“Peix de llotja”, translated literally as “fish from the auction”, has brought local fishing organizations together to promote their production to local restaurants by developing a brand that

awards stars to restaurants that commit to buying their fish directly from their local auction.

In Spain, the auction is the first point of sale for all fish and most buyers in the Ebro Delta auctions purchase in mass before selling on to clients such as supermarkets and fish mongers. Restaurants also tend to depend on wholesalers, prioritising price rather than whether fish is sourced locally. In order to improve sale prices of local fish and help make sustainable, local fishing pay, the Association of Fishing Guilds from the Ebro Delta, coordinated an initiative to increase the consumption of fresh, local fish in the area’s restaurants. The idea was to encourage restaurants to buy directly from the local auction of each guild while putting in place a certification system to guarantee the origin of local fish. The association of guilds worked closely with restaurants, tourist operators and the FLAG to diversify their buyer base and take advantage of increasing tourism to promote the area’s fisheries products. The project involved outreach work to promote the concept of a brand that promoted certified, fresh fish from the local auction as well as identifying restaurants that would be interested in benefiting from this

branding. Promotional material, including a brand logo, flyers and plaque, was designed and agreement signed with a number of restaurants in which they undertook to purchase a certain quantity of local fish per year. Depending on how much they buy, restaurants are awarded one, two or three stars, evoking the Michelin starred restaurants. A website was also designed to promote the scheme and local fish species, and a recipe book of typical fish dishes from each participating restaurant is being produced for distribution in the restaurants and online. The project promoter has also been active in attending gastronomy fairs to promote the “fish from the auction” brand.