Colin Stephen, skipper of the Harvest Hope, features in the book which is a collection of sustainable seafood recipes from chefs around the world, with each of their recipes shot by renowned food photographer David Loftus.

The Ocean Cookbook 2023, now in its third edition, aims to raise awareness of sustainable seafood at a time of year when many people are looking for healthy, affordable and sustainable options as part of their New Year’s resolutions.

This year’s UK recipe is made with coley, a more affordable white fish alternative to cod, which is caught by the Scottish fishing fleet, alongside other sustainable species like haddock, hake and plaice.

Colin Stephen fishes out of Peterhead. (photo credit Nigel Millard).

Coley, also known as saithe, has been certified as sustainable to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard, the gold standard of sustainability for seafood, since 2013. The blue MSC ecolabel is the world’s most recognised ecolabel for sustainable seafood.

Fisherman Colin, who started fishing straight from school and fishes out of Peterhead, says the first three months of the year are the best for catching coley as this is when they tend to be found in big shoals.

“Sustainable fishing is paramount,” he says.

“Anyone with a sensible head on the shoulder has to do what is sustainable for the stock.

Chef James Strawbridge (photo credit David Loftus)

“It’s your future you are working with and gambling with – why jeopardise it? You have to think about the long term.”

All of the digital cookbook recipes are created using seafood from MSC certified fisheries, and feature species like hake, tuna, mussels and haddock. The fishermen and women who caught the seafood star in the cookbook alongside the chefs, showing the strong connection between catcher and creator.

The UK recipe – steamed coley with winter vegetables - was created by Cornish chef James Strawbridge, who is a fan of Scottish seafood. James visited Shetland to create a series of recipes using crab and scallops for the MSC’s Sustainable Seafood Week last year, where he also experimented with cooking coley.

He said: “MSC coley, aka saithe, is a great sustainable choice for white fish."

Peterhead fisherman features in latest edition of cookbook