Funded by the Big Lottery’s Local Food scheme, Wild Oceans aims to help people to make the right choices when it comes to buying fish and shellfish. Cumbrians will be able to find out what responsible seafood actually is, how to find out which fish to buy and also how to cook it.

Lindsay Sullivan, Wild Oceans Project Officer, will be traveling the county visiting country shows, carnivals and festivals to talk to people about this important issue. Lindsay said: “It’s very interesting how we often prefer meat, dairy and baked goods if we know where they’re from, especially if it’s nearby. For a lot of people, buying local means that we know that a British beef cow has not traveled across Europe in inhumane conditions, creating a big carbon footprint as it goes. And of course locally made things are often fresher and Cumberland sausage rocks! So should we extend the same preferences to seafood?”

“The Cumbrian Irish Sea contains a surprisingly diverse menu of marine life, including an extremely wide variety of edible fish and shellfish. So why do our supermarkets and restaurants all serve up the usual suspects, sourced from other counties and other countries, with little information about how it was caught? What ever happened to the days of ‘catch of the day’ and eating what was available and fresh? I am asking for people in Cumbria to start thinking about where your fish is from and how it got from the sea to your plate.”

“I am going to be out and about in Cumbria all summer so come and have a chat! At some of the events there will be a chef on hand to cook up some tasty seafood for people to try. Wild Oceans’ recipes will be available to take away, so once you’ve purchased your local and responsibly sourced fish – you’ll know what to do with it!”

If you don’t get chance to speak to Lindsay personally you can find out more about Wild Oceans on Lindsay’s blog http://cumbriawildoceans.blogspot.com/. She’ll be regularly updating readers on her progress to turn us all into responsible seafood eaters. You can also find out more via Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s website: http://www.cumbriawildlifetrust.org.uk/wild-oceans-2.html, Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/cumbriawildlifetrust, and Twitter http://twitter.com/cumbriawildlife

Lindsay will be attending the following events in May and June:

15 May – Food & Plant Fair, Hutton in the Forest, Penrith

22 May – Cumbria Wildlife Trust’s Garden Bonanza, Plumgarths, Kendal

28 May & 29 May – Country Fest, Crooklands, Kendal

3 June – Holker Garden Festival, Cartmel

12 June – Open Farm Sunday, Gosling Sike Farm, Houghton, Carlisle

17, 18 & 19 June – Whitehaven International Festival