#endofanera - British cooking the Wright way

Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright 1947-2014

Perhaps best summed up by the story of her visit to the doctors when she became ill 27 years ago - on receiving the test results told her that the only thing he could think of to cause her such suffering was quinine poisoning, he laughed and joked, "of course you could only get that if you drank huge quantities of tonic".

The great Waitrose hake debate - part II

Fresh and plentiful - uncertificated hake from the Newlyn gill netter Ajax - and therein lies the problem

In response to a direct question about using African hake Ela Farrell received this reply from Waitrose:

Dear Ela
Thank you for contacting us via Twitter.

I've looked into this with our fish buyer and they've advised that at Waitrose we have been working to a responsible seafood sourcing strategy for over 15 years and have made a commitment that by 2017 all our fish and seafood will be independently certified as responsibly sourced.

Waitrose recognises a number of independent Standards for wild caught fish including the Marine Stewardship Council and the Food and Agriculture Organisation based Responsible Fisheries Management. In line with our policy to only buy independently certified fish, our South African hake is from the Marine Stewardship Council fishery and is certified as sustainable.

However as one of our Waitrose Way commitments is to Champion British products selling UK Hake seems an obvious choice, especially as the stocks appear to be healthy. Should the fishery gain independent certification as being responsibly managed we will of course introduce this fish to the Waitrose assortment.
I hope this helps with your query but should you have any further questions please let me know.
Kind regards

Paul Neun

Waitrose Customer Sales and Support

This only highlights the dilemma and complexity of an industry where MSC certification has now become the holy grail and/or stick by which to beat others - getting certification is not that straightforward - and worse still, just because a fishery does not have MSC accreditation does it mean stocks are unhealthy. The same problem exists with fish line caught fish - where the customer would be led to believe that line caught fish are to be preferred to those without that label - it's just not that simple!

Supermarkets obviously feel driven to do their PR bit and say how wonderful they are to use MSC accredited fish - even if home grown fish like hake would be their preferred choice!

Maybe it would be in the supermarkets interests (as M&S did) to help fishermen achieve MSC accreditation for fish species like hake without feeling they are doing the wrong thing.

Those that fish in the south west must be hoping that MSC accreditation is forthcoming for their hake sooner rather than later - especially as they can do the maths and see that the supermarkets selling hake at £16+ a kilo is 10 times greater than the 31.60 per kilo they get on a bad market!

Monday's market full of fish again #eatmorefish

No wind this morning as high water approaches...

as three big beamers land...

also on the market are a few bass...

and a good shot of grey mullet from the inshore fleet...

signs of John Dory about from the beam trawler trip...

as the three big beam trawlers' fish fish the market...

fresh is blood red gills...

and shiny eyes...

with the net fish that filed the western end of the market...

almost tropical, cuckoo wrasse make for a great display on a wet fish counter...

two shades of grey on the back of these fish, but what are they?...

latest bid goes in the book...

while Andy gives an overview of the fishing industry to Falmouth University students on their Ocean Science module, a twelve week 16 lecture course...

fish on the move...

supplies of cuttlefish seem to have improved...

while down the quay the gear on the Calypso has been hung out to dry...

while she waits to sail again.

Saturday bathes in the sun

Dutch beam trawler Calypso takes time out for some serious gear maintenance...

 after landing on Saturday morning...

with a good view from the wheelhouse, the footropes need cutting away from the trawl...

using oxyacetylene...

it's all hands on deck for the work...

just what beam trawlers fear most, a collapsed derrick - testament to the strain under which these boats operate when at sea...

the derrick will have a new mid-section welded in place after the damaged piece has been cut out...

lights on in the gloom...

at this time of year the boats get to dry out on the hard by the fish market... 

and scrub off the weed that has built up over the winter months...

and always time for a tea break in the morning sun...

market bound...

with good fishing from the grounds at the moment...

though over the weekend most of the netting fleet are back in port...

just one of the Billy Rowney's beast  collection...

that decorate her topsides...

latest addition to the fleet, the multi-purpose isnhore boat Serene Dawn looks superb after her refit...

while the netter gets a makeover for the start of the season...

it won't be long before the sailing season gets underway as the weather becomes more predictable...

though for the potters there is a still a huge number of pots to be found, brought ashore and unraveled, repaired or replaced...

over in Penzance the latest Scillonian Sowennna 111...

with the addition of a trawl gantry...

the boat has a good sized working deck for such a compact boat...

complimentary colour schemes on the quay in Penzance Dock...

you have been told!

Maybe try this for the first BBQ of the year as a starter? #summeriscoming

Cover a fillet of salmon with...

4 of measures of sea salt, preferably of the wet kind to 3 of sugar and a good dose of fresh dill, wrap in cling film and pop in the fridge for a few days - add a dash of brandy or whisky as you see fit - classic Gravlax to serve with a mustard and dilll sauce.

Huge Dutch beam trawler Calypso tranships her catch in Newlyn

Son of a fisherman scores his first try for England!

 

#sixnations @nowellsy15 goes over the line to score his first try for England against Italy in Rome.