It's a fishmonger's alright, but not as we know it. The Whitby Catch is a fishmonger for the 21st century, trawling for new converts to the freshest fish town.

WET fish shops used to be a staple of every High Street until, along with so many butchers, bakers and grocer's shops, their custom was swallowed by the supermarkets. At the same time, we fell out of love with fish. Ten years ago we were probably eating less than we ever had.

But fish is back on the menu - boosted by our interest in healthy eating, the thought that it's brain food (granny was right all along) and all the unusual fish we've eaten on foreign holidays, that we'd like to try at home. If only we knew what it was and how to cook it. Now The Whitby Catch - just over the road from Whitby fish market - is aiming to make it even easier.

Bill Rae, born in Stranraer but now "almost naturalised" in Yorkshire, was a fish wholesaler in Whitby for 20 years, starting every day down on the fish market checking out all the catches brought in by local boats.

"They bring in great fish to Whitby, the best. I would buy fish and then send it straight out of town. It was going to the top restaurants in Leeds, Harrogate and beyond. A lot of Whitby fish goes straight down to Billingsgate and gets snapped up by Michelin-starred restaurants. Chefs love it.

"That's all well and good, but it meant the people of Whitby never had the chance to taste the great fish that local men were catching. That didn't seem right," he says.

So two years ago, Bill gave up wholesaling, crossed the road from the pier and opened The Whitby Catch, opposite the tea stall and next to the tattoo parlour.

"We have around 120 different fish products available every day and about 80 per cent of them are from Whitby. Traceability is a big thing in food these days and I can tell you where our fish comes from," he says.

"Whitby fishing's been hard hit in recent years. The fleet is only about half the size it was. There are fishing quotas and days at sea are restricted. It's not an easy time, so they concentrate on bringing in the best they can. We've just paid record prices for cod, for instance, so there's money going in to the fishing community."

Bill is down on the fish market every morning. "Even on my day off. For 21 years I've gone down there and had my breakfast at the tea stall."

In the shop, he and the splendid Stan Waite, a former chef, are full of advice and are glad to hand on recipes.

"We want people to enjoy fish, have a bit of fun. It's not like going into one of those fish shops from years ago with slabs full of cod and haddock and not much else. We've got lots of different things. We've got recipes, ideas, suggestions. People are more adventurous these days and many people are more interested in food and prepared to try new things and new ways of cooking," says Bill.

"If you don't know what it is, ask. If you don't know what to do with it, we'll tell you. We'll prepare it all for you. We want people to enjoy it. We are passionate about food and passionate about freshness. We'll give you a taste where we can. We don't want you to be disappointed."

As well as the fish and shellfish, they also have a range of ready prepared fish dishes such as Garlic mussels, sweet cure octopus, sweet chilli crayfish, king prawn piri piri, octopus meze, squid marinade... As well as kippers and crab from Nobles in Whitby, of course.

It doesn't even look like a fish shop. The trays of fish and marinades give it all the colourful appeal of a sweet shop and it's just as tempting. And you don't even have to go to Whitby to shop there.

"Most of our customers are local, from Whitby and in a circle round as far as Redcar. Then, of course, we get a lot of visitors who like to take some fish home. They are a big part of the business, especially at this time of year," says Bill.

They pride themselves on their "leakproof packaging" - watertight boxes packed with ice, or even vacuum-packed fish.

Best of all, you can buy online. A next day delivery service means you can be eating fish the day after it was landed in Whitby.

Kippers travel further. There's nothing like a Whitby kipper in a foreign land. "We've sent them all over the world - Switzerland, Australia, Zimbabwe. We'll even do you a regular kipper order - kippers every month."

Fish, of course, is brain food. Although we're eating more of it, many people probably still aren't eating enough.

Although open for only a few years, The Whitby Catch has already won a number of awards, locally and nationally. But there are greater accolades.

"I love it when people come in and say they don't really eat fish but our displays have tempted them in," says Bill. "We give them something we think they'll like and then they come back to try more. That's great. It's what it's all about."

The Whitby Catch, 1 Pier Road, Whitby. Tel: 01947-601313. www.thewhitbycatch.co.uk