Two of the oldest businesses in Whitby, North Yorkshire, have hooked up to offer 100 per cent sustainable fish from catch to kitchen – becoming two of the leading lights in environmentally friendly fish sourcing.

The multi-award winning Quayside fish and chip shop and restaurant, based in Pier Road, already has a reputation for sourcing the most sustainable fish – being the first chip shop in Yorkshire to scoop the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification in 2012 – but it’s now teamed up with local fish merchant Dennis Crooks for its line-caught haddock as the merchant becomes the first within a 60 mile radius to get MSC accreditation.

MSC certification means fish from these sources is fully traceable and consumers can have the confidence that it meets the Council’s strict guidelines on environmental fishing.

"We have spent many years searching for a local merchant that could offer us equally sustainable fish and we’re totally chuffed that Dennis Crooks – a local, family business like ours – now has this badge of honour too,” says Adrian Fusco, operations director at Quayside, the Independent Takeaway Fish & Chip Shop of the Year 2013/14 and part of the Fuscos family of fish and chop shops."Sustainability is central to our philosophy at Fuscos. For us, buying fish from a merchant that sources from sustainable fisheries, which allow numbers to be maintained sustainably and without adversely impacting on other species within the ecosystem, is more than just important – it’s our livelihood. We want our customers to have delicious fish forever.”

Like Quayside, Dennis Crooks is also a family business with Dennis’s two children William and Holly in the business. Running for more than 35 years, its highly skilled fish craftsmen meticulously prepare fish and seafood – much of it sourced from British shores – by hand, to customers’ individual requirements.

Second-generation William Crooks, sales manager at Dennis Crooks, said: "It’s a naturalprogression for two like-minded local family businesses, with the same forward and innovative thinking, to work together. We share the same mindset for the industry that we’re in, and it’s a pleasure to supply people who care about the bigger picture.

"Becoming MSC certified means a great deal to us…and we’ve invested an incredible amount of time in re-jigging the way we operate to incorporate MSC product within our factory. Being MSC certified reassures our customers that we are not just thinking about today, we are thinking about the future for us as a family business and for the future of the entire fishing industry.”

For more on Quayside, log on to whitbyfishandchips.com