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

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

Fresh fish can be seen as a treat but I will always pay for it if I want it when by the water.
It does reflect on the price of frozen fish too but some of that is not top quality in my view and I won’t pay for it.

@Meandogrog
Your opinion on another member’s sensitivity is uncalled for and condescending.
At least address the poster rather than say this to someone else.

Dont worry, I think Mawsrosie is quite sensitive
What?
So its OK to insult someone's intelligence then laugh it off as "Dont worry, he/she is quite sensitive "
In a different context it might constitute locker room banter.
It takes a lot, but I am speechless.
It was a patronising response to an informed post on the topic.
And BTW no, I have no connection with fishing, living about as far from the sea as anybody in the UK can, but it does not take all that much to be reasonably well informed about food production in this country, or indeed imagination to be aware of the dangers our fishermen face on a daily basis.
Ask any RNLI volunteer!

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.

Dont worry, I think Mawsrosie is quite sensitive.

Wyllow3

For Christmas I will Treat Myself from Waitrose (or local fishmonger, but Waitrose still have a fish counter last time I checked) - to real undyed smoked haddock. Yum. Bit of fresh dill...butter....

I was brought up in Hull, then a major fish port. Whole areas smelt of same, whole fishing communities now gone. But my, the fresh fish. Guess which hymn we sung a lot of at school

" for those in peril on the sea" was very very much alive.

Why have the fishing communities allgone? Wasnt Michael Gove affected by this? I thought that is why he backed Leave,having seen the effect the EU had on fishing?

Wyllow3

Blaming Starmer for fish issues is beyond ludicrous imo 🤣

You are entitled to your opinion.

A few episodes of Deadliest Catch should tell you why fish are expensive.

Whitewavemark -
Blackcurrant seed oil is an excellent source of omega oils 👍☘️

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

Certainly before Brexit a lot of the fish that the British won't eat was sold in France. We always bought the spider crabs. After a pause the Scottish salmon reappeared after Brexit, but I am not sure the shellfish were ever as readily available.

This makes interesting reading.

waters (the UK Exclusive Economic Zone).
Key Details on Foreign Catches in UK Waters
• Top Country by Value: France traditionally leads all non-UK nations, taking an estimated £171 million worth of fish from UK waters annually.
• Other Top Countries: The Netherlands (£92 million) and Denmark (£90 million) follow closely behind in value of catch from the UK Exclusive Economic Zone.
• Main Species Caught: French, Dutch, and Danish fleets primarily target pelagic and demersal stocks such as herring, mackerel, sole, and sandeels.
If you'd like, I can provide:
• A breakdown of specific species targeted by each country
• Details on current UK-EU quota agreements and access rules

Over fishing because the European trawlers are allowed to fish up to our borders.

We were in Mallaig some years ago and we watched the catch being loaded into foreign lorries to be taken and sold in Europe. We asked the skipper why it wasn't being sold in the UK and he said there's little or no demand for it.

If you eat fish in Europe it could have been caught in British waters.

1. Overfishing
2. Human greed
Thassit.

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

We buy our fish (salmon undyed haddock sea trout etc) directly from Warrington Market - better prices and guaranteed fresh
Oily fish whilst not an absolute necessity is undoubtedly beneficial for health - and was often tinned or smoked
Fish fell out of favour - plus impact of relaxing Friday fish) but is now considered a premium product ( even tinned dog whelks) hence rise in prices - 👍☘️

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.

I found some official figures for cod

In 1971 cod cost 60p/kg in 2024 cost was 2000p/ kg (£20)

Food inflation has increased prices from £1 to 18.20
General inflation increased prices from £1 to £19
Average wage also increased from £1 to £19

Cod has increased much faster than food inflation or general inflation, by about 40%

I like salmon but can’t afford it often, buy fridge tuna in little pots, not keen on white fish though DH likes basa.
We now eat mainly vegetarian with chicken sometimes and fresh fish even less.
Never even look at fish on the menu at a restaurant, is always so expensive, but treat DH to sea bass or trout on rare occasions.

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 buy a box of mixed filleted fish direct from our local fisherman (he delivers in his wellies😄) - whatever the catch is - fish is very seasonal. So I pay £55 for 6x 2 fillets, many of which are too big and are cut into two.

So without cutting in half that works out to £9+ per meal but in practice works out to quite a bit less.

We eat fish approx, every third day - my last fish meal was hake with creamed lentils and mushroom sauce - yum.

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.

We lost the cod wars with Iceland, gave most of the rest away to the EU, it's still much cheaper than beef and lamb in the UK.
The big factory ships from Russia and China hoover up everything on the high seas and wherever else they can get away with it.

MawsRosie

😂😂😂😂
They don’t just jump into the fishing trawler nets you know!
Fishing is a dangerous and demanding occupation, subject to often appalling weather and sea conditions -fog, storms, high winds (listen to the shipping forecast) and last but not least fishing regulations to prevent overfishing of some types.
The catch has to be landed- often in the early hours of the morning, loaded onto transport and taken to the fish markets or wholesalers. And all without going off.
You can’t “farm” haddock etc like lamb, beef or pork and our fishing fleets risk their lives on a daily basis.
It’s not expensive, we could be paying with the fishermen’s lives.

Whilst I understand that fishing is a dangerous occupation I think that you will find that as many if not more lives are lost in the farming industry. 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.

Wyllow3

Blaming Starmer for fish issues is beyond ludicrous imo 🤣

Oh AB will be responsible for absolutely everything from here on in till the next GE 😂