From Sea To The Table – Sustainable Hook and Cook Food Chapter
The European Sardine (Sardina pilchardus) is a highly nutritious and most important species of the sea fisheries. They are named after Sardinia, an Italian island and are caught all over the Adriatic sea all year round, with the highest peaks in the autumn-winter period.
Following our long fishing tradition in the Istrian archipelago as well as the highest European standards, our dear fishermen from the F/V Levan supply us with one of the most important and gratifying fish of the Adriatic sea.
Often undeservedly overlooked, sardines are prime members of the “superfood” group – something that our grandparents knew long before this term became popular.
This “superfood” group does not always need to be exotic and unavailable at the market. With sardines, it’s in our vicinity, organic and local, we live it every day, and it is available all year around.
Canned or Tinned Sardines, It Doesn’t Matter, As Long as They Are Tasty.
In 2019, we started to study the idea of producing our tinned/canned sardines with the help of MIRNA, one of the oldest fish factories in Croatia, dating back from 1877 in the city of Rovinj.
Together, we produced a limited edition of Hook and Cook Sardines in Olive Oil with freshly caught fish from our F/V Levan on July 20th 2020.
The story continues with the future product implementation of the Fishery Improvement Project (FIP) certificate by one of the world largest independent conservation organizations – WWF.
A branch called WWF Adria along with the fishing industry recognized the importance to launch FIP to achieve a sustainable small pelagic purse seine fishery in the Adriatic Sea.
The FIP certificate project is regulated on the EU level (STECF), regional level (GFCM) and by the Ministry of Agriculture in Croatia.
The main goal is to reduce fishing mortality and stock rebuilding of sardines in the Adriatic. Our F/V Levan, along with our sardines product, has been nominated as one of the leading role models in getting the FIP certificate in 2021.
The main focus is on the quality and the size of the fish, to develop a long term quality and sustainable fishing goal.
This is an excellent opportunity for adding a more quality value to the Hook and Cook Sardines as a commercial product on a bigger scale.
With FIP certificate, Hook and Cook Sardines caught by our F/V Levan would be the first significant competition in fishery certificate to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificate for western EU market.
Sardines Are Indeed Superfood
Sardines are most commonly consumed by human beings canned. They are rich in vitamins and minerals, especially vitamin B and D.
We aspire to share a bit of our philosophy and knowledge on this special occasion and say that one 100 g of canned sardines contain 50% of a recommended daily dose of Omega 3 fats and 25 grams of protein!
Regular consumption of these nutrients may reduce the occurrence of cardiovascular and Alzheimer’s disease.* (Gómez-Pinilla, Fernando (1 July 2008). “Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function” , Source: Wikipedia).
There is another significant advantage in eating sardines. Since they are at the bottom of the seafood chain, their mercury content is very low because they eat only plankton as a food source.
We are not surprised that sardines are beginning to be a more popular and demanding food amongst people with a tight schedule and packed (like sardines) workflow. 🙂
