One of the UK’s oldest family-run fishing businesses will be showcased in the Marine Stewardship Council’s (MSC) Sustainable Seafood September 2024 campaign.

By highlighting their benefits to both people and the environment, the MSC hopes to introduce a whole new generation to cockles from Leigh-on-Sea. The campaign will include cockle recipes, information about the fishery and its sustainability successes, as well as interviews with the fishermen themselves.

The Osborne family has been catching cockles in this corner of Essex since the 1880s, and fifth generation business owner Graham Osborne sees a prosperous future for this tiny shellfish that packs both a nutritional and sustainability punch.

“I see the cockle industry thriving for a good few years to come so long as it continues to be run as it is today,” says Graham. “We’ve been running it for 150 years so we must be doing something right.”

As part of the Thames Estuary cockle fishery, it achieved MSC certification in 2019, making it the sixth MSC certified cockle fishery in the North Atlantic, along with Poole Harbour and the Dee and Burry Estuary fisheries in the UK.

The Osborne’s vessel, the Mary Amelia, is able to catch its quota of 12 tonnes a day, twice a week during the 15-week season, which this year started at the end of June.

The limited season and minimum size restrictions ensure the cockles reach maturity while also protecting the needs of wildlife on the estuary, like wading birds.

Graham Osborne says: “Having the MSC certification means we have the stamp of sustainability. It means you know where everything comes from, you know the fishery works and that there will be cockles there next year and the year after that.”

Day to day regulation of the fishery is managed by Kent & Essex Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority.

Cockles continue to play an integral part in the history and heritage of Leigh-on-Sea. As well as operating the Mary Amelia, Graham and his cousin Andrew Lawrence run a café,  factories and two fishmongers, one of which is also home to a seafood school used to educate people about the culture of cockles and seafood.

Lisa Bennett, Senior Fisheries Outreach Manager, said: “We’re really excited to be championing such a well-managed fishery that’s an excellent example of how fishing can thrive economically and environmentally. Cockles are synonymous with Leigh-on-Sea and an integral, if perhaps sometimes under-appreciated, part of traditional British seaside seafood cuisine. We hope by showcasing this outstanding fishery in Sustainable Seafood September it will become even better known and we’ll introduce a whole new generation to the incredibly sustainable cockle.”

The campaign will draw attention to bivalves’ proven human and planetary health benefits. Cockles have a greenhouse gas footprint 30 times lower than beef, and lower even than some arable crops, according to Dr David Willer, Research Fellow in Department of Zoology at University of Cambridge.

Nichola Ludlam-Raine, dietician and author of the recently published ‘How not to Eat Ultra-Processed’, attributes a vast range of human health benefits to cockles, including a boost to cognitive function and the immune system and a reduction in blood pressure and inflammation.

Sustainable Seafood September is a month-long celebration of sustainably caught seafood. In previous years, the MSC has featured Cornish sardines and Cornish hake, Shetland mussels and Shetland scallop and brown crab.

More information about the campaign can be found here.