Fish- what are we buying in the supermarket?

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Fish- what are we buying in the supermarket?
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ross

Joined: 07 Mar 2005
Posts: 123

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:11 pm Post subject: Fish- what are we buying in the supermarket?

Thanks to the Supermarket Secrets TV programme, I now only buy free range organic meat, preferably local as well. Now...what exactly am I getting when I buy fish in the supermarket? Does anyone know which fish tend to be farmed, which are caught in open waters and what conditions fish are subjected to? I know some people might argue that fish don't suffer pain and stress in the same way as mammals and birds, but I would rather assume they do unless it can be proved otherwise.
thanks
ross.

cab

Joined: 01 Nov 2004
Posts: 32429

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:14 pm Post subject: Re: Fish- what are we buying in the supermarket?

Fish that have been trawled will, mostly, have suffocated. There's not a way that they can easily be killed otherwise.

I don't know how farmed fish (that includes most salmon, trout, tilapia and tiger prawns in supermarkets, and presumably others now) are slaughtered.

The conditions that farmed fish are subjected to vary a lot, but a lot of aquaculture is quite intensive; whether there are real welfare issues for fish in that is something I don't know.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:16 pm Post subject:
The labelling should say whether the fish is farmed and if so where. If wild it should tell you where it was caught. What you need is an independent local fishmonger really, but failing that there's the Marine Stewardship Council (IIRC), who offer lots of advice about which fisheries are sustainable.

twoscoops

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1924
Location: Warwickshire

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:20 pm Post subject:

Supermarkets like to know exactly what they are stocking, so you are likely to see the same old stuff there all the time: Farmed bass, farmed salmon, farmed tilapia, farmed mussells, smoked haddock and smoked (farmed) salmon. They just don't have the ability to buy from the quayside auctions and get it quickly into store, so it will rarely be as fresh as that from a good fishmonger. I eat far less fish than I used to, just because the supermarkets can't deliver fresh stuff.

By the way, the pre-pack stuff is treated like salads with 'enhanced air' to stop it spoiling.

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45715
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:23 pm Post subject:
Most high value fish is either already being farmed or is on the verge of it, the following are definitely available as farmed fish: SeaBass Bream Trout Salmon Halibut Turbot Cod Tilapia I find it very difficult to buy fish with a clean conscience, I buy from my local fishmonger who marks everything with origin and whether it was farmed or wild.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:28 pm Post subject:

I rarely buy fish in the supermarket as we have a great fishmonger in Welshpool. Saturday, we bought a beautiful wild brown trout - just over 2lbs for �3.50. Baked it in the oven on a bed of julienned veggies from the garden, served it with rice and some samphire (also from fishmonger). One of the best meals I have had all year.
And there was enough trout left over to have cold for Sunday lunch with salad, new potatoes and home-made mayonnaise.

Supermarkets? Who needs 'em!

twoscoops

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1924
Location: Warwickshire

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:28 pm Post subject:

tahir wrote:

Most high value fish is either already being farmed or is on the verge of it, the following are definitely available as farmed fish:

Halibut
Turbot
Cod

That amazes me, but I suppose it shouldn't.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:32 pm Post subject:
Halibut farming's been going for a while, and I believe was pioneered by the Albanians. I assume it's the Norwegians doing cod, but who's doing turbot?

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45715
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:34 pm Post subject:

Judith wrote:

Supermarkets? Who needs 'em!

Very true. We've virtually stopped using 'em. Meat from Welsh Hook, fish from the fishmongers, fruit and veg from greengrocers, milk from milkman, groceries from Suma

tahir

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 45715
Location: Essex

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:36 pm Post subject:

sean wrote:

Halibut farming's been going for a while, and I believe was pioneered by the Albanians.

I assume it's the Norwegians doing cod, but who's doing turbot?

Halibut and Turbot in Guernsey I believe, Cod in Norway and Scotland.

Apparently once they'd cracked the breeding of Halibut and Turbot they found they were just brilliant for farming, they just mooch around very slowly at the bottom of tanks in dark sheds.

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 3:41 pm Post subject:
Sadly they still have us hooked on milk and alcohol. When I do go in, my shopping basket looks really unhealthy - double cream and several bottles of Whitstable Bay, that sort of thing. Not a hint of fruit or veg

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 4:14 pm Post subject:
Whitstable Bay? Is it made from kippers?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 4:23 pm Post subject:
Only the finings! A very pleasant organic beer made by Shepherd Neame, I believe.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 4:27 pm Post subject:
Now there's an advertising slogan: Whitstable Bay, an organic beer fined using kipper by products. Who could resist?

judith

Joined: 16 Dec 2004
Posts: 22789
Location: Montgomeryshire

Posted: Wed Aug 24, 05 4:29 pm Post subject:
I'll have to drink it all myself, then

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