project:
"The Plymouth Fish Finger project is about more than just creating a new product – it's about fostering connections between local community groups, fishing industry partners, businesses and schools." (Researcher, FoodSEqual)
Inclusivity
Creative methods (e.g. collage, zine) were used throughout collaborative work to engage community members and stakeholders, with multiple visual outputs produced and even a fish finger sea shanty! The research team also recognised the value of:
"'Translating' the language and concepts of disparate stakeholders so that everyone can understand each other's work. This has been difficult at times and has involved my learning about topics I never previously imagined." (Researcher, FoodSEqual)
Insights from project collaborators
A project collaborator highlighted the value of participation of a diverse range of stakeholders:
"The fish finger project has delivered far more than the sum of its parts owing to the collaborative nature of the engagement with all the interested parties. Without a doubt, the project's outreach would have been far less had any one of the stakeholders not participated." (Sole of Discretion CIC, FoodSEqual project collaborator)
The two community food researchers engaged in the project highlighted frustrations with the slow pace of development, but valued the opportunities for new learning and building connections across the food system:
"I have had a great time finding out about fish and great people." (Community Food Researcher, FoodSEqual)
"I have learned a lot of new names of fish and different types of fish, and more about the laws related to fish quotas." (Community Food Researcher, FoodSEqual)
A local school meal provider described their rationale for involvement in the project:
"From the CATERed perspective it fits well… our co-operative ethos means that collaborating fits really nicely. Doing more for schools and school food, with buy-in from students and schools – better all round." (CATERed, FoodSEqual project collaborator)
Find out more about this project
Related references
Eveleigh, R. (2024), Food campaigners pull their fingers out to divert bycatch into local tummies. PositiveNews, September 10, 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025. https://www.positive.news/society/food-campaigners-pull-their-fingers-out-to-divert-bycatch-into-local-tummies/
Pettinger, C., Hunt, L, Dunn, L., Drew, S., Wagstaff, C., Tstritzi, R., Bennett, C. and Baker, E. (2025), From the skipper’s line to the school meal queue. The journey of the Plymouth Fish Finger (so far). A visual FoodSEqual case study. TUKFS Annual Meeting. Retrieved 2 May 2025 https://fixourfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/15.-From-the-Skippers-Line-to-the-School-Meal-Queue.pdf
Pettinger, C. (2024), The Plymouth fish finger. FishFocus. Retrieved 2 May 2025. https://fishfocus.co.uk/the-plymouth-fish-finger/
Pettinger, C. (2024), The secret to healthy and sustainable fish fingers – an expert explains. The Conversation. Retrieved 24 April 2025. https://theconversation.com/the-secret-to-healthy-and-sustainable-fish-fingers-an-expert-explains-237899
The Guardian (2024), Britain is obsessed with cod, haddock, salmon and tuna. Could the Plymouth fish finger help change tastes? 18 August 2024. Retrieved 2 May 2025. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/18/fish-finger-sandwich-plymouth-project-rebrand-rejected-catch-for-schools
Sir John Hunt Community Sports College (2024), The FoodSEqual project. https://www.sjhcsc.co.uk/our-college/news/foodsequal-project
Pettinger, C., Hunt, L. and Wagstaff, C. (2025), Collaborating with ‘blue food’ system stakeholders to achieve optimal nutritional health and wellbeing in less affluent communities. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (under review)
FoodSEqual
Transforming UK Food Systems
Sole of Discretion
CATERed
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Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association