Ofishal is a premium handmade fish leather manufacturer. The business is founded on the notion that “utilisation is conservation”. In other words, if a single fish has “added-value” attached to the monetary worth, aside from the fillets, then less fish are required for the commercial operator to turn a profit.
The concept started as the founder Dallas Abel was once a fisheries observer and first hand witnesses the amount of discarded useable seafood. He then lead the kai Ika project that aimed to re-home fish frames and heads from those that were going to throw them in the bin to people that wanted to eat them. The same amount of fish being taken, with more mouths being fed. A simple concept.
The everyday leather products that Ofishal has released include phone cases, wallets, knife sheaths and jewlery. The range is continually expanded and the possibilities are endless in terms of matching the existing leather market.
When I first learned of the product I thought that they would be fragile and potentially have an ambient sent left over from the sea. There is absolutely no fishy smell on any of the products and they are surprisingly robust. The fibres of a fish crosshatch as opposed to mammalian skins that are uniform. This makes fish skins far strong pound for pound than cows leather.
Each Ofishal product has its own unique scale pattern that means no two products are the same. The lateral line of the fish can be seen running down the spine of my phone which transports me back to my happy place on the ocean fishing.
I love the idea of the fish leather knife sheath in particular. The symbol of the fish leather that would have been discarded gives me motivation to extract as much nutrients from a single fish as possible.
Ofishal has trialled many species of fish to find the strongest canvas from manufacturing and stitching. The Atlantic King Salmon seems to work fantastically with a large surface area, ideal scale sizing and an abundance of skins to access that would all have ended up in landfill. Ofishal is largely getting its skins from New Zealand Salmon farms where the business is set up.
As a fisho I am proud to support Ofishal, the concept is fantastic and products stand up to its counterparts. A great gift, conversation starter or way to keep all your cards and hard earned cash organised. You won’t break the bank with all the products being reasonably priced considering the effort required in production.
Check them out at www.ofishal.co.nz
Listen to the podcast with Dallas Abel.
Zac Panaretos catches up with chefs and fishos to chat about catching, cooking, and sustainable seafood.
Dallas Abel loves the ocean, especially fish.
He wants to give back, minimising waste with his new brand Ofishal, leather goods made from fish skins that more than pass the eye test.
The story of how he arrived where he is today is worth a listen in itself.
