We are surrounded by sea so why is fish so expensive?

Because the fish don’t throw themselves on the docksides ready filleted, they have to be caught, sorted, filleted etc
Deep sea fishing is widely regarded as one of the most dangerous occupations due to risks like heavy seas, equipment hazards, and limited health and safety regulations, with deck crews especially vulnerable to injury or falling overboard.

I recently saw a Brixham fisherman being interviewed on our local news . He was saying it now costs him £3000 for fuel for 1 trip before any other costs like crew wages etc! He said he is getting close to making no profit at all. I can understand why prices are so high.

I just bought Sea Bass fillets on clearance sale at the Co-op 😂use by today - £4 for 2 fillets - so I bought 4 trays, marinated them and put them straight in the freezer - 2 each in a freezer bag - quite pleased 😀

Totally agree with you. I’m lucky enough to live by the sea and a port where I can buy fish straight off the boats. But it’s so difficult as everything goes to export or restaurants! No chance for us to

My mum used to get "yellow fish" and make a kedgeree if she was short on the pennies. Now it (smoked haddock) is a luxury item and kedgeree is a rare treat.
I make a special trip to Asda occasionally and check out their "quick sale" items for fish. When they have a real bargain on good fish, it goes in my freezer. I don't like Basa, (a catfish from Thailand), it is too wet and loose formed. I can't eat Tuna. Ok, I can eat it but it makes me sick, both fresh and tinned.

Originating from Hull and being very well aware of the dangers trawlermen face every day I actually thought MawsRosies post was quite patronising not yours Romilo

What part of my post did you find patronising?
It was intended as a factual response to OP’s question as well as the suggestion upthread that more fatalities occur in agriculture than in fishing - which without hard statistical evidence, I would seriously question . My quote from Lady Nairn’s poem and the song were intended to show it was ever thus.

Basa is certainly a bit cheaper than cod and haddock, but I read that we should be wary, as it’s caught/farmed in unhealthy conditions. Not sure how accurate that information is, but it has made me stop and think about buying it.

ROMILO

Trying to eat a bit more healthily we decided to cut down on red meat and eat more fish. I am not a big fan of supermarket packaged fish so I went to a fishmonger. Two average portions of haddock and two of trout pennies short of £25.

In a word.....overfishing!

I do eat fish but I worry that they live in the filthy, toxic soup that humans have caused. The chemicals from ocean-going vessels, jet fuel dumps, space capsules landing at sea, industrial waste on immeasurable scales, plus sewage discharges, let alone the bodily waste produced by all these ocean- and river-dwelling species. If the fish or shellfish caught has spent its life in dirty, contaminated water, surely there’s a knock-on effect to those eating it? I check labels when I’m shopping, eg I buy wild-caught cold water prawns, and wild Alaskan salmon, but I don’t trust any aspect of the food industry and if I thought about it too much I’d eat only what I can grow or rear at home, and that’s a lot less than it used to be now as I get older.

Because traitorous politicians let other countries take it!!! GRRRRR!!! Infuriates me.

As far as I know, fish don't respect lines on a chart. Perhaps many fish caught in British waters come from France, for example, and vice versa. I wonder how the authorities take that into account when assessing resources and allocating catches. Anyway, I could get a fish supper for 2 bob in the sixties, so the cost has gone up one hundred fold at least, around 3 times prices generally. Shortages due to overfishing must have a lot to do with it.

Think of the overheads fuel being the main one !

You're not going to get trout from the sea!

Hear hear 🤗🌷

ROMILO

MawsRosie

This is a discussion about the high cost of fish when we are surrounded by fishing grounds making what was once a staple for many people into a luxury for those with the money to spend
Please don’t patronise me by saying what this discussion may or may not be about.
We may be an island but as I said the fish are not waiting to jump into the trawlers’ nets. We do not have exclusive rights in fishing grounds off our coasts and cost reflects labour, fuel, risks, reduced catches when weather des not permit, transport and distribution costs.
The humble herring once a staple has been overfished almost to extinction and rising sea temperatures are also having an effect on stocks of some types of fish .
Fishing has always been a dangerous occupation and this is reflected in what we pay and no doubt the numbers prepared to take the risks compared with cushier indoor occupations.
Are you familiar with the song Caller (fresh) Herring?
This classic Scottish song "Caller Herrin'" features lyrics written by Lady Nairne around 1821 to a musical air by Nathaniel Gow. The song reflects the street cries of Newhaven fishwives and contrasts the dangers faced by fishermen on the Firth of Forth with the wealthy buyers.
You get what you pay for and pay for what you get.

I am sorry if I offended you there was no intention to patronise and you obviously have a very personal connection to the fishing industry, however as a lot of people have stated the price if fish has increased far in excess of other foods and that was the point of the post.

Originating from Hull and being very well aware of the dangers trawlermen face every day I actually thought MawsRosies post was quite patronising not yours Romilo.

From what I can gather, our waters are rich in Herring which then rest of Europe likes but we don't. Cod and Haddock comes from the North Atlantic which is further away and so more expensive.

Sorry correction, Brexit is UK’s problem

Fish prices have risen in France also. I put this down to the cost of diesel, wages, lower quotas and electric refrigeration and lastly, Brexit because the UK imports a lot.

Macron has threatened the supermarkets not to make ‘undue profits’.

We go to Amble in Northumberland on holiday and use Alliance fishmongers to stock up before we venture home. Last time I bought two pieces of halibut for £26 but they gave us two meals each. There used to be only fresh fish if the boats can get out and return safely. Fishing is one of the most dangerous industries after mining ( before it disappeared). Never forget who was our, often absent, MEP for fishing! Some use he was!
I use basa fillets for a fish pie or pollack. Tuna steaks are good from Aldi or Lidl . We need to avoid mackerel as stocks are getting low!

Part of the reason is that the sea is no longer full of fish due to overfishing. Fish stocks in many areas are very low.

A lot of our fish comes from Vietnam,too. However, this will be limited in the future because the Chinese dam the Mekong upstream, apparently threatening the livelihood of many Vietnamese fishermen. When we were in Vietnam on a tour a couple of local people told us that so how true it is, who knows? Sort of rings true,though.

A combination of Russian factory ships taking small fish, which decimated the growing population; and being part of the EU where Spanish trawlers, having overfished their own waters, were allowed to land their quotas here having been given our waters to fish in. Our fishermen gave up trying to make ends meet; now we have fewer and they have to travel further out to find the fish.

Sadly, as a fish lover, I am now eating Vietnamese basa, and recently fish fingers made with US hake.

Whitewavemark2

When my husband left hospital after his heart stuff the doctor said “eat omega 3 oil” that is found in fish - so we do.

And in cod liver oil (capsules!).

Cossy

watermeadow

I loathe all fish and wonder why we are told to eat 2 lots of oily fish per week. Before refrigeration nobody would have eaten fish unless they lived on the coast so it’s obviously not essential.

Yes they would, it would have salted or smoked

I was brought up probably as far from the sea as you could live in the UK but we had fresh fish regularly.

There was at least one fish stall in the market and also there was a fishmonger in town, part of a chain called MacFisheries. Fish was transported and displayed on ice even though many homes didn't have fridges. Plaice and cod were favourites.
My school friend's father ran a fish and chip shop.

TillyTrotter

Never understand why some posters are so quick to make a post personal. We’re all here to give our opinion, just that.

Some posters can dish it oit but cannot take it back!