Sustainability and the Environment

Our Commitment to Sustainability

Fish City was the first NI business to take the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge, an environmental campaign led by Ulster Wildlife and Nourish NI.

At Fish City, we have taken our commitment to sustainability and the environment to the next level. We are the first retailer and restaurant on the island of Ireland to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). For over 20 years, the MSC has been part of a global effort to keep our oceans healthy and full of life. When you choose fish or seafood with the MSC’s ‘blue fish’ eco-label, you can be sure that the fish you are eating can be traced back to a sustainable and well-managed wild fishery. We are also the first fish and chip shop in the UK to be corporate members of the Marine Conservation Society (MCS). We are currently an MCS Gold Member.

At Fish City, we advocate for a healthy, sustainable approach to incorporating seafood into a healthy lifestyle. To that end, we are committed to educating our team, guests and wider communities on the health benefits of seafood and the importance of sustainability to the long-term future of our fishing industry and the health and viability of our aquatic food systems and marine environments.

Partner Organisations committed to Sustainability

For over 20 years, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) has been part of a global effort to keep our oceans healthy and full of life. Choose the blue fish eco-label when purchasing seafood, and make sure that the fish and shellfish you eat can be traced back to a sustainable source.
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is a UK charity committed to the protection of our seas, shores and marine wildlife. The Marine Conservation Society curates the Good Fish Guide, which uses the best and most current scientific advice to help businesses and consumers make responsible choices that minimise environmental impact.
Sustainable Fish Cities NI is a campaign led by Ulster Wildlife and Nourish NI to create Northern Ireland’s first-ever Sustainable Fish Cities. Fish City was the first business in Northern Ireland to pledge its commitment to sustainably sourcing seafood products and complete an audit against the Marine Conservation Society’s (MCS) Good Fish Guide.
We are proudly a member of the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF), the official body that represents the fish and chip industry. Among many initiatives to promote good fisheries management and responsible sourcing, the NFFF have developed a Responsible Sourcing Code for members and work with the MSC on group certification.
Good Food Ireland is the trustmark for local food and drink experiences on the island of Ireland, connecting people to the heart of Ireland’s culinary culture with a focus on sustainability, Irish ingredients, and certified quality.
Green Tourism is world-leading sustainability certification for travel, tourism and hospitality businesses aimed to help embed responsible, sustainable and environmentally friendly practices across businesses and the wider tourism sector.

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We are an advocate for the promotion of responsibly and sustainably sourced seafood as a lifestyle choice.

To that end, we are committed to educating our staff, customers and wider communities on issues of seafood sustainability and marine conservation. Click below to read our Sustainable Seafood Sourcing Policy document.

Sourcing Policy

Our Process

Our oil is changed daily and continually filtered, ensuring that we use the healthiest and tastiest frying mediums to deliver the highest quality fish and chips with every order. We use Superior Frying Fat— the most respected, refined, and de-odorised beef dripping in the business. It is naturally non-hydronated and lower in trans fats, and it delivers an excellent high performance product time and time again.
We have invested in a state-of-the-art Kiremko frying range, ensuring temperatures are maintained throughout the cooking process to consistently deliver the highest quality of food for our guests.
When staffing levels permit, we can offer guests the choice of having food cooked in beef dripping or vegetable oil.

Social Responsibility

Fish City is committed to addressing the challenges posed by the effects of climate change on both land and in our oceans and focusing on what we can do to help secure a sustainable future.

Leading and Supporting Sustainability Initiatives

Marine Stewardship Council Certification

Recognised by the MSC as one of eleven Regional Heroes across the UK, Fish City is the first fish and chip shop and restaurant on the island of Ireland and in Northern Ireland to be certified by the Marine Stewardship Council.

Sustainable Fish Cities NI

Fish City is the first business in Northern Ireland to join Ulster Wildlife’s Sustainable Fish Cities NI campaign to source all its seafood produce responsibly and sustainably.

Good Fish Guides

The Marine Conservation Society’s Good Fish Guide is one of the longest running sustainable seafood rating systems in Europe. We have previously offered complementary printed guides to each guest, and now that a continually up-to-date guide is available online, we invite anyone and everyone to check out the latest seafood sustainability ratings on the digital Good Fish Guide here.

Educating Children on Seafood Sustainability

We run a free, award-winning educational Kids Club for Primary 7 schoolchildren in the local community in which we bring schoolchildren on a trip to the local fish market to teach them about different fish and shellfish species and the importance of sustainable fish stocks, as well as an interactive workshop at the restaurant to learn how sustainable fishing improves our local marine ecosystems and provides a better, more secure livelihood for our fishing communities.

Providing for the Homeless and Food Insecure

We maintain a holistic view of sustainability that includes our responsibility toward society and the importance of contributing toward improving the quality of life for our surrounding communities. Working with the voluntary community organisation Team HAVEN, each month we donate hot meals for the homeless, vulnerable and those experiencing food insecurity and food poverty in our local area.

MSC Chain of Custody

Fish City has been certified as conforming to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Chain of Custody Standard. Seafood products can pass through long and complex supply chains between the ocean and reaching consumers. The Chain of Custody Standard ensures an unbroken chain where certified seafood is easily identifiable, separated from non-certified products at all times, and can be traced back to another certified business. This system allows businesses and consumers to be confident that seafood with the blue MSC label has come from a fishery certified as sustainable.

Green Tourism Accreditation

Fish City is a proud member of Green Tourism and holds a Gold Award, recognising our commitment to promoting locally, sustainably and ethically produced food; promoting, protecting, and preserving biodiversity; our knowledge and awareness of sustainability; and, passionate engagement with the local community and beyond. Green Tourism is an internationally respected eco-development programme and accreditation scheme that recognises the commitment of tourism businesses which are actively working to become more sustainable.

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Sustainable Practises

Using Alternatives to Single-Use Plastics

To support the global effort to reduce the use and disposal of single-use plastics, we only use biodegradable straws and takeaway cutlery, as well as recycled paper products for takeaway packaging. Also, we serve recyclable glass bottled beverages only in restaurant and for takeaway.

Stocking Ethical Bottled Water

We serve bottled still and sparkling water from the ethical water supplier 'Clearer Water.’ Clearer is a local social enterprise based in nearby Larne that champions a mixed ability workforce, providing training and career development for additional needs and socially disadvantaged young people. They are dedicated to manufacturing traceable, ethical products and inclusive working practices.

Reducing Paper Usage

To reduce our paper usage, we are moving from paper to digital records in all areas relating to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP), Health & Safety, and refrigeration temperature monitoring.

Reducing Our Impact in Everything We Do

At Fish City, we endeavour to act responsibly by implementing a range of environmentally friendly practices, including: ensuring we monitor and reduce our food waste, with food waste collection for composting that feeds back into the grid and cooking oil recycled for biofuel; using electricity made from 100% renewable resources and using low-energy LED bulbs for lighting; minimising the frequency of orders from suppliers to reduce our carbon footprint and, where possible, purchasing our ingredients locally within a 50-mile radius; and, cleaning our local beaches– removing marine litter to help protect native marine life and keep Northern Ireland’s coastline beautiful and litter-free for beachgoers.

Research & Development

We have worked alongside the College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE), the Agri-food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI), researchers from the Nutrition Innovation Centre for Food and Health (NICHE) at Ulster University, and the Queen’s University Food Science Department to conduct current and ongoing research and development at the intersection of sustainability and health.

Cultivating Biodiversity

We have transformed our outdoor dining space into a vibrant haven for pollinators by planting winter- and spring-flowering heather– low-growing, evergreen shrubs found on heathland across the island, as well as native harebell, a pollinator-friendly perennial that grows wild on the basaltic cliffs and dunes of the Causeway Coast. A member of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, an initiative of the National Biodiversity Data Centre, we have committed our green spaces to supporting native pollinators and adopted the Plan’s best practice pesticide code; we use only peat-free compost to preserve carbon-storing native peatlands, and we refrain from using herbicides of any kind. Our rooftop garden serves as an additional haven for pollinators and other animals, with a bee hotel installed in a no-mow area of wild grasses and wildflowers, a wren nest box mounted, and evergreen hedging plants stationed to provide an additional habitat and food source for garden and coastal birds.

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Health and Nutrition

When comparing fast food favourites, Fish & Chips proves to be one of the healthier choices, with the Fish City small Fish & Chip portion meal tested by Beechwood Laboratories to be 579 calories. A portion of cod or haddock provides essential Vitamins C, B6 and B12, Omega-3 fatty acid, some iron, zinc and calcium, as well as iodine. A healthy, balanced diet, as recommended by the NHS, should include at least two portions of fish weekly, including one portion of oily fish such as herring, mackerel or trout.

In line with nationwide industry standard recommendations, we have offered a choice of three different portion sizes of our award-winning Fish & Chips.

We have been working closely with the Food Standards Agency to monitor the calories and nutritional content of our food. We are the first independent business to be awarded with the ‘Calorie Wise’ certification by the Food Standards Agency. Calorie information is recorded for all items on our menu.

We also offer an extensive range of seafood dishes to encourage people to eat a greater variety of fish and shellfish– taking pressure off stocks of the most popular species– accompanied with local, seasonal ingredients and homemade sauces. Learn more about the impressive health benefits of fish on our blog ‘Shipping News.’

Good Food Ireland® approved

The definitive trustmark for local food and drink experiences on the island of Ireland, Good Food Ireland® audits its members, ensuring businesses with the Good Food Ireland® seal of approval provide guests and visitors to the island with authentic, premium experiences focused on certified quality, sustainability, and local food and culture.

Ingredients

Our potatoes come from only the highest quality growers using potatoes that deliver the best taste and flavour for our chips. We currently use the Maris Piper potato, which was developed by cross-breeding varieties of Herald, Arran Cairn, and Ulster Knight, the latter of which was created by John Clarke, an eminent potato breeder from County Antrim. We peel and chip fresh potatoes every morning, checking for starch and sugar content, and ensuring our guests enjoy the very highest standard of chips every time. Our chips are cut to a healthy 14 x 17 millimeters, the size of which has been scientifically proven to absorb less fat.

Our endeavour to deliver healthy food led to Fish City winning the UK's Healthy Eating Award at the 2018 National Fish & Chip Awards, the Catey Award for Health & Nutrition (2019), and the 2020 Menu Innovation and Development Award by Seafish.

We use seasonal vegetables, and all our sauces are freshly homemade. We work with local suppliers to source innovative and healthy ingredients including products from Abernethy Butter, Rooney Fish, Keenan Seafood, Islander Kelp, Ewings Seafoods, Glastry Farm Ice Cream, and Clearer Water— Ireland's first ethical water supplier.

Fully licensed, we have a well-curated and comprehensive wine list accompanied with a great selection of local and artisanal craft beers and ciders, including Kilmegan Cider, Whitewater Brewery, Heaney Farmhouse Brewery, and Troughton’s Premium Tonics and Mixers, as well as our tea selection exclusively from S.D. Bell & Co, Ireland’s oldest independent tea blenders, established in Belfast in 1887.