Mother City Fish (Supplier Updated)

VAT Registration

4050290735

Almost all the fish we retail is on the green list.  We do not actively source fish that is not on the green list, but if it comes from small-scale fishermen, is within the allowed by-catch quota and has been line caught, we sometimes offer it to our customers. 

Most of our fish is sourced from a commercial fishery.  We are not equipped for quality control and/or processing, so they buy in from fishers on our behalf and process it specially for us.

No imports except the Mozambican prawns. Good range of other meal options. Use commercial fishers.

We also produce our own readymade range, including a range of fishcakes, hake nuggets, fish samoosas, chowders, fish pie, tartare sauce, fish batter mix, etc.

What type of fish business is this?

We do not stock any imported fish and only buy line caught fish from them.  Pescaluna is a reasonably small commercial fishery (teeny in comparison to the Sea Harvests and I&Js of the world!) that mainly does premium quality export fish (mostly Hake) and they buy in some of the species from small boats around the coast (to sell from their shop at the harbour and to supply Mother City Fish and some other wholesalers).  I do not have the capacity, know-how or processing facilities/equipment/quality control, so I do not buy directly from any fishermen.  Whenever I’m approached by a small fisherman, I send them straight to Pescaluna so that they can inspect their boats (to ensure their equipment and cold line is adequate and to establish quality).  Pescaluna then processes and packs the fish specially for Mother City Fish.  I am not registered with WWF/Sassi, again, as my business is not a fishery, but a retailer.  Pescaluna is a member of both Sassi and the South African Hake Longline Association (SAHLLA). (Email 18 July 2024) She trusts Pescaluna because she has a personal relationship with them. Owner is a close friend. He sells to fish shops, but not to others like Ren. (zoom 24 July 2024)

If you sell wild caught fish, what method do you use to catch each type? E.g. demersal or bottom trawl, gill nets, longline, purse selne, pole and line, pots/traps, dredges, pelagic or midwater trawls, fish aggregating devices etc.? 

See list of fish below! Pescaluna has a mid sea trawl boat, but Ren doesn’t buy from that boat. The fish get squashed, not nice. These fish all go for export. 

[Our Sancob member would like me to add these question to our annual audit]  Are all of the fish caught locally (SA, Mozambique, Namibia), or are any imported? If imported, which fish, and from where? 

As regards the ingredients for the fish paste, the pilchards are locally caught and packed (Lucky Star).  The sardines and anchovies are imported.  They are not available locally, but the fish paste DOES NOT WORK without either, believe me, I have tried!  The sardines are packed in Cape Town, also by Lucky Star.  I get anchovies from a catering supplier in bulk.  The brand varies, but is always locally packed.  The current batch in my fridge is packed in Cape Town and the anchovies from Morocco.No imported fish, besides from Mozambique (prawns only).  We sometimes get Namibian crab. (Email 18 July 2024)

[Our Sancob member would like me to add these question to our annual audit]  Are any bycatch mitigation methods used (for example, torri lines to prevent seabird bycatch)? Have the fishers undergone any training for by-catch mitigation by the Responsible Fisheries Alliance or the Albatross Task Force? 

Ren found out for me. They use torri line and they always have a spare. The guys are trained by birdlife SA. They also turn all light off when shooting lines, so the birds can’t see the baited hooks being dispatched. They also work closely with CapMarine. They often have one of their observers on the boat. 

If you sell farmed fish - what species are they? What are they fed? 

Three Streams, Rainbow Trout, no feed specifications available. The trout is all Rainbow Trout from Three Streams in Franschhoek.  I have tried and tried in the past, but I have never managed to get them to give me the specifications for the feed used. (Email 18 July 2024)

Do you supply fresh fish (never been frozen)?  

Yes

Can your fresh fish be home frozen? 

Yes

What is the shelf life of your fish in the freezer? 

Sell by dates are on the packs.  Usually 1 year from freezing.  If they are the packs I have frozen in my regular freezer, I put a label on as such and the freezer life is 6 months.

And are there any catch differences between the fresh or frozen you supply? 

None. exactly the same. They freeze stuff for her specially. 

Are you SASSI registered? 

No, but my supplier is.

Do you ever supply (WWF-SASSI) orange or red listed fish? If so, under what conditions? 

We have been asked this question many times – response below: We are passionate about the sustainability of our seafood.  Our primary supplier is accredited by WWF-SASSI as well as the Hake Longline Association (SAHLLA).  We avoid the purchase of trawled fish.  All the fish we sell has been caught either by longline, rod-and-reel or handline. These fishing methods limit bycatch, have a reduced carbon footprint and have little to no impact on marine environments. Unlike drag-netting or demersal trawling, longlining and handlining give the fishermen optimal control of the species they catch while providing them with integral information on stock levels.  Our supplier adheres strictly to the very limited by-catch quotas. Orange and/or red-listed species will never feature regularly on our site, but when we manage to source some that has been caught by line and is in the allowed by-catch quota, we are happy to offer it to our customers, who can make an informed decision.

• Gurnard - gurnards are on orange list, but are in allowed by-catch quota - they are caught on the longliner as well (with the hake); On the WWF/SASSI list it only lists it as orange for trawling.  It doesn't mention longlining at all.
• Haddock – same as Hake (see below)
• East Coast Sole – They are bought in by Pescaluna - they buy it in, it is deep sea trawled. Is the only product she has that is trawled. 
• Hake – long line
• Pilchards (fish paste) – local
• Sardines (fish paste) – imported (packed in Cape Town)
• Anchovies (fish paste) – imported (packed in Cape Town)
• Angelfish – long line (commercial Hake boat)
• Yellowtail – rod & reel (small fishers); also by trek net (guys on beach throwing a net) small fishers
• Kingklip – long line (commercial Hake boat)
• Rainbow Trout – farmed, Three Streams, Franschhoek
• Mussels – rope grown in Saldanha Bay, hand collected
• Mozambican prawns – imported from Mozambique – net and hand caught by small fishers
• Snoek – all longline from hake boat
• South Coast Lobster – farmed on the south coast (green list), trapped in lobster traps; sometimes kept in tanks to grow bigger, fed with mussels and fresh fish.
• Tuna – long line (commercial Hake boat, infrequent), pole or rod & reel (small fishermen)

Fish Paste ingredients:

I have a good friend who has a Masters degree in fishery science.  She happens to be employed by Lucky Star.  So, she was an excellent person to speak to about sardines/pilchards and anchovies.  Basically, sardines and pilchards are from the same family.  The major difference between what we find in supermarkets, is the size, with pilchards being much larger than sardines.  I use both in the fish paste (probably about 60-70% of the fish paste consists of pilchards).  90% of Lucky Star pilchards and sardines are caught locally.  Yes, they are orange listed, but Lucky Star still strictly complies to all best practices available and are strictly monitored.  If faced with choosing between imported green-listed pilchards/sardines or local orange-listed pilchards/sardines, I would opt for local every single time.  As regards anchovies, even though South African anchovies are green listed, they are NOT suitable for human consumption.  They are ONLY used for animal feed.  Therefore orange-listed anchovies are my only option.  Mother City Fish buys about 1.5kg of anchovies every second or third month at this stage and we do not have the buying power to call the shots as to where they come from.  We do our best with what is available.  The current supply is imported from Morocco.  There are no other options available in bulk jars.

Gurnards:

Yes, Gurnards are orange-listed.  As explained previously, our supplier (Pescaluna) strictly adheres to best practices and quotas surrounding orange-listed fish.

Prawns:

Prawns are never green-listed as far as I know.  The Mozambican prawns we’ve sources are hand-collected and are the best option available (also the most local) – even though they may not satisfy food club principles.

Soles:

Yes, Soles are orange-listed.  Pescaluna buys these in from a reputable fishery who also adheres to quotas and best practices surrounding orange-listed fish.

Yellowfin Tuna:

Yellowfin Tuna does sometimes come of the long-line boats as within-quota controlled by-catch (they might catch one or two fish occasionally while they are fishing for Hake and Kingklip, which is what they’re really there for).  If required, I can undertake to only offer pole or rod & reel Yellowfin Tuna to the food clubs, when it is available.  Most of the Yellowfin Tuna I get from Pescaluna comes of the small boats anyway (ie pole an rod & reel), so I don’t think this will make much of a difference.