Organisers, sponsors and key players celebrated the success of this year’s Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival this week by presenting £10,600 to their Festival charity, The Fishermen’s Mission.
The ninth Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival took place over the weekend of 9th & 10th July, attracting over 50,000 people with stallholders providing a mouth watering selection of tasty fish dishes, many of which used regional 
seafood, therefore supporting local fishing communities and fishermen.
Chris Hirst, Corporate Fund Raising Manager for the Fishermen’s Mission said: “£10,600 is a fantastic amount. This gets our Port Staff out helping the lonely, depressed and desperate folk who are either retired from fishing or who are still in the profession but struggling. Our work here in Weymouth is crucial to the fishing community as well as all along the South Coast where many fishing towns are suffering from the rising cost of living against a backdrop of tough fishing conditions. We help people from cradle to grave, and we are very grateful to the Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival for continuing to support the Fishermen’s Mission.”
The celebration evening also rewarded three worthy winners with a 2016 Sustainability Award. In line with the Festival’s objective of raising the quality of seafood sold at the event, trophies were awarded as follows: Dorset Shellfish – Gold, Shore to Door – Silver and Golden Scallops – Bronze.
With Pommery Champagne continuing as main sponsor for the foreseeable future, UK Director Sara Hicks said “for a ‘free to visit festival’, it is a pleasure and a great achievement to be able to support the Fishermen’s Mission and the work they do, and to also see a commitment to sustainability and use of local seafood.”
Plans for next year’s event 10th Anniversary have already started and provisional dates announced as 8th and 9th July 2017
