From snorkeling to seaweed foraging, food festivals to farmers markets, West Cumbrians have been treated to a wide array of seafood-themed activities over the past three years. They were all part of our project championing the importance of sustainable seafood and celebrating local marine wildlife.

My Local Catch, which finished at the end of February, was delivered by Cumbria Wildlife Trust, and made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we were able to raise awareness within West Coast communities about the importance of sustainable fishing, for both people and wildlife.

The two-and-a-half year project was extended to three years, and in that time, 127 engaging activities were organised for local communities, entertaining nearly 7,000 people. They included beach schools, storytelling, school sessions and cooking workshops with youth groups and a youth offending scheme. As well as seaweed foraging, there were coastal cook-ups with professional chefs. Over 3,000 people took part in these cooking events, one of them saying: “Thanks for teaching us what to look for when we buy fish – I feel much more able to choose environmentally-friendly food now.” Nearly 4,000 recipe cards were distributed to outlets, which will continue to promote the project’s sustainable fishing message into the future.

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Lou Mather, Project Officer for My Local Catch said: “It’s been an absolute honour to work on this fantastic project. I’m so proud of the results we’ve achieved and the connections we've built in West Cumbria, and I know the impact will continue for many years to come!

"Sustainable seafood is such an important issue in marine conservation - and it’s one where members of the community can have a real impact to help both local fishermen and local wildlife to thrive. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to help people understand more about this complex issue, and to get connected with their coastline and the amazing wildlife that lives there!”

Helen Featherstone, Director, England, North at The National Lottery Heritage Fund said: “My Local Catch has been a wonderful project that has successfully connected local people with the fishing heritage on their doorstep, while raising awareness of the importance of local, sustainably sourced seafood. We’re thrilled that, thanks to money raised by National Lottery players, we have played a key role in ensuring fishing communities have the tools and knowledge to help protect habitats and build a sustainable future for our seas.”

Amber Gould, Project Assistant on My Local Catch, said: “Working on My Local Catch has been an amazing experience. Seeing the positive effects the project has had on local communities has really shown how important projects like these are – and how important it is to involve communities in conservation efforts.”

Amber explains why My Local Catch matters: “Unsustainable fishing is one of the biggest challenges facing our seas but that doesn't mean we have to stop eating fish altogether. With My Local Catch we have been able to champion small-scale, sustainably-caught seafood, and speak about how using methods like pole and line or creel fishing allow stocks and the seabed to recover.” 

Amber continued: “Our aim was to engage with people on Cumbria’s west coast, to help them appreciate what fantastic sea life we have on our doorstep and talk about the benefits of locally sourced seafood. We export more of our seafood than we eat ourselves, and we eat more imported fish than we do our local species, so we’ve been urging everyone to give our local economy a boost and support our fishing community and our marine environment - before we lose it.”

Lou and Amber worked with local fishermen, to promote fishing methods which are less damaging to the seabed and marine wildlife. This includes creel pots, which are large, netted cage-like pots used to catch lobsters, langoustine and crabs. These methods cause very little disturbance to the seabed when compared to trawl fishing. They did a short trial of this method with two fisherman in the Barrow area. The fishermen think this could be profitable and have committed to carrying out more trials next year.

The team also carried out seabed surveys, to see how well an area off Walney is recovering after being designated a Marine Conservation Zone in 2019. They also ran survey days, such as shore searches, hunting for shark egg cases on beaches, and sea watch surveys, where people were on the lookout for bottlenose and common dolphins, porpoises and grey seals.

Volunteers were a core part of the project – they helped run events, including many with schools. One volunteer said: “I was a very shy 16 year old when I first started volunteering, I didn’t know anyone and was incredibly nervous! Volunteering has allowed me to step outside my comfort zone and has really built my confidence … It’s been great to get to spend time with people who share my passion for nature.” In addition, to make sure marine survey days can continue into the future, a group of volunteers have been trained to become Marine Champions, a new scheme set up by the project to upskill members of the community in citizen science methods. Six Marine Champions are now carrying out surveys themselves and more training days for Marine Champions are planned for this spring.

One of the Champions said: “This has really built up my survey and identification skills. I have learned how to conduct sea watches rocky shore surveys and dune surveys … I hope that having this on my CV will demonstrate that I have proactively acquired useful skills and show how committed I am to working in marine conservation.” The scheme will now be rolled out across the North West, as part of The Bay: A Blueprint for Recovery, a nature and wellbeing project in Morecambe Bay.

We'll continue much of the valuable education and local engagement work with Nature and You, a new project in West Cumbria. Building on the community connections created in My Local Catch, we'll work with 8-14 year olds at risk of poor mental health, helping them to connect to the natural world.