ChatterBank1 min ago
Basa fish fillets - why?
7 Answers
Grumpy question time - opinion please:
Youngs Seafood have introduced Basa fish to the UK and flog it with a spiced coating - �2.99 for 275 g or so - wih 30% of the product being the coating, its' not a lot of fish for the money. Have they done this cos:
A . its about �0.50 a kilo for them to purchase (and then coat (with all sorts of added ingredients to make the flavouring work), ship, store & supply)
B. its a tasty, lemon sole flavoured, farmed alternative the UK shopper should be able to enjoy....- & price of lemon sole at Grimsby today? �3.50 a kilo....
Basa is a catfish - so why not call it that - from the Mekong Delta.
Farming fish there has gone on for some time, but there are issues to think of - pollution in the river from upstream that the fish are exposed to - feed for the farmed fish - where is that from, what does it have in it - escaped fish inter-breeding with 'natural' wild fish - bacterial diseases spreading thorugh fish populations due to close living conditions - poor management of the farms as rising demand increases pressure to supply products....and the 'green mile'??
Is this not a case of a producer failing the UK fish industry which is on such a knife edge anyway, as here we have a business bringing in a frozen product and selling it as a good choice for the UK shopper....but UK boats are having more and more pressures to compete so why not support them and use UK landed fish?
Companies have a right to profit of course, but do we want a farmed fish, shipped in from S.E. Asia - we can get farmed fish from the UK, never mind the rest of the EC for that matter.
Any opinions?
Youngs Seafood have introduced Basa fish to the UK and flog it with a spiced coating - �2.99 for 275 g or so - wih 30% of the product being the coating, its' not a lot of fish for the money. Have they done this cos:
A . its about �0.50 a kilo for them to purchase (and then coat (with all sorts of added ingredients to make the flavouring work), ship, store & supply)
B. its a tasty, lemon sole flavoured, farmed alternative the UK shopper should be able to enjoy....- & price of lemon sole at Grimsby today? �3.50 a kilo....
Basa is a catfish - so why not call it that - from the Mekong Delta.
Farming fish there has gone on for some time, but there are issues to think of - pollution in the river from upstream that the fish are exposed to - feed for the farmed fish - where is that from, what does it have in it - escaped fish inter-breeding with 'natural' wild fish - bacterial diseases spreading thorugh fish populations due to close living conditions - poor management of the farms as rising demand increases pressure to supply products....and the 'green mile'??
Is this not a case of a producer failing the UK fish industry which is on such a knife edge anyway, as here we have a business bringing in a frozen product and selling it as a good choice for the UK shopper....but UK boats are having more and more pressures to compete so why not support them and use UK landed fish?
Companies have a right to profit of course, but do we want a farmed fish, shipped in from S.E. Asia - we can get farmed fish from the UK, never mind the rest of the EC for that matter.
Any opinions?
Answers
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Hi Nickmo
I'm anti fish farms not just for the reasons you have stated, but also the taste is sh1te compared to wild fish. It's a shame the british people don't eat more of the fish that are caught in british waters, massive amounts are exported to the continent.
If the british public were more adventurous, then the spanish and french wouldn't have the monopoly on certain types of fish/shellfish which would help push the prices up and benefit our fishermen.
I'm not surprised about the imports of crap like this being on the up, unfortunately it's another case of pre-processed and packaged products at bargain price which will always attract the average supermarket shopper.
I've got a friend who works in a chippy and reckons they do 31 types of fish now, best seller still cod by a mile, that's how adventurous we are!!
Rant over - I'm off to Grimsby for some cheap lemon sole now!!
I'm anti fish farms not just for the reasons you have stated, but also the taste is sh1te compared to wild fish. It's a shame the british people don't eat more of the fish that are caught in british waters, massive amounts are exported to the continent.
If the british public were more adventurous, then the spanish and french wouldn't have the monopoly on certain types of fish/shellfish which would help push the prices up and benefit our fishermen.
I'm not surprised about the imports of crap like this being on the up, unfortunately it's another case of pre-processed and packaged products at bargain price which will always attract the average supermarket shopper.
I've got a friend who works in a chippy and reckons they do 31 types of fish now, best seller still cod by a mile, that's how adventurous we are!!
Rant over - I'm off to Grimsby for some cheap lemon sole now!!
Hi CB - thanks for the points - agree re. flavour lost from farmed species - no exercise = no muscle = no amount of flavour enhancers can disguise the stuff...
In case you fancy a browse, have a look at the trade site : http://www.fishupdate.com bunch of interesting stuff - news today that even President Putin is getting in on the eco wagon, stating illegal fishing is causing concern in the Baltic, and the fishing industry needs better rules enforced.
Peterhead has better lemon sole prices today by the way - landed prices about the �2.00 + mark . Its actually really depressing that the catch landed was from 5 boats there.
5 boats !! And we are an island nation...........!
In case you fancy a browse, have a look at the trade site : http://www.fishupdate.com bunch of interesting stuff - news today that even President Putin is getting in on the eco wagon, stating illegal fishing is causing concern in the Baltic, and the fishing industry needs better rules enforced.
Peterhead has better lemon sole prices today by the way - landed prices about the �2.00 + mark . Its actually really depressing that the catch landed was from 5 boats there.
5 boats !! And we are an island nation...........!
Ha - didn't they know? 'Rord of the Lings' is the Chinese counterfiters trilogy of fantasy novels.............
Incidentally, Hampshire is one of the counties in the UK that has a fairly established fish farming industry, and on eof their best sellers is barramundi - imported as fingerlings (teeny fish) from Australia, and Ely has a Tilapia farm so some of the foreign muck may actually be UK produced.
Even so, it still has impact on livelihoods, and what the heck does a fish and chip buyer want to choose 30 times for anyway? Its bad enough deciding on 'do you want sot n soss?' or not.....
Incidentally, Hampshire is one of the counties in the UK that has a fairly established fish farming industry, and on eof their best sellers is barramundi - imported as fingerlings (teeny fish) from Australia, and Ely has a Tilapia farm so some of the foreign muck may actually be UK produced.
Even so, it still has impact on livelihoods, and what the heck does a fish and chip buyer want to choose 30 times for anyway? Its bad enough deciding on 'do you want sot n soss?' or not.....
Great link thanks, may be ignorant here, but what are seed and round seed?
Don't suppose you know of anything similar to cover Cornish landings?
I can't believe that with all need for the cod alternative, people haven't picked up on ling. Probably not the right shape fillet!! Fine by me though, I'll never run out!
I do love the non-descript packaged fish (a la chip shop stylee) - fillets of white fish! Don't they even know what's in 'em?!!
I suppose pollack doesn't sound great to the average punter!
My brother is now crabbing as the decline in fishing meant longer trips and less money. Still, it's surprising that only 5 boats landed in Peterhead - sign of the times eh!
Also I think it's a shame that the middle man is the one reaping the benefits of the hard working fishermen, but that's another story!
Total aside here - we used to own a chippy, Mike Millman came in one day and ordered chicken and chips, my dad told him he should be ashamed of himself!
He orderd the cod instead!
Don't suppose you know of anything similar to cover Cornish landings?
I can't believe that with all need for the cod alternative, people haven't picked up on ling. Probably not the right shape fillet!! Fine by me though, I'll never run out!
I do love the non-descript packaged fish (a la chip shop stylee) - fillets of white fish! Don't they even know what's in 'em?!!
I suppose pollack doesn't sound great to the average punter!
My brother is now crabbing as the decline in fishing meant longer trips and less money. Still, it's surprising that only 5 boats landed in Peterhead - sign of the times eh!
Also I think it's a shame that the middle man is the one reaping the benefits of the hard working fishermen, but that's another story!
Total aside here - we used to own a chippy, Mike Millman came in one day and ordered chicken and chips, my dad told him he should be ashamed of himself!
He orderd the cod instead!
Chicken & chips indeed....is he still working? I would presume so...
'Seed' as I understand the term for landed fish is juvenile fish from any species - large enough to land but not defined as one species for the statistics. The reoprts are scary when you look at boats reportingly landing cats and dogs too....... and witches too! (they're ok - its a type of sole....again..)
http://www.looe-fish-selling.co.uk covers some of Cornwall landings, and http://www.cfrc.org.uk has info on Newlyn and the area. DEFRA has a list of all the first sale fish and auction sites too which may be of interest.
If you still haven't had enough of fish - go to http://www.fishonline.org and that should satisfy - its the site for the marine Conservation Society with tons of stuff and the absolutely best ever species search facility, loads of links tons of info, etc etc and http://www.seafish.org should get you into buying more fish as well as having recipes, links galore and all things fishy to go through..
Hope this helps some. Ta for now.
'Seed' as I understand the term for landed fish is juvenile fish from any species - large enough to land but not defined as one species for the statistics. The reoprts are scary when you look at boats reportingly landing cats and dogs too....... and witches too! (they're ok - its a type of sole....again..)
http://www.looe-fish-selling.co.uk covers some of Cornwall landings, and http://www.cfrc.org.uk has info on Newlyn and the area. DEFRA has a list of all the first sale fish and auction sites too which may be of interest.
If you still haven't had enough of fish - go to http://www.fishonline.org and that should satisfy - its the site for the marine Conservation Society with tons of stuff and the absolutely best ever species search facility, loads of links tons of info, etc etc and http://www.seafish.org should get you into buying more fish as well as having recipes, links galore and all things fishy to go through..
Hope this helps some. Ta for now.
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