The rise of the digital fishmonger: how Covid helped customers buy fresh from the boat

Britain's traditional retailers were in decline for years. Then the pandemic changed how we buy food and boosted the fishing industry

The seafood chef and restaurateur Mitch Tonks recalls the moment things for him changed dramatically. It was March 2020, the start of Covid, when a local fishing boat skipper called him in a panic. Nick was having a tough time; nobody was buying his catch, so I emailed our customer network," he says.

Tonks asked people to bring cash and containers. The next morning, Nick landed his boat at Brixham, the south Devon port that is England's largest fish market by value of catch sold. About 150 people turned up to buy his fish. Many asked why can't we just buy fish straight off boats like this normally?'"