Around 40 million protein portions arrive into Cornwall's fishing ports every year, new figures have revealed.

This is according to the most recent landings data captured by Seafish and calculated by the Cornish Fish Producers Organisations (CFPO).

Research published earlier this year discovered Cornwall's seafood sector brings £174 million into the county's economy and employs around 8,000 people.

A number of signs aimed at educating visitors on the value of the Cornish seafood sector are going to be placed in harbours across the county.

The first has been unveiled in Mevagissey by the new MP for St Austell and Newquay.

Noah Law said: "I'm thrilled to see this sign up.

"The awareness it's going to be raising for Mevagissey is fantastic because that's the word we need to spread, it's not just what you catch in the net but the whole ecosystem around the fishing industry and we should be very proud of it.

"You've got to look at the bigger picture and see all the jobs that it creates.

"Food security is a big priority for our government and if we're going to be procuring more from our farmers and fishermen, we've got to keep supporting them and make sure we put fishing on a long-term footing, not just for the immediate future but for the next generation."

(Image: Seafish)

Signs are due to appear next in Padstow, Newquay, Falmouth, St Ives, and Newlyn.

Mevagissey is home to the second largest fishing port in Cornwall and is responsible for 300 jobs in the county's seafood sector.

Fishermen in the village bring in more than £2 million a year.

Mevagissey's harbour master, Andrew Trevarton, said: "I don't think the general public really realise the importance of fishing, the availability of locally caught seafood and the wider economic benefits so it's a tremendous feeling to have this sign up raising awareness.

"Mevagissey alone has a tourism footfall of up to 800,000 people a year, if only 10 per cent of those people stop to read this sign then it’ll have a huge impact."

The True Value of Seafood to Cornwall report was commissioned by the CFPO following the publication of their Cornish Fishing Strategy in 2021.

Its aim was to refocus the strategic vision for the Cornish seafood industry post-Brexit.

Four key areas of action were highlighted; science and sustainability, ports infrastructure, recruitment and retention, as well as communications and marketing.