ABOUT US
The Fishmongers’ Company is one of the Twelve Great Livery Companies of the City of London, and among the most ancient of the City Guilds. For over 700 years, as well as fostering the fellowship among our members, we have upheld standards in the trading of fish and shellfish and supported the fisheries industry – roles we still play today.
Our core activities include support for a number of fish and fisheries-related organisations, including the UK Marine Biological Association, the Salmon & Trout Conservation, the Shellfish Association of Great Britain and the Billingsgate Seafood Training School, all of which we helped to establish.
FISH & FISHERIES
The Fishmongers’ Company (the Company) has had a long-standing involvement in fish and fisheries management in the UK stretching back to its founding purpose of controlling fish trade within the City of London. Today, the Company’s overall aim is to promote a healthy, prosperous and sustainable fish and fisheries sector for the long-term benefit of the United Kingdom. Over the years this work has evolved to meet a succession of new challenges facing those who manage, catch, buy and sell, and consume fish.
The Company has a fisheries strategy aimed at developing and enhancing its reputation as an independent institution, valued and respected for its contribution to the UK fishing sector. The Company achieves this by:
- Bringing together government departments and organisations, the private sector, the third sector, academia and the public in both open debates and confidential discussions about key issues and significant developments in the Fish and Fisheries sector.
- Either independently or, in partnership with others, supporting and enabling projects that address the key issues facing the Fish and Fisheries sector.
- Supporting and sponsoring the achievement of functional skills and academic qualifications that enable individuals to develop successful careers in Fish and Fisheries related sectors.
OBJECTIVES
Taking account of the Company’s original long history as an association of fishmongers, its right under Royal Charters to inspect fish sold in London and to see whether or not they are “wholesome for man’s body” and its various powers, the Fishmongers’ Company continues to see work on fish and fisheries as central to its purposes.
Its aim in this regard is:
to promote a healthy, prosperous and sustainable fish and fisheries sector for the long-term benefit of the United Kingdom.
