get started
get Started
Fish With A Story is currently available in selected regions of South Africa:
Cape Town & surrounds, including the Cape Winelands:
For chefs, home consumers & retailers
Johannesburg & surrounds:
For chefs & retailers
JUMP TO SECTION: GET STARTED • PURCHASING • DELIVERY • GENERAL FAQS
GETTING STARTED
Fish With A Story is currently available in selected regions of South Africa for chefs, home consumers & retailers:
Cape Town & surrounds, including winelands: For chefs, home consumers & retailers
Johannesburg & surrounds: For chefs & retailers
Download the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE app via Google Play or the App Store and register via 'Need an account?' on the home screen of the app.
Once you’ve submitted the registration form, our team will review and activate your registration. You will then receive a Welcome email, after which you will be able to successfully login to ABALOBI MARKETPLACE via the app.
Please allow up to 24 hours for registration to be approved.
Please ensure your delivery address falls within our current delivery areas. If it does, and and your registration has not been approved – or you did not receive the welcome email – please send a support query by tapping on the 'chat to us' icon on the bottom-right corner of your screen.
Please allow reasonable time for us to process your registration.
If your address falls outside our current delivery areas, please still register your interest to be added to our waiting list for when we expand our services.
PURCHASING FISH WITH A STORY
The ABALOBI MARKETPLACE is a digital window into the various fishing communities who supply Fish With A Story directly to consumers. The availability of fresh Fish With A Story is entirely dependent on weather and fishing conditions. The fishers ensure only the freshest Fish With A Story is available on the app &ndash.
Fresh Catch of the Day is therefore typically available three times per week and is announced via the app. Enable push notifications to receive an alert that the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE is open for orders.
Orders are on a first-come-first-serve basis.
Orders open the Day before Delivery and close at 09h00 on the Morning of Delivery. We make Catch of the Day available right as the fish is landed and before it arrives at our distribution facility in Cape Town. All orders are collated and batched for delivery on the Morning of Delivery.
Catch of the Day is available on a first-come-first-serve basis. Availability is reflected in real-time in the app. Delivery areas may differ for each Catch of the Day.
Due to the popularity of Fish With A Story, we recommend you enable push notifications and open the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE app to order as soon as you receive the alert for Catch of the Day.
Please see When can I order Fish With A Story?
When you place your order of Fish With A Story, we don’t yet know the final cost of your order as the fish still needs to be weighed. See How is the final weight of my order decided?
We can only create your invoice once our team has selected fish that most closely matches your requested order weight. This is done on the Morning of Delivery.
Once you have received a notification that your order is processed, login to the app. Under the My Orders section click the Pay button. You will be directed to a page where you will be able to pay via SnapScan or PayFast (credit card or EFT).
Home consumers are requested to process payment prior to delivery.
Restaurant chefs are request to process payment within 24 hours of delivery.
Fish With A Story is supplied by small-scale fishers directly to consumers. ABALOBI does not apply a markup on fish sold through the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE. See: Is ABALOBI a fish supplier?
The final payment is detailed in full on your invoice and is broken down as follows:
- The price per kilogram listed for Catch of the Day is dependent on the species ordered. The selling price per kilogram goes directly to the fisher concerned. This is listed on your invoice as 'Goes to fisher', guaranteeing full transparency and that the fisher is paid a fair price for their catch.
- This price is adjusted to include a logistics fee which contributes towards maintaining effective cold chain management, as well as the logistics of getting your fish from small-scale fishing communities to Cape Town.
- The Home Delivery surcharge covers the cost of getting a premium quality product safely from our Cape Town facility to your door, including the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) required to ensure the health and safety of our team, and your safety in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- VAT is added to all orders.
A list of seasonally available species of Fish With A Story and the price per kilogram is available in-app and updated regularly.
Our team will strive to select Fish With A Story that most closely matches your requested order weight.
However, fish come in all shapes and sizes, and we are sometimes limited by the size of the fish landed. Obtaining an exact weight match is more difficult for bigger species of fish (for example, Yellowtail, which can be anywhere from 2–6 kg in size).
We only create your invoice once the exact final weight is determined.
Fish With A Story is supplied whole, scaled and gutted. Retaining fish in its whole state ensures freshness, reduces handling, and prevents food wastage.
Explore our recipes section for zero-wastage inspiration and to make the most of every last inch of your whole Fish With A Story. You can use the head and bones to make delicious fish stock, or simply cook the fish whole. Watch How to fillet fish like a pro in 3 minutes flat.
Vacuum-sealing: For your convenience, orders totalling 5 kg or more in weight will have half the order vacuum-sealed – perfect for locking in freshness and suitable for freezing. Vacuum-sealing will be limited to plate-sized fish only.
DELIVERY
Cape Town and surrounds, including the Cape winelands and Overberg coastal region: Cape Town Central, Atlantic Seaboard, Hout Bay, Southern Suburbs including Athlone and Pinelands, Southern Peninsula (Deep South), Northern Suburbs, Belville, Durbanville, Somerset West, Stellenbosch, Franschhoek, Paarl and the Overberg coastal region.
Johannesburg & surrounds: Restaurants & Retailers only. Please contact us.
Area not listed? Please contact us.
Delivery is made between 11h00 and 18h00 on delivery days, the day after Catch of the Day is announced and once payment is received – see When and how do I pay for my order of Fish With A Story?
On the Day of Delivery, once the delivery driver has collected your order, you will be notified with an SMS informing you that collection has happened and the driver is on the road. You will have a handy link that enables you to track your driver and know where your order is in the queue.
Please contact us via WhatsApp if you have a preferred delivery time; or will no longer going to be available for delivery at your specified premises.
Contactless delivery process:
A member of our delivery team will arrive at your premises, wearing a mask, gloves and other safety gear. This driver will notify you when s/he has arrived. The driver will sterilise the handles and lid of the cooler box that contains your fish/coastal products and place it at your door, then retreat to a safe distance of at least 3 metres away. You will need to take the fish out of the cooler box and place it in your own container. The driver will take a photo as proof of delivery. It is important to note that these precautions are necessary during this time of COVID-19. Please respect the health and safety of our delivery team and follow their prompts.
For your convenience, orders totalling 5 kg or more in weight will have half the order vacuum-sealed – perfect for locking in freshness and suitable for freezing. Vacuum-sealing will be limited to plate-sized fish only.
We recommend cooking your fresh Fish With A Story as soon as possible to take full advantage of the succulent flavours and texture; however, your fish will retain its premium quality in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours after delivery.
If you plan to freeze your fish, please do so as soon as you receive it and not after keeping it in your refrigerator for 48 hours, as this will significantly impact the quality of the fish during the freezing process. To defrost: Ideally take your fish out the night before and place it in a container in the fridge to allow for a controlled, slow defrost. It is not advisable to leave fish out in the sun to defrost or to submerge it in warm/hot water. If leaving your fish overnight in the fridge is not an option, then rather submerge the fish in cold water to defrost, or as a last resort, use the defrost function on your microwave.
See our recipes section for inspiration and watch How to fillet fish like a pro in 3 minutes flat! Don't forget to take a snap of our fish dish and tag us on social media using the hashtag #fishwithastory ...
Simply scan the QR code! This code can be found in your invoice or in-app – or if you're dining out, ask the participating restaurant to supply the QR code.
GENERAL FAQS
ABALOBI is a fisher-driven, global social enterprise seeking to uplift small-scale fishing communities through the joint development of Technology For Good.
Our mobile app suite and programmes include an electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability platform and a marketplace for Fish With a Story. We operate the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE with fishers and their partner organisations to achieve transparent, equitable and responsible supply chains.
ABALOBI is therefore not a fish supplier! We're a digital match-maker between consumers and small-scale fishers ...
ABALOBI is committed to full traceability as well as transparency – recognition of fishers in the value chain is imperative. Traceability is realised through the unique QR code that you receive with each delivery which gives you the full Story behind the delivery: the who, what, where, when and how. Transparency is realised in clearly and openly communicating what the consumer is paying for. ABALOBI does not apply a markup on any fish sold through its MARKETPLACE. The full selling price of the fish goes directly to the fisher concerned; the logistics fee component contributes towards maintaining effective cold chain management, as well as the logistics of getting your fish from small-scale fishing communities to Cape Town.
Fish With A Story is much more than just a premium quality seafood product. It is a movement that promotes fair prices for small-scale fishers, traceable supply chains, low-impact and sustainable catch methods, 'eating with the ecosystem' and supporting local food systems and livelihoods. Fish With A Story provides a framework for fishers and patrons alike to creatively steward marine resources. It is about eating for change.
Fish With A Story is fully traceable. This means the consumer can trace the fish back to who caught it, where, when and how it was caught – it has a social and ecological Story from hook to cook! By scanning the QR code accompanying your order, you can find out the full Story behind your Fish With A Story. You can even message the fisher who caught it and read their Story!
Read Go Fish – The COVID-19 edition for an explanation of how Fish With A Story via the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE supports livelihoods, food security and a community-supported fishery (CSF) model within coastal fishing communities. You can also donate to this initiative via the public benefit arm of ABALOBI.
Read more about the broader ABALOBI programme of work here: www.abalobi.org
Fish With A Story is powered by ABALOBI – a South African-based, global social enterprise seeking to empower small-scale fishing communities through the joint development of Technology For Good.
