Pupils help create new sustainable fish finger

A new fish finger made from bycatch, which would normally go to waste, has been added to the menu at some Devon schools.

A group of pupils helped create the new Plymouth Fish Finger, which was inspired by a workshop encouraging people to eat more fish.

The University of Plymouth led the project which also involved Plymouth Fishing & Seafood Association and CATERed, the company which provides the majority of the city's school meals.

Species whiting, pouting and dogfish have been used to create the fish finger, with small scale coastal fishers being paid for the goods which are normally low in value and underutilised.

Active food system justice researcher, Dr Clare Pettinger, held workshops with the Whitleigh community, where it was identified better access to fish would encourage people to eat more of it.

Dr Pettinger worked with multiple organisations and identified the use of bycatch species.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, (WWF), bycatch is the incidental capture of non-target species.

The university said pupils at Sir John Hunt Community College held a series of taste sessions for the fish and breadcrumbs to design and make the new product.

It said 36,000 fish fingers needed to be produced to fulfil the city's school meals, which it said needed investment.

Dr Pettinger said: "Our amazing local partners have a shared vision for the Plymouth Fish Finger because it belongs to the community, promotes Plymouth seafood brand and provides true pride and identity in the product.

"We don't just have to accept that things won't change when it comes to accessing healthy food at a reasonable cost – together we can achieve so much."

Dr Pettinger admitted that scaling the project into a commercial enterprise remained a challenge.

"We're seeking funding and investment in order to mechanise our processes, because in order to get the fish finger into all the schools, we can't do it by hand, which is what we've been doing up to this point," she told BBC Radio Devon.

"We are effectively competing with more commercial interests, but we do have some ideas for cunning business models that might allow higher-end retailers to subsidise a version of the same product to get into the school meal system," she said.

"Everybody wants to see it happen, and we're now in the process to actually make that happen on a larger scale."

Looking ahead, the project could serve as a model for other coastal communities.

"I like to think of what we're doing here in Plymouth as a blueprint of good practice," she said.

"Who knows, maybe there is scope for us to have a Plymouth Fish Finger being served up in Hull or elsewhere."

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