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Fish With A Story is currently available to Chefs, Home Cooks, Retailers & Food Security Initiatives in selected regions of the Western Cape, as well as all main centres of South Africa .
- Cape Town and surrounds (Businesses and Home Cooks) — delivery Monday to Friday (5 days a week)
- Winelands (Businesses and Home Cooks) — delivery Monday | Wednesday | Friday (3 days a week)
- Hermanus and Stanford (Businesses and Home Cooks) — delivery once per week (day varies each week)
- West Coast (Businesses only) — delivery Monday to Friday (5 days a week)
- Main Centres: Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Durban, East London and Gqeberha — orders are dispatched once a week on Mondays and take 2-3 days to deliver
You can shop online to purchase products from our Deli Convenience Range and Coastal Pantry.
To purchase fresh, whole Catch of the Day:
- Download the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE app via Google Play or App Store.
- Tap Register to Buy on the home screen of the app – please allow up to 24 hours for us to process your registration.
Once you’ve downloaded the app and registered, please allow up to 24 hours for our team to review and process your registration.
Once your registration is approved, you will receive a Welcome email and will be able to login to the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE app and begin ordering. For approval, please ensure your delivery address falls within our current delivery areas.
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 to your area.
Problem with your registration? Contact us via email or chat.
Reset your password in app: tap Forgot password on the home screen and follow the prompts.
Reset your password in our online shop: tap on the Profile Icon > Account Details on the homepage and enter your new password, or tap Lost your password? on the login screen and follow the prompts.
ORDERING FISH WITH A STORY
Small-scale fishers offer the following Fish With A Story products on the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE:
- Whole, fresh, scaled and gutted Catch of the Day* – a diverse range of local fish species
- Convenience Deli Range – filleted and portioned fish, vacuum-sealed and blast frozen for lasting freshness
- Traditional Coastal Pantry products produced by women in small-scale fishing communities.
* available in app only
The ABALOBI MARKETPLACE is a digital window into fishing communities who supply Fish With A Story directly to consumers.
- Catch of the Day (whole, fresh, scaled and gutted fish) – availability is seasonal and dependent on fishing conditions. Fresh catch is typically available three to five times per week in app only. Enable Push Notifications to stay updated, as orders are first come first serve.
- Convenience Deli Product Range (filleted, vacuum-sealed and blast frozen fish) – shop online or in app.
- Coastal Pantry Products produced by women in small-scale fishing communities – shop online.
If there is no fish available, the MARKETPLACE remains closed.
Placing an order in our online shop: we accept all major credit cards, SnapScan and EFT payment methods.
When placing an order in app, you are not yet able to make payment upon check-out. Your invoice is created once we have processed your order and selected fish that most closely matches your requested order weight. (See: How is the final weight of my order decided?)
- Once your order has been processed, you will receive an in-app notification to make payment via the app:
- Navigate to Current Orders> click the Pay button. You will be able to pay via SnapScan or PayFast (credit card or instant EFT).
- Home Cooks are required to make payment before receiving their delivery. Establishments are required to make payment within 48 hours of delivery or according to pre-arranged credit terms. For more information about applying for credit, please contact us.
Fish With A Story is supplied directly to consumers by small-scale fishers via a fair and transparent digital MARKETPLACE powered by ABALOBI technology. (See: Is ABALOBI a fish supplier?)
When ordering Deli, Pantry or Eco-Merchandise products from our online shop, all prices inclusive of VAT are indicated. A delivery fee applies and is calculated upon checkout.
When ordering fresh, whole Fish With A Story in app, the price per kilogram is dependent on the species ordered. The consumer is able to see the transparent cost broken down as follows:
- Fisher Gets is the direct payment to skippers and their crew, ensuring a fair price is received for their catch.
- Community Contribution creates meaningful employment opportunities for community drivers, fisherwomen-led quality control and effective cold chain processes. With conventional seafood retailers, these community roles are left unremunerated or redundant, as buyers process the catch elsewhere. Our model focuses on preserving and expanding employment opportunities in communities in need.
- ABALOBI Delivery Fee gets your order from our Cape Town hub to you.
- VAT is added to all orders.
We endeavour to fulfil your order accurately; however, fish differ in size so there may be a variance in ordered versus actual weight. Should there be a large discrepancy, we will contact you.
DELIVERY OF YOUR ORDER
We deliver to your door between 10h00 and 17h00 on delivery days (specified in our online shop and in app upon ordering). Should your delivery be running late, you will be contacted. Your Fish With A Story products will be delivered on ice in a cooler box. Cooler boxes remain the property of ABALOBI – please offload your order and return the cooler box to the delivery driver.
Delivery frequency:
- Cape Town and surrounds — five days per week
- Winelands — twice per week
- Hermanus and Stanford — once per week
- West Coast — once per week
- Cedarberg — once per week
- Main centres — once per week
Fresh Catch of the Day: We recommend cooking your fresh Fish With A Story as soon as possible to take full advantage of the succulent flavours and texture. Your fish will retain its premium quality in the refrigerator for at least 48 hours after delivery. If you plan to freeze your order, it is best to do so on the same day of delivery or within 48 hours to retain freshness.
Convenience Deli Product Range:
Store in the freezer upon delivery. To defrost: Ideally, place the whole fish or Deli Product in a container in the fridge for a slow, controlled defrost. It is not advisable to submerge the fish in warm water, place in the sun or use a microwave to defrost the fish. If a slow defrost is not an option, rather submerge the fish in cold water to defrost.
Coastal Pantry: Please refer to storage instructions on the product label.
We have a fantastic selection of recipes including tips on how to prepare Fish With A Story – check it out! We would love to see what you're cooking ... don't forget to tag us on Instagram @abalobi_app #fishwithastory.
Fish With A Story is fully traceable 'from hook to cook’. With every delivery, you can access a traceability QR Code. Simply scan the code supplied to read the full Story behind your seafood – including the who, what, where and how.
For fresh, whole Catch of the Day: find the QR Code in your invoice or in app (Menu > Static QR Code > View Story)
Convenience Deli Product Range: find the QR Code on the product label.
Dining Out on Fish With A Story: ask the participating restaurant to supply the QR Code.
GENERAL FAQS
ABALOBI is not a fish supplier! We're a digital match-maker between consumers and small-scale fishers ...
ABALOBI is a fisher-driven, global social enterprise seeking to elevate small-scale fishing communities through the joint development of Technology For Good. We operate the ABALOBI MARKETPLACE with fishers and their partner organisations to achieve transparent, equitable and responsible supply chains.
Fish With A Story – by ABALOBI – is much more than a premium quality seafood product. It is a movement to drive ecological, economic and social change in small-scale fisheries. It emphasises responsible sourcing, fair prices for small-scale fishers, traceability, transparent supply chains, low-impact fishing methods, 'eating with the ecosystem', local food systems and livelihoods. Fish With A Story provides a framework for fishers and patrons alike to steward marine resources creatively through a triple-bottom-line approach to sustainability.
Fish With A Story is fully traceable 'from hook to cook'. As a consumer you can scan a QR Code accompanying your order to find out the full Story behind your seafood. You can trace the fish back to who caught it, where, when and how it was caught – it has a social and ecological Story! You can even message the fisher who caught it and read their Story!
Your support of Fish With A Story helps subsidise Food Security initiatives in small-scale fishing communities, ensures fair remuneration for fishers and creates employment opportunities for post-harvest workers (especially women) in fishing communities. It also helps drive Fisheries Improvement initiatives as fishers collect valuable data about their fishing operations using ABALOBI technology.
The supply chain for Fish With A Story adheres to stringent hygiene compliance and Quality Control protocols. Our supply chains are short, with digital verification and minimal handling.
Read more about the broader ABALOBI programme of work here: www.abalobi.org
