Straight Off The Boat

Aim

We have built a tool for small artisanal fishing vessels but need more support to serve more boats and a larger audience.

Website

https://straightofftheboat.com/

Why?

We all eat fish without knowing who caught it, how it was caught and how much the fishermen were paid for the fish. After seeing the worst on documentaries like Seaspiracy, the public and restaurants need a go to app for buying fish from small independent fishermen. They should only use methods that do not destroy the seabed and be and embrace the fact that small vessels are restricted by weather during winter months meaning the fish stocks can repair themselves instead of 24/7 over fishing.

We will make sure any fish or shellfish sold adheres to the following:

• Under 10m vessels only
• Full traceability
• Line-caught
• Caught by static inshore nets
• Caught by traditional pots
• Hand dived

Every single bit of seafood is listed under a boat name, their registered license number and a small description of the boat. There are no false promises like "We buy from sustainable sources". You will know WHO caught your fish and HOW using industry catch methods, with more information to learn about how those methods work and the impacts they have.

Our Vision

To roll this out countrywide so all small vessels can benefit from the technology. SOTB is built to scale in a way that is it not location dependent, we aim to bring on many more fishermen to our platform and grow the number of fishermen that can reconnect with their local community once again.

We are also on a mission to sell the freshest fish possible. Traditionally even the freshest catch purchased from fishmongers could be 7 days old. That’s a lot of transport time for a resource so close to home in the UK.

We also do not endorse any kind of aggressive fishing methods or fishing methods that destroy the environment that they are placed.

Bring on the apps!

We have apps already running on iOS and Android and we are preparing to launch V5. As SOTB is self-funded, we need your help to expand and use technology to bridge the gap between fishermen and customer. Not B2C but F2C.

In a few small months during 2020 when COVID-19 broke out, we created iOS and Android apps that allow fishermen to sell their fish on a shoestring budget. We have a growing customer base of 650+ and some amazing reviews of the service. We have also launched the fishermen dashboard where any fishermen can sign up and benefit from the service.

Check out our apps

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/straight-off-the-boat/id1506761801

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.straightofftheboat.app&hl=en

Prices

We set flat prices for all the fish and unlike the normal set up fishermen get 100% of the sale price if they are signed up to use the service and sell locally. We have a hybrid approach to grow the base of fishermen since some are nervous to sign up and use the platform. We also source from the 6 am Plymouth/Brixham fish markets and list it under our boat profiles, we have super strict criteria for this as mentioned above but this is seen as temporary and in the future, the aim is to phase this out 100%.

Next Steps & Use of Funds

We need to make further improvements to the apps themselves to make them more suitable to the fishermen needs as they all have different ways of working. Some will prepare the fish and some will not. Some will allow collection from the boat and some will not.

We are making improvements to account for the nuances in selling fish direct to the public and reducing confusion on both the fishermen side and customer side.

Testimonials

"Tonight we had our delivery of beautiful, fresh filleted pollock which I cooked in crispy beer batter......it was absolutely gorgeous and clean plates all around!! Will definitely be putting another order in very soon. Ordering fish from here is a must, you will not be disappointed!!"

JO F.

"We ordered Wednesday afternoon delivered Thursday afternoon..absolutely spot on, so easy to order and a lovely lady delivered it to our door..We had skate and 8 for dinner Thursday..and looking forward to Sea bass Saturday. highly recommend Straight off the boat..Evie & Alan..

EVIE & ALAN

"Great fish, fresh as it gets. Excellent pricing and first class customer service."

DAVID. H

This project successfully funded on 5th May 2021