A Welsh community-led organisation, Câr-y-Môr, is transforming perceptions of what is possible in terms of sustainability when farming seafood for our tables.
Words Alex Fisher
It almost sounds too good to be true. A fish and shellfish supplier which improves biodiversity in our seas, rather than depleting them. A food producer structured not just to benefit the environment, but the whole community, weaving together fishermen and farmers, schoolchildren and celebrated chefs into a hub of regenerative farming and responsible fishing, which not only restores the health of our seas and soil, but also that of the people who can then eat better-quality food.
Really? Sounds like a fantasy, and yet, incredibly, this is exactly what Câr-y-Môr is doing.
What started out with a small group of environmentally minded people interested in better food production has grown into an organisation with over 500 members, raised more than £3m in funding, and employs around 20 local people as partner-employees.
‘Initially, the aim was to improve biodiversity in the sea,’ says Owen Haines, one of the founding members. ‘Over the years, humans have damaged marine ecosystems, and we need to change that. To begin with, it was about multi-species farming to help restore the sea. Over time, that evolved into seeing the land and sea as one ecosystem, because everything that happens on land ends up in the sea. Our goal now is to produce sustainable, healthy food from both land and sea.’
MICHELIN-STARRED RESTAURANTS
The organisation’s sea farms currently produce a range of shellfish and seaweeds that have supplied nearly a dozen Michelin-starred restaurants from south Wales to London, fed the local community and, in the case of seaweed, offered farmers an environmentally friendly soil fertiliser. ‘On our sea farms, we produce shellfish such as native oysters, mussels, and scallops, along with seaweed,’ says Owen, who is from Newport, Gwent, and previously worked in sustainable trout farming. ‘We also farm kelps, seeding a couple of varieties while letting others settle naturally. The mussels and much of the seaweed naturally settle on the farm structures under the water.
‘We supply restaurants, hotels, and shops across Cardiff, Swansea, Pembrokeshire, and beyond, along with some London restaurants, but usually, there’s a Welsh connection. For example, we supply Tomos Parry’s Super 8 restaurants. He’s originally from Anglesey and is keen to support sustainable Welsh businesses. It’s all still pretty small-scale, really. We’re currently turning over about half a million pounds a year.’
SPREADING THE NET
As well as growing its own food, Câr-y-Môr collaborates with other Welsh food producers, with the aim of widening and supporting its community. ‘We buy from cockle gatherers, local day boat fishermen who catch crab, lobster, prawns, bass, and mackerel, as well as harvesting mussels and seaweed from our farms. We also buy from a north Wales oyster farm. Everything is caught, grown, or gathered sustainably, using the incredible, healthy food from our beautiful coast,’ explains Owen.
‘We work with day boat fishermen – pot fishermen, creel fishermen, and rod-and-line fishers for bass. The crucial thing for us, as a community business, is bringing people together. That’s where we see the future. We’re not about blaming those who run trawlers or use intensive farming methods. Criticism won’t solve our problems. Instead, we ask: how can we do this sustainably? How can we create livelihoods, produce sustainable food, and improve how we live? And that is a question I ask myself also. It’s about working together, not throwing stones. We all have things we could do better. We all have aspects of our lifestyle that are more or less sustainable than others. The point here is to work together, collectively, for a better future.’
COMMUNITY BENEFIT SOCIETIES
The group draws on traditional knowledge, such as using seaweed to enrich soil, while developing new approaches to sustainable seafood and seaweed farming. Its work is guided by the Welsh principle of cynefin – a sense of belonging to a place – and aims to create long-term social and environmental value. To this end, instead of forming a traditional company, the founders chose to become a Community Benefit Society (CBS) in 2019. It is owned by its members, and all profits are reinvested into the community.
‘When we started, I knew nothing about Community Benefit Societies. For the first few years, I wished I’d never heard of it – very few people, even in government organisations, understood it,’ explains Owen. ‘But we were guided to it when we were asked: who do you want to benefit, and who should own the business?
‘We wanted it to be completely community-owned and to operate solely to benefit society and the environment for the long term. That’s why we chose the Community Benefit Society model – and now, I’m delighted we did.
There are two key benefits. First, it’s the purest form of community business. There’s no majority shareholder, no one who can quietly walk away with a big payout if it ends. Everything stays within the community.
‘Second, it attracts like-minded people who understand that setting up a business takes real time and commitment – not just a social media post.
It’s a long-term, generational project.
‘It also unlocks funding – not only from grants and organisations, but from private individuals who believe in what we’re doing.
‘Anyone across the UK can set up a Community Benefit Society. It’s not unique to Wales. But because it’s still relatively rare, it does take time to find the right advice and understand the process properly. It’s worth it, though – it allows communities everywhere to own and benefit from projects like ours.’
LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
‘The future is about growing carefully, steadily, and making sure that we stay true to our core purpose,’ says Owen. ‘We want to expand farming on both land and sea sustainably, create more livelihoods, and continue improving biodiversity. It’s not about chasing huge profits or scaling up fast. It’s about creating a resilient, community-owned food system that can last for generations.’
The society has currently completed the building of a large new barn on its land, which it hopes will transform the business and help it to expand its educational programmes with local schools. As a CBS, it can raise funding through a mix of grants, private investment, and community share offers.
‘Anyone can buy shares – not to make a personal profit, but to invest in something that benefits society and the environment,’ says Owen. ‘Grants and public funding help with specific projects, but the real backbone is the community itself, believing in and supporting what we’re doing.’
‘Right now, we have a crowdfunding campaign running where people can become members by buying shares in the society. It’s a way to directly support what we’re doing – restoring biodiversity, creating sustainable food, and building a better relationship between people, land, and sea. Anyone can join. You just have to believe in the idea that we can all be part of positive change.’
If you want to find out more about Câr-y-Môr and its crowdfunding campaign, visit carymor.wales.
