A Cumbrian fishing business has been featured in an award-winning cookbook.
Amy Farish and her partner Jack – who own Walney Island’s A&J Fresh Fish Ltd – were approached by author Jenny Jefferies and asked for one of their recipes to be featured in her newest book For the Love of the Sea II.
The book celebrates the diversity of the British seafood community and shares dishes from fishermen from across the country, including Amy and Luke’s traditional style potted crab in butter recipe.
It is the second book of its kind and has been endorsed by Michelin starred chef Nathan Outlaw, with the first winning the Guild of Food Writers Award for Best Self Published Cook Book 2022.
The duo provide local sustainably caught lobsters, crab and wet fish for Barrow and Walney Island and do all their fishing off a seven metre catamaran around the coastline.
Amy said: “It was exciting, we’ve never been approached to do something like it before and I was a bit nervous when the photographer came over to take pictures of us and the recipe but it was really nice to be involved and share our story.
“Our recipe potted crab is a mixture of brown and white crab meat with butter, herbs and spices. We always keep a little bit of crab for ourselves when we get it because it’s amazing after a hard days fishing.
“Fishing is everything to me and my boyfriend. I lost my dad in June 2020 and he used to take me fishing when I was younger and that’s why we wanted to go for it and give it our all. It has been a huge thing for us to take on, but it is so rewarding.
“People are so happy when we deliver the fish because it’s caught locally just off Walney Island and that’s a real draw as people often don’t know what fish and shellfish we actually have off shore.”
Amy added that her and Jack made the leap to fishing and running the business full time after working for BAE Systems for 15 years.
She said: “I’ve always loved fishing and I’m a keen sea angler, so I’ve always had that love for the commercial fishing industry.
“Me and Jack have been boating for 10 years for leisure and we purchased our commercial fishing boat at the end of 2021. We were just going to land it at Fleetwood like everyone else but we decided to set up a Facebook page and set up a business and it just really took off.”
Amy and Jack also recently featured in a sea safety campaign called Home and Dry, created by the Fishing Industry Safety Group.
The campaign video the pair starred in features skippers from all over the UK and the aspects of home life they miss while out at sea, as well as the safety precautions they take to make sure they return home at the end of the day.
It aims to share vital information and guidance on fishing safety for those who own or work on a commercial fishing vessel to help crew get back to loved ones home and dry.
Amy said: “It was quite an important thing for me to do as my mam’s only got me now and I’m an only child, so getting home safe to her is a big important thing for me.
“It’s all about wearing your life jackets and having your wits about you, it’s a dangerous job and we have been out in some bad weather in the past.
“They filmed us for two days on the boat in February and I was proud they asked me and privileged to be part of it. It’s really quite touching actually.”
In the future, the duo are aiming to offer shellfish further afield and are currently looking into doing an overnight courier service to widen their customer reach in Cumbria.
Amy added: “We have our own shellfish tanks to keep lobsters in when we get back so they stay in top condition and we’d like to get a couple more shellfish tanks down the line so we can offer it in bigger quantities further afield.”
