Last updated: 6 July, 2024 @ 08:20
Dreaming of the scent of sizzling sardines gently lifting up off a white-hot barbecue into the still air of a hot summer’s evening? Then dream no more seafood-loving chums, Cornish sardine season is underway!
The start of the Cornish sardine season, which normally begins mid-to-late July, is one of the most eagerly awaited events in the seafood calendar.
Start of the sardine season
Rumours began circulating earlier this week that some of the Cornish sardine vessels were out scouting for sardines in Mount’s Bay, Cornwall.
Now, several fishmongers have confirmed on Instagram and X, that the first deliveries of new season Cornish sardines were expected on Thursday, 4 July.
MSC-certified sardine fishery
Last year, as reported by the highly-esteemed commercial fishing industry newspaper Fishing News, the sardine fleet didn’t begin their exploratory trips into Mount’s Bay until mid-July, meaning the new season is underway some two weeks earlier.
The MSC-certified (Marine Stewardship Council) Cornwall sardine fishery is operated by the Cornish Sardine Management Association, a group of fishermen and processors which came together in 2004 to ‘agree common standards between themselves for catching, processing and marketing Cornish sardines’.
This short article by the MSC tells the story of the fishery, and is well worth a quick read.
Sardines: easy to prepare, easy to cook
Sardines are a fantastic fish. Not only are they good for you – and as the NHS says, high in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids – but they’re also easy to prepare, and even easier to cook.
In fact, as the Fish Face Seafood Blog guide to sardines notes, if you’re a true aficionado you won’t even bother with the gutting bit (that makes us not true aficionados then!)
Portuguese-style grilled sardines
Sardines can be cooked in a host of delicious ways, but our favourite method is to barbecue them whole over hot coals – watching as the silver skin of the fish becomes dressed with growing dark caramel-coloured patches of charred, crispy delightfulness!.
If you haven’t a barbecue to hand, then our Portuguese-style grilled sardines with homemade mayonnaise is the next best thing.
Enjoy!