From sea to plate in 18 hours: London hooked on fresh Jersey seafood

Thursday 28 June 2018

A Jersey fisherman has hooked three London restaurants on local lobsters, crabs and scallops by getting the fresh produce from the sea to the plate in under 18 hours.

Josh Dearing, owner of the Jersey Catch, recently sent the first shipment of Jersey produce to London.

Freshness is one of Josh's main concerns - so much so that he hand delivers his catch to the customer's door, even if it involves jumping on a plane to London.

He explains: "Over the winter, I flew a couple of times to deliver scallops. It is important to us that the customers know who we are and that they have something fresh, even if It takes extra time and we don't get as much money as on other orders.

"It is important to be seen all the way through and it is nice to meet the people who use the food we catch."

Pictured: Josh works with his dad, Mike, who came out of retirement to help him with the Jersey Catch.

Josh started the Genuine Jersey member, Jersey Catch, two years ago. He previously ran a smaller company dedicated to scallops but with too many variables impacting the business, he decided to start fishing lobsters and crabs as well. "It added another string to our bow," Josh says. His father, Mike Dearing, also known as the 'Trusty Sea Dog,' came out of retirement to help him out and can sometimes be found diving for scallops.

The father-son pair aims to provide the best seafood, which they catch themselves ethically. Josh explains: "We only do shellfish, lobsters, spotted crabs and hand-dived scallops. This way we don't have any by catch and preserve the scallops' habitat.

Pictured: Josh and Mike Dearing hand dive their scallops to ensure zero bycatch.

"We try to do things in the most environmentally friendly and ethically way possible. We stock all produce in the sea until the moment it is sold and deliver it to households within 30 minutes of it coming out of the water to keep it in really good condition. We don't process anything so everything we sell is alive." 

Josh and Mike's produce was the perfect catch for restaurant supplier, Pesky Fish, who's Ben King contacted them and helped set up a transport link for the produce to be shipped to London in record time. A taster selection of Jersey's lobsters, scallops and crabs was then delivered to three restaurants, including the Bonnie Gull Seafood Shack in Soho. It took just 18 hours for the produce to make its way from the sea to the plate.

Pictured: Pesky Fish raved about Jersey shellfish. 

Josh explains: "We took them straight out of the sea, put them in polystyrene transport packaging and then in a refrigerated trailer on the boat. They were kept at 4 degrees the whole time, so they could all be nice and fresh. Someone picked them up in Portsmouth and they hand delivered them to the restaurants.

"We have had really good feedback. The produce was kept in really good condition, which is always the worry with live stock. Everything arrived alive and the scallops were even eaten raw! The restaurants were very happy to have such products in such a short time."

One thing that particularly appealed to the restaurants was the traceability. "They can trace it all the way back to the specific fisherman, which is something that is becoming more and more popular. We use yellow elastic bands on the lobsters which links to the boat."

After this first successful shipment, Pesky Fish and the Jersey Catch are already working on their next one. It should take place within the next few weeks and from there, Josh is hoping it will only get bigger with more people placing orders. In the future, he also hopes to see his shellfish delivered to more restaurants and even households.

Pictured: One of the dishes the Bonnie Gull created with Jersey spider crab.

Josh also hopes to enrol younger fishermen like him - he is only 26 - in his partnership with Pesky Fish. "It would be great if we could all make sure to get a higher price and get paid quicker, " he explains. "At the moment we have to wait a few weeks. If we could do something to make things a bit better for everyone that would be great. The way things are it is very hard for young fishermen. If we could maximise things for everyone and explore new ways of doing things, and not just do what has been done before... 

"There is still a good fishing industry but it is important the young ones are supported. If you look at lobster pots, they cost £60 each, when you need 300 of them, it's a huge investment. Then you add on the engines and the cost of licensing. Young fishermen need help to thrive in the industry. Hopefully it will mean the industry lives on."