4 Years On
Island Fish Ltd began on the 1st May 2015. It is hard to believe that now nearly 4 years have passed since that date. So much has happened, so many highs and although not too many lows there have been a few fraught times - but never once has any of us regretted our decision to develop a business that has become so important to us all, from the very youngest member of the family to the eldest, who at 75 it has to be said is the most enthusiastic of us all!
Our most memorable moments have included the amazing low tide festivals organised by Tresco, by far the highlight of the year with the adrenaline pumping dash to make it mid -channel - and back before the tide turns and of course winning The Best New Business of the Year Award 2016. It was most pleasant to don our posh clothes, walk the red carpet and mingle with the great and the good of the Cornwall and Scilly - nice to get home though! We were all absolutely delighted when Mark Pender ('the Bear'), Skipper of the Tradewinds received the award of 'Shellfish Fisherman of the Year 2016' in an industry led award scheme. Well deserved, and a fantastic piece of news both for Island Fish and Bryher - for an individual from a small island to be the recipient of a national award is pretty special - to read more about this awards click HERE. Of most recent note of course has been the opening of our new Island Fish premises at Bar, Bryher in April 2018. Quite simply this is our investment in Bryher for the next 50 or so years - representing both an opportunity to grow the business in the here and now but also something that can help support the next generation to live and work on Bryher and in turn bring up their children. Cutting the red ribbon that signified the opening of the building was a moment of huge satisfaction and we sincerely hope it you will come and have a look around, we have tried the make our new premises both functional, attractive but also representative of our heritage.
Working with family has been incredibly rewarding, there is at least one major argument per month during the height of the summer but it doesn't really matter, everything is usually smoothed over with a bottle of wine and a general understanding that everyone is simply tired. Working with family means that everyone has your back no matter what, a feeling that is beyond priceless. Finally during the course of the last three years we have learnt much about the younger members of our family, the strength of their love for their home and a way of life that we had no idea was quite so important to them. They are in many ways the stars of the show, without a doubt aggravating and 'all knowing' they have displayed a commitment to the business that makes you feel on the days when the lows outweigh the highs that at least you are doing something right!
Our most memorable moments have included the amazing low tide festivals organised by Tresco, by far the highlight of the year with the adrenaline pumping dash to make it mid -channel - and back before the tide turns and of course winning The Best New Business of the Year Award 2016. It was most pleasant to don our posh clothes, walk the red carpet and mingle with the great and the good of the Cornwall and Scilly - nice to get home though! We were all absolutely delighted when Mark Pender ('the Bear'), Skipper of the Tradewinds received the award of 'Shellfish Fisherman of the Year 2016' in an industry led award scheme. Well deserved, and a fantastic piece of news both for Island Fish and Bryher - for an individual from a small island to be the recipient of a national award is pretty special - to read more about this awards click HERE. Of most recent note of course has been the opening of our new Island Fish premises at Bar, Bryher in April 2018. Quite simply this is our investment in Bryher for the next 50 or so years - representing both an opportunity to grow the business in the here and now but also something that can help support the next generation to live and work on Bryher and in turn bring up their children. Cutting the red ribbon that signified the opening of the building was a moment of huge satisfaction and we sincerely hope it you will come and have a look around, we have tried the make our new premises both functional, attractive but also representative of our heritage.
Working with family has been incredibly rewarding, there is at least one major argument per month during the height of the summer but it doesn't really matter, everything is usually smoothed over with a bottle of wine and a general understanding that everyone is simply tired. Working with family means that everyone has your back no matter what, a feeling that is beyond priceless. Finally during the course of the last three years we have learnt much about the younger members of our family, the strength of their love for their home and a way of life that we had no idea was quite so important to them. They are in many ways the stars of the show, without a doubt aggravating and 'all knowing' they have displayed a commitment to the business that makes you feel on the days when the lows outweigh the highs that at least you are doing something right!
Mike Pender, opening the new Island Fish Premises
So what next?
|
I can't believe it has been nearly a year since we moved into our lovey new Island Fish Building - and yet here we are on the cusp of opening again for another season, our 5th! We learnt a lot last year, and this year our aim is to do continue in the way we began last year but to try and do more - there were many a time last year when we ran out of crab meat simply because we couldn't keep up with demand - not that Mark couldn't catch enough but that we physically couldn't pick enough crab in daylight hours - this year we hope to resolve this by extending the team to include one more person and have one person always picking crab, so there should be less times where we run out of what seems to be everyone's favourite local delicacy! New for 19 is the option for people to enjoy a crab/lobster sandwich etc whilst sitting on our pergola, we have limited seating but from 2019 you will be able to enjoy a coffee and a range of seafood delicacies on a 'eat in' basis rather than just takeaway. We hope you enjoy this development.
All in all though 2019 is a consolidation year for us, it is more of the same but better! A welcome reprieve from the 'all change' of 2018. Thank you again for your continued support and we hope to see you in 2019 - The Island Fish Team x
All in all though 2019 is a consolidation year for us, it is more of the same but better! A welcome reprieve from the 'all change' of 2018. Thank you again for your continued support and we hope to see you in 2019 - The Island Fish Team x