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WHAT FUTURE FOR OTHER SPECIES?

17 May 2007

All this hot air about dwindling fish stocks, a barren North Sea and Cod fast becoming as numerous as the Golden Toad might just be having a useful spin off for the frying trade.

Rightly or wrongly half-cock reporting of these stories in the national media has sparked a bit of interest among many consumers in species other than Cod and Haddock.

Safe in the knowledge that our supplies are coming from sustainable stocks and from places like the Barents and not North sea, many fryers don't see much of a need to be offering anything else than the Old Firm that is Cod and Haddock. And many have no call for anything else to speak of.

However, the opportunity is there. With fish so much in the news, particularly as regards good, healthy eating (Omega 3 being just one example) we can see the beginnings of something new. Top chefs are featuring fish in their dishes more often, schools are adding more fish to menus.

A key point here is that celeb chefs rarely feature the Old Firm in recipes on TV or in their books. They know full well that many people are interested in new taste, texture and flavours of other species - and that a more adventurous and perhaps better informed customer is likely to be prepared to pay more, even for just the occasional treat.

The Big Two
However, let's not get carried away. Evidence from the consumer sector hardly points to an increasingly adventurous consumer. Research figures from TNS on the Top 20 Species by Value and Volume for 2006 showed the top
six (in order) by value as: Salmon; Prawns; Haddock; Cod; Mackerel. And by volume it was: Salmon; Haddock; Prawns; Cod; Mackerel.

The same Top 20 results carried no mention of any 'new wave' species from the Far East. Even the much vaunted Sea Bass could only rank 19th in volume and 16th in terms of value. But this latter little fact may be a bigger clue. The relative performance of Sea Bass suggests better margins per sale than most. At No.4 in both value and volume Cod wouldn't appear as potentially profitable. Little wonder supermarket fish counters seem to be making a big play these days regards species like Swordfish and UK-farmed Barramundi - newer species are higher margin. In such a climate you might expect the fish frying trade to be eagerly grasping the chance and widening menus, but what we find instead is a more measured approach - and one that isn't entirely driven by higher margins.
Typical of this is Lindsay Petrie of The Bay Fish & Chips at Stonehaven, the new Drywite Young Fish Frier of the Year. She says: "We also offer varieties like Sea Bass, Bream, Lemon Sole and Salmon and we're about to try Mackerel. All the fish bought is from sustainable fish stocks. And this is quite a small shop.

Promotion
"I see this as all part of promoting seafood - it all helps show the variety in fish that's available out there. There definitely is a change in people now, more want to try something different. A lot of the locals who have Haddock regularly appreciate a change and come in once a week to have another fish for their dinner when they don't want to cook.
"But as well as promoting seafood generally it's also all about giving the customer more choice - and that's very important these days."
Meanwhile at Winsborough's in Shepton Mallet, Mark and Nikki Swain are equally keen about offering the customer greater choice. Says Mark: "We always like to be trying something new and keep the menu attractive and interesting.
"Right now we've Pollock on the specials menu and are getting some very good feedback. We promote the fish by handing out little samples to people and this works well. Over 90 percent of people still go for either
Cod or Haddock and the percentage of people looking and asking for other species is still very small - but we believe in giving people choice. Besides the preparation time isn't any longer at all, everything's done quickly and easily in our fish preparation room."

Adventurous
For a final word we turn to the redoubtable Kelvin Baines of The Chip Stop at Stoke in Plymouth, who has no doubts that there's
an increasingly adventurous customer out there. "There is - absolutely," he insists. "It
all started with the stories about North Sea Cod despite the fact that we're all selling from sustainable stocks."
Kelvin regularly offers species such as Turbot, Halibut, John Dory, Skate Wings and Monkfish and his lively specials board features items like five battered crab's claws for £4. All come daily from a supplier called The Fish Society.
The Chip Stop is a traditional shop that's a take away only, helping put paid to the received wisdom that a wide range of species can only work in a restaurant area. Kelvin doesn't let the lack of sit down covers hold him back and it doesn't stop him winning awards either. He made the last five in his region in
the last Fish & Chip Shop of the Year competition and both the Independent and Observer newspapers have listed him as among the UK's Top 50 Fish & Chip shops.

Modern times
"I see this variety of fish as taking the Fish & Chip shop into the 21st century," he adds. "These fish are a lot more expensive but they draw a customer who is prepared to pay for it. The public do want a change and though these fish will never replace Cod and Haddock there are more people eating more fish and more people aware of the health benefits of doing such and these people want to have a bit more variety. People who go out and spend £30 on a meal I find will pay £10 to £15 for fish like this - and it's all deep fried. There is demand there for fish like Sea Bass and Halibut.
"The Fish & Chip trade has got to get more up-to-date like this. It's got to get far away from the old image from the 1930s of a fryer standing there in an old white coat with a fag in his mouth. The more adventurous and the award-winning shops are doing it - so why not others I wonder."

- Two leading firms run independently by one of Lowestoft's most eminent fishing families are to merge. Sam Cole Fish Merchants and JT Cole will trade as Sam Cole Fish Merchants and will create one of the biggest fish merchant wholesalers in the UK.
JT Cole, run by brothers Donny and Michael Cole, has been operating in Lowestoft over
80 years and supplies a number of Fish & Chip shops in East Anglia. Sam Cole has built a successful group of companies including Sam Cole Fish Merchants, Capps Foods, and Kalkman - one of the UK's leading value added fish processing firms.

CAPTION
Cod - the UK's clear favourite when eating out of home. However it's number four in the consumer sector and is starting to be challenged at some leading Fish & Chip shops