There is a lot in a name. Click here to find out more about our Sustainablity policies and ongoing work
ABOUT SSI
We believe in knowing where our fish comes from so we can enjoy it with confidence and share this first-hand knowledge with our customers. We source our seafood from a close network of purveyors and fishermen, using world-class standards to help ensure transparency at every step, from the waters the fish are harvested in, the catch method, down to the boat and skippers.
THE WORLD OF SSI
Sustainable Seafood Ireland Ltd was first set up in 2013 by owner Niall Sabongi. Niall is a chef / restaurant owner and SSI was first set up to supply his growing restaurant business. The reason it was set up was that as a predominantly seafood Chef, Niall wanted better a better understanding of where his seafood came from and if it was truly sustainable. Along with this Niall wanted quality, variety of species, access to fish and shellfish that often only gets exported.
Having the opportunity to build direct links to the fishers and boats was big driving force in setting up SSI.
In late 2014 SSI was approached by a number of other restaurants and chef friends in the business that had heard about the quality and variety and wanted the same.
From there, SSI began selling to other like-minded chefs and restaurants under the same ethos and beliefs.
What’s in a name? we chose the name ‘Sustainable Seafood Ireland’ as sustainability is our core value. Picking such a name, was also a statement for our hope for the future and something to always be building towards.
We focus primarily on domestic and wild caught seafood, offering a wide variety of both finfish and shellfish as well as smoked and cured items like smoked fish, gravlax, bottarga, and forgotten salted Irish items such as the “washboard ” We carry everything from Dublin Bay Ray, Cod, Hake, Turbot, Dublin Bay Prawns, line-caught Pollock and Plaice to name but a few as well as little known underutilized and or bycatch species like Megrim, Witches, gaper Clams and many more. When in season we will also carry more items like Live Irish Scallops in the shell, Sea Urchins, Razor Clams, Spiny Lobster, Spider Crabs and huge selection of hand-foraged seaweeds.
Our Core Values : Transparency & Traceability
We believe in knowing where our fish comes from so we can enjoy it with confidence and share this first-hand knowledge with our customers. We source our seafood from a close network of purveyors and fishermen, using world-class standards to ensure transparency at every step, from the waters the fish are harvested in, the catch method, down to the boat and skippers.
We source our fish from all over Ireland, Scotland and UK. We are proud to have links in all over the British Isles, especially our links to Cornwall, where we have access to super line caught species such as Bass and Sea bream. Our main source is the East Coast of Ireland, where we work with small independent boats and larger processors and Co-ops. We are also lucky enough to also work with great small day boats in Donegal, Sligo, Arranmore and many more locations. We are always looking for new great boats to work with.
All non-native fish is sourced from 2-3 highly reputable companies based here in Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Scotland and Cornwall.
We also stock a large amount of shellfish, Lobster, Crab, Oysters, live Langoustines, live Shrimp, Razor Clams, Spiny Lobster, Spider Crab, Clams, Cockles, Scallops, Urchin, Abalone, Sea Cucumbers to name but a few. We source all this directly from boats and farms all around the Island. We currently carry the largest selection of Irish Oysters under one roof.
We only stock fish that is in season, utilise as much as possible from every animal and encourage the use of these beautiful off-cuts in the many fantastic restaurants we supply Nationwide. We aim to buy as much as possible from small independent boats, we don’t use any fish stocks that are threatened.
Almost all of the fish we sell is brought into our market whole and is broken down and filleted each morning by our expert fishmongers. Our Seafood offerings change daily, based upon several factors including, but not limited to, weather and fishing conditions, spawning seasons, gear restrictions, time and area closures, and harvest limits put in place by fishery managers.
