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

All respect to your son, Moth62 we do take so much of our food production for granted but the dangers to our fishing fleets make for sobering reading.
It’s not just the Navy who come to mind when we sing
«Oh hear us when we cry to thee
For those in peril on the sea»

Sadly a lot of us are aware of the dangers Moth62 but tend to forget at the shopping trolley. A very tough way for your son and others to try and make a living, I’ll make more of an effort to think of them and not mutter as I pay a couple of quid extra.

I wasn’t going to join in this thread, but now, the way it is developing, I feel I must. My son is a trawlerman and has been featured on the BBC programme. Deep sea trawling is everything that Maws Rosie describes and more besides. Now, in addition to the constant danger and lack of sleep for two-week stints, as well as horrendous sea conditions particularly in winter, is added the price of fuel which makes for little or no profit at the end of a long trip. Short trips are no longer worth doing. Whenever I know that he is at sea, the worry is always there in the back of my mind. He suffered a very bad head injury a few years ago when shifting seas threw several full boxes of fish on top of him in the hold. I grew up in a mining family and it is the only other way to make a living that I would describe as being akin to trawler fishing as far as the ever-present danger is concerned.

Predictive text oops- "bearing in mind" was what I meant to write.

OK @*Enid 101*, what do you think are the reasons for the price of fish?
Bearing on Monday OP isn't keen.on supermarket (frozen?) fish which like meat usually comes cheaper than that at a fishmonger or butcher?

To return to the original - is shellfish expensive as well ? Oysters are now very expensive here and now that Japan and many Asian countries have decided they want our crayfish ( like lobster) the cost is beyond what any locals can afford. Abalone is another one,though most Aussies probably wouldn’t eat that so much. Supply and demand that disadvantages the locals.

MawsRosie

Ooh! Pile-on?

{Scared}

Nah, not at all - you aren’t that important. I was just agreeing with another poster. 😀

Ooh! Pile-on?

{Scared}

knspol

MawsRosie

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.

MawsRosie. In answer to your question, I found the whole of your first post patronising.

Me too.

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.

Hear, hear. People are so complacent. Also, fussy. Oily fish is cheaper.

I was simply answering the question posed in the thread title as others have done since
1) fishing is a dangerous and often erratic as well as labour intensive industry, dependent on many imponderables
2) costs cover a multiplicity of elements- not least fuel for the fishing boats, as well as for distribution
3) fishermen deserve a decent wage (see 1)
4) stocks of what used to be regarded as ‘cheap’ fish can be sadly depleted due to over-fishing, fishing rights regulations and yes, rising sea temperatures due to climate change
5) tastes nationally may have changed, many shoppers prefer more exotic imported foodstuffs over the humbler coley, hake, haddock etc
6) Frozen food has made it possible to import fish from other parts of the world where wages and health and safety measures my be less well regarded.
7) with the exception of the likes of fish farms for salmon, or mussels, fish cannot be reared intensively like chicken or pork
Enough reasons?

MawsRosie

^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.

MawsRosie. In answer to your question, I found the whole of your first post patronising.

Meandrogrog

Our fishing industry was decimated after. Joining the EU. After leave won there were big signs all around a local harbour saying thank you. Didnt starmer surrender our fishing grounds to the French?

Keir Starmer continued existing arrangements, he also cut down red tape on exports bringing down costs for exporters of salmon annd shellfish and committed £360 million to the fishing industry.

The truth is UK consumers do not want the fish from our waters, ie mackerel and shellfish, what people want is cod and haddock which we import, hence the higher prices.

We are surrounded by the vast Pacific but fish is still very expensive here. I think there are not so many fishermen around these days and there are a lot of limits imposed here, being a nanny country. Probably profit margins are low.

Perhaps it would help if we actually liked some of the fish in our own waters. Fish like whiting, pollack, wrasse or gurnard. Then there are the spider crabs that the French love.

Fish has gone up a lot in price but £25 is a lot.. Expensive in Scotland too but not as expensive as that from my fishmanthat I've had for about 25 years. 2 pieces os beautiful salmon and 2 lemon sole approx £16

Aely My mum used to get "yellow fish" and make a kedgeree if she was short on the pennies

I remember that’s what my mother used to give me also and Coley for the cat.

I love mussels ,especially when I’m in France.My favourite fish is halibut,but it’s so expensive.

Paperbackwriter

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

Sea trout fishing is very strict regulated and licensed in this country, I believe.

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.