For many years, haddock has been one of the most talked about fish landed in Newlyn. Until the late 90s early 2000s, haddock were seldom landed in any quantity, either by the growing gillnet fleet or the trawl fleet. Historically, haddock were something of a rarity. In fact, I can remember a time when we would argue over who would get to take home the one decent sized haddock we had caught over five days trawling at sea, such was the esteem they were held in for eating!
Back then, haddock were then the subject of much discussion and debate because for some reason best know to themselves haddock were suddenly everywhere - even anglers fishing off the rocky cliffs in Mounts Bay were catching them! The problem for fishermen working in ICEs Area VII - ie, those waters surrounding Cornwall - was that the quota set and agreed by the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) was almost non-existent for the fleet. This was as a direct result of the CFP catch quotas being set initially based on landing figures from the mid 1970s - and at that time very little haddock was landed by the predominantly longlining fleet that worked from Newlyn. The only piece of ground know to be good for haddock was the eponymous, 'haddock pitch' some 50 miles south-southwest of Newlyn.
One of Newlyn's most outspoken fishermen who railed against the CFP enforced quotas was Mike Mahon, better known as Grimmy Mike. One of the more contentious issues with the CFP was its inflexibility - even if stock levels were proven to be much bigger than historic figures suggested any change in increasing a TAC for a specific fish could not be by more than 10%. Haddock were everywhere in the early 200s and Grimmy mIke grew ever more incensed at having to dump perfectly good fish. For a while he tried to fight the MMO (or MAFF as it was then) into letting him land the over-quota haddock that he caught citing that as it was (is) illegal to dump anything at sea - MAFF were not to be moved. In a show if defiance and moral indignation at such appalling food waste, Grimmy supplied the Mission in Newlyn with haddock for free - and anyone else who asked!
Things then took a turn for the worse for haddock - and other species. The highly publicised and successful 'Fish-Fight' campaign championed by TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittinstall - while well-intentioned - served only to make matters worse by forcing Brussel's hand into introducing clumsy legislation - the notorious and, in a mixed fishery, completely unworkable 'nil-discards' rule. Haddock became what was known as a 'choke' species - whereby if a boat ran out of monthly or (and possible with haddock as it was in such abundance) annual quota then the boat would be forced to fish elsewhere around the coast where it wouldn't catch any haddock - in theory possible in a larger boat with accommodation able to work far from home but entirely impracticable in a small boat.
Today, in ICES Areas b-k there is a 1.5 ton rising to 2 ton (CFPO) quota per boat. This might sound a lot but in the wrong place at the wrong time even a small inshore trawler can catch a ton in a few hauls!
As the Cornwall Good Seafood Guide tells us, haddock is top of very many people's favourite fish and chip supper fish. Haddock is a naturally fluctuating stock, which does better during colder winters. The latest ICES report shows that stocks are now fairly high and that fishing effort has reduced to sustainable levels making this a good choice. Cornish boats often run out of haddock quota making this a choke species. Much effort is being made by demersal trawlers to be more selective and to avoid catching this species when necessary but it is difficult in our mixed trawl fisheries. Where possible, avoid eating undersized fish (below 30 cm) and during their main breeding season in March and April. In 2019 455 tonnes of haddock were landed to Cornish ports with a total value of £1million (MMO data).
Top tip - if you do get given a whole haddock - don't forget to de-scale it - crispy haddock skin is divine - but now with the scales on!
