Meet our fishing vessels
How we catch our delicious fish
Fish At Home handles many varieties of sea fish and shellfish. Species such as Dover Sole, Plaice, Lemon Sole, Brill, Turbot, Cod, Cuttlefish, Black Bream, Sea Bass, Whelks, Crab, Lobster, and Scallops are but a few that inhabit the local area. The local sea area is a truly mixed fishery providing copious variety of top-quality fish and shellfish.
The majority of vessels that land to BNFS are small inshore day-boats that land their catch within hours of capture, thus ensuring the fish and shellfish is of the highest quality. They rely on seasonal fisheries native to this area and work closely with local authorities to enable consumers and the community to benefit from sustainably caught fish and shellfish.
The local catching sector is comprised of vessels with multi-purpose capabilities, adapting to make the most of the seasonal variations indigenous to this area.
Above are a selection of fishing boats that can be seen off the Sussex Coast and who land their catch to our market.
Evie Mae is an under-10m multipurpose catamaran. She has the ability to adapt fishing methods to take advantage of inshore seasonal fisheries.
In the early part of the year in the cold winter months she fishes for available demersal species such as Cod, Dover Sole and Plaice.
During the spring, when the weather settles and temperatures increase, the annual local Cuttlefish fishery commences. Lasting 6-8 weeks this inky season is short, but provides an opportunity for Evie Mae and other native inshore vessels.
The warm summer months bring further opportunity for Evie Mae in the form of the whelk fishery.
In the autumn months whelk pots are stored ashore and replaced by static nets targeting species such as Sole, Plaice, Turbot, Brill, Skate and Pollock. Weather permitting, this method of fishing continues into the final months of the year.
Meridian is designed to be multi-purpose; working set nets for demersal species such as Sole, Plaice, Skate, and Cod and also pots for whelks, crab and Lobsters.
Over the last 2 years she has undergone extensive life pro-longing works to ensure she continues to provide our market with the best quality fish and shellfish.
Brejon is a 7m mono-hull vessel working daily out of Shoreham Harbour.
Working a combination of nets and pots she makes use of inshore grounds searching for species such as Crab, Lobster, Cod, Sole, Plaice, Skate, Brill, Turbot and Whelks; pursuing seasonal changes in the local mixed fishery.
Libby Lou is a 7 metre owner-operated day boat working out of Brighton Marina.
Working fixed nets she targets demersal species such as Dover Sole, Plaice, Brill, Turbot, Cod and Skate.
The second of the new builds, the Imogen Leigh is a state-of-the-art 12-metre catamaran. Built to a very high specification she has the arsenal to dependably deliver seasonal day-boat quality fish in order to satisfy consumer needs.
Like many vessels in the inshore fleet she has the ability to adapt to make the most of available local fisheries such as Whelks, Cuttlefish, Dover Sole, Skate, Cod and Plaice.
She is the younger sister to Imogen Leigh, and is built to the same high specification to pursue local seasonal fisheries.
Scarlett B is the first vessel in the fleet to be equipped with a purpose built on-board sea water tank system enabling her to store live shellfish aboard in order to ensure the catch is of the highest quality when landed to our fish market.
Mizpah II is a 7m inshore vessel working set nets from Shoreham Harbour. She fishes when the weather allows catching species such as Dover Sole, Plaice, Skate, Cuttlefish and Cod. The Sussex coast is truly a mixed fishery, and Mizpah II catches a wide variety of high-quality local day boat fish.
The latest addition to our fleet, Oliver Jack is a 10m multi-purpose catamaran. Like others in her class, she fishes with set nets for demersal species, and pots for crab, Lobster and Whelks; landing daily to bring the freshest fish and live shellfish to our market.
The owner/Skipper has a strong interest in fishing innovation, and as such Oliver Jack has started to uncover new opportunities.