Mitch Tonks: Brexit’s blow to UK fishing and why Britain must eat its own catch

Mitch Tonks, the restaurateur behind the Rockfish brand, frames the current squeeze on UK seafood as both a market failure and a cultural blind spot. He argues that administrative barriers and changed maritime access since Brexit have made it harder to export and to defend domestic stocks, leaving British fishers exposed while foreign fleets continue to operate nearby. Tonks presses a simple consumer-level remedy: eat more of what is landed locally, including underrated species that rarely make headline menus. He highlights tinned and preserved seafood as affordable, flavour-rich options that let less-familiar fish reach everyday plates without elaborate technique. For chefs and operators, his aesthetic prescription is austerity — favour ingredients and straightforward cooking over gimmicky presentation and marathon tasting menus. On policy, he suggests short-term business relief through tax and labour-cost adjustments to create breathing space for investment and profitability. Sustainability and provenance are recurrent themes: Tonks urges diners to ask where seafood comes from and to prioritise responsible sourcing. He points to regional culinary influences — simple grills, cider bars and coastal cooking — as models for how British seafood could be celebrated. Practical consumer tips, such as embracing canned fish and exploring species like red mullet, gurnard and cuttlefish, are offered alongside higher-level industry critique. Tonks also signals the hospitality sector’s need for regulatory clarity and lower operating friction if it is to reinvest and expand. The interview stitches together grassroots culinary practice with macroeconomic consequences, suggesting that altering demand patterns at home could blunt some of the negative trade dynamics. Ultimately, he presents a case that economic and cultural shifts must happen together: policy can ease costs, but cultural preference must change for the sector to recover.