Award winning Plymouth seafood restaurant Rockfish has donated a further £8,000 to the neighbouring National Marine Aquarium in a bid to help the attraction survive another lengthy closure.
This brings the total donated by celebrity chef Mitch Tonks’ Rockfish to £23,000 in the past year despite the hospitality industry being badly hit by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The funds were raised by Rockfish during the six months prior to its enforced lockdown closure, and come from an optional £1 table donation from customers.
These come at a crucial time for the NMA, at Sutton Harbour, which relies on visitors to cover its operating costs, and keep its animals fed, which is upwards of £5,000 each month.
But due to the current Covid-19 pandemic it has been forced to remain closed from late December as the country was pitched into its third lockdown.
Mr Tonks, Rockfish owner, said: “The aquarium is an iconic part of the Plymouth landscape who do such important work in the community and it is wonderful that we can do something to make a difference, especially during this incredibly challenging year for ourselves and for the aquarium.
“We want to come out of this alongside our neighbour, the NMA, thriving so it feels particularly important to look out for each other.”
Roger Maslin, NMA chief executive, said: “We are delighted to receive another generous donation from Rockfish and their customers. We share many of Rockfish’s values when it comes to helping preserve the marine environment and their support means we can continue in our vision of creating a healthier Ocean for all.
“One of the biggest challenges that face aquaria at this time, is the ongoing costs of feeding and maintaining the fish and animals.
“Even when closed to the public, the cost of operating the largest Aquarium in the UK remains up to £10,000 a day.
“This fantastic donation means we can continue to care for our animals, as well as continue our free education lessons for home schoolers and classes across the UK”.
Leader of Plymouth City Council Tudor Evans said, “How wonderful to see two Plymouth institutions working together to help each other out during this incredibly difficult time.
“The customers and teams at Rockfish, most of whom are Plymouth locals, are looking out for their neighbours, something that is reflected in many areas of our city. This is why we have such a good community here and long may it continue.”
Despite the NMA’s closure the Ocean Conservation Trust, which runs the aquarium, are continuing with vital education and conservation work; including weekly ocean school lessons on YouTube and cultivating habitats in a lab to replant in the ocean.
In July 2020, Mr Tonks’ chain of South Coast restaurants was secured with a loan of more than £1million after losing all revenue during the fist coronavirus lockdown.
The Exeter-headquartered Rockfish Group, which has nine seafood restaurants in total and even counts Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a patron, secured a “seven-figure” finance package from HSBC under the Government’s Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS).
The Rockfish Group used the funding as working capital, enabling changes to be made to the restaurants to adhere to Government guidelines, employing additional members of staff for dedicated anti-coronavirus roles and to support the business through a lower period of revenue.
It reopened when lockdown restrictions were lifted but since December 31, and the imposition of a third lockdown on the hospitality industry all its restaurants closed until the Government decides it is safe to reopen again. To keep staff safe the takeaways also closed, Rockfish said, even though they could have stayed open under the latest restrictons.
In Brixham, the firm’s retail fish market remains open so people can order online to collect fresh seafood to take home and cook. It is open with the latest landings and people can click and collect later that day or come in and buy. Meanwhile, Rockfish Delivered seafood experience boxes have been available from mid January with fresh seafood meal ingredients and recipes delivered to homes across UK mainland. They can be ordered now for delivery on a chosen Friday throughout February.
