Home ›

Fish from Our Shores

Come on board meet Dave Hurford on his boat The Constant Friend

Our shores offer some of the most diverse fishing and the fishing fleet is hard at work almost every day of the year catching the amazing fish we see in our shops! 

Where our Fish Comes From

Much of the fishwe eat is frozen within hours of being plucked form the sea

This ensures complete freshness when it reaches the shops. ‘Fresh' fish is not always as fresh as we would like it to be and can take days on ice before it reached the shops. The frozen fish we all enjoy in the shops are sourced from many ports around our coast.

 

Frozen hours after catch

Alison Hannaford from Paramount 21 says "we source our Sardines from Cornwall, our supplier is excellent at getting us our fish at its peak of freshness – it's frozen within hours of catch. One of our most popular lines is our West Country Whitebait Fillets; made from a filleted sprat coated in our rustic crumb. They're caught off the Devon Brixham coast, mainly by Dave Hurford of the boat BN484 Constant Friend".

 

Fishing – Part of Our History

Brixham Harbour 150 years ago

It was at the very same Brixham in the 18th century that the technique of trawling, or fishing along the bottom of the sea, was devised. The trawler-men followed the fishing grounds up the English Channel and then on up to the North Sea, where some of them settled in the ports of Grimsby, Hull, and Lowestoft, teaching the locals their trawling method. By 1843 Brixham was the largest fishing port in Devon, with some 1,600 fisherman employed.

Modern Brixham  

An efficient fishing fleet

The fishing fleet at Brixham is much smaller now and Dave has been fishing from Brixham for 43 years. He and his crew of four mainly fish the Midwater trawling for Sprats, Herring, Anchovies and Sardines but they also do Scallop dredging for part of the year.

 

Dave describes the methods he uses to catch his fish...

 

 

 

An Early start

Setting sail at first light

"We often set out to sea at 6am and the fishing grounds can be up to two to three hours from Brixham harbour. We mainly trawl the midwaters for Sprats, Sardines and Herring and on a good day we can catch about 35 tonnes of fish and this can take up to an hour to bring on board."

 

Fresher than Fresh 

Hauled from the sea and put straight on ice

"When the fish is safely stowed on the boat and immediately put in ice to keep it fresh. We call the factory to tell them the size of the catch - they can then meet us in the harbour quay with an artic to transport the fish to the factory. Mobile phone range is limited out at sea to about 15 miles from land so a crew member sometimes stands on the highest point of the foredeck to get a signal!"

 

 

Back in Harbour

In harbour the fish are taken straight to be frozen

"Once back at he quayside it can take up to three hours to get the catch off the boat and into the awaiting transport. The truck takes our catch to Falfish who freeze our fish within hours of it being hauled from the sea. We stay at the quayside and refit our boat to set sail the next morning. Its a team effort and we wash the boat down, bring more ice on board, refuel and generally get set to do it all over again at 6am!"

 

"For eight months of the year we fish the midwaters for oily fish, these are Sprats, Sardines and Herring. Between March and mid July we currently trawl for Scallops however this may change due to quotas."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Sometimes we fish deeper waters for Lemon Sole, Whiting and Plaice."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"For two weeks every year we take our boat, Constant Friend, out of the water for a complete refit. This happens in late July or early August and she is painted, the winch is checked and the engine serviced."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Techniques Used by Our Fishing Fleet 

Boats from all around our coastline use a variey of methods to catch our fish

The men that bring our fish to shore do so in many different ways and with varying techniques. We asked Dave Hurford of the boat Constant Friend from Brixham Harbour in South Devon about trawling and dredging. These are the methods of pulling a net through a shoal of fish and capturing those in its path is. Dave explains the methods:

"When we trawl we tow a funnel-shaped net with a wide mouth behind our boat. Floats on the nets surface edge and weights along its bottom edge keep the net open as it passes over the fish. The shoal becomes trapped in the nets narrower end, called the ‘codend', as the open mouth overtakes the fish. This technique is used in deep and shallower waters depending on the fish being caught".

 

"A dredge is a metal chain-mesh bag with a steel-framed opening which we drag across the seabed to collect shell fish. I use this method to collect scallops".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are many types of fish caught off our shores and they fall into three categories:

  • Whitefish (Demersal) live at or close to the bottom of the sea. These are cod, haddock, plaice and whiting and are all popular due to their rich fleshy texture 
  • Oily fish (Pelagic) live in the sea's middle depths. These are mackerel and herring and their oily content is full of vitamins and is very good for you!
  • Shellfish (Crustacea) have a shell around their exterior. They are prawns, crabs and molluscs (mussels and scallops). Shellfish provide protein, vitamins and minerals, are low in fat and a wonderful source of the Omega 3 fatty acid.

There are many ways our fishermen catch the fish we see in our shops.

Snaring

This method is carried out by encircling an area of water with a net and trapping the fish inside the area, the space in which they can move is then reduced and the fish become trapped.

Seining

A trawler circles the edge of a fishing area whilst letting out two ropes to the sea bed attached to the mouth of a net. The gear is paid out to eventually surround fish. Then, both ropes are pulled in. As the net comes towards the vessel, the ropes and the sides of the net gradually come together until the fish are trapped in the codend.

Set Nets

Set nets or tangle nets are fine and difficult to see in the water. They are left unattended in shallow waters where passing shoals fish swim into them and get caught in the mesh.

So, you've seen the benefits of frozen fish – 
why not try the real thing?

Our chef has created the perfect seafood recipe – all with ingredients from your freezer readily available from shops and supermarkets on your high street... 

Scallops and Tiger Prawns with Warm Salad of Artichokes, Fine Beans, Chorizo and New Potatoes. Light Coriander, Lime and Chilli Dressing. Click here for full frozen seafood recipe
Click here for defrosting frozen fish safely

 

Purse-seining

Carried out by large boats, a big flat net is set out around surface-swimming fish to surround them with a vertical wall of netting floating from the surface. The bottom of the net is then pulled up to the surface, trapping the shoal in an open ‘purse'. The net is pulled up to gradually concentrate the fish at the water's surface, and they are lifted on board with a separate lifting net.

These methods are used for catching the fish we all see on our shop shelves:

  • cod, haddock, plaice and whiting 
  • mackerel and herring
  • prawns, langoustine and crabs
  • mussels and scallops

There are many fishermen in the UK like Dave Hurford. From large ports to small harbours and from tiny inlets and even smaller creeks - they operate from some 300 ports like Brixham Harbour and their boats range from small family run enterprises to large international operations. The UK's three largest ports are Peterhead, Lochinver and Fraserburgh.

Peterhead

Peterhead, north of Aberdeen on the East coast of Scotland the largest whitefish port in Scotland and one of the major fishing ports in Europe. It is largely for a fleet catching haddock, cod, monkfish, mackerel and herring. A recent harbour expansion project has secured the harbour and its fleet's future as it is a vital port for Scotland's fishing fleet.

 

Or, why not try our frozen fish recipe?

theNewIceAge kitchen has got the perfect light meal for after Christmas – a hassle free tasty and healthy dish with ingredients from your high street shops...

Grilled Cod Fillets with Chips and Home Made Tartare Sauce. 

Click here for full frozen fish recipe
Click here for defrosting frozen fish safely
Or, click here for a selection of other frozen food recipies 

 

 

 

Lochinver 

The port of Lochinver is about 40 miles south of Cape Wrath on Scotland's rugged North West Coast. The harbour is a landing point for both the UK whitefish fleet and for vessels from other various European countries. Its proximity to all fishing grounds West of Scotland, Rockall and the North Atlantic, make it popular for commercial boats by saving steaming time, providing additional fishing time and reducing turnaround time. The port is largely for a fleet catching blue ling, ling and langoustine.

Fraserburgh 

Fraserburgh is also on Scotland's East coast only a few miles North of Peterhead. Fraserburgh is home to some of the world's largest fishing vessels. They fish mainly for mackerel, haddock, herring, langoustine and blue whiting around the UK's northern and western waters. Due to strict fishing quotas, these multi-million pound boats fish for only approximately 16 - 20 weeks per year and are tied up in harbour the remaining time.

Fishing Controls

Fishing is well monitored in UK waters and laws put limits on what our fishermen can catch for and where they are allowed to carry out their work. The most important restriction for our fishermen is the European Union Common Fisheries Policy. In the UK, the Department for International Development is pressuring countries around the globe to comply.

Unregulated fishing can can badly affect local markets and damage local fishing and their economies. As of this year, the EU now requires all fish brought into Europe to originate from an organization with Approved Economic Operator status. Click here for more information on supporting the eradication of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

See what happens to fish after it's caught 

Our field Operative takes you on a tour of the fish market and the frozen fish factory

Our independent Food Operatives go behind the scenes of frozen food by investigating the food we eat at source and by following it through to the shop shelves where we buy it. Our Operatives have visited vegetable farms, fish markets and frozen food manufacturers. They publish their discoveries in our 'Fresh Frozen Process' section.  

Nick Adams

  

Are you our next Field Operative?

Publish your discoveries online

Our Field Operatives are members of the public who freely volunteer their time to report on the fresh-to-frozen process. From farmers in Lincolnshire to fishermen in Grimbsby, our Field Operatives go behind the scenes of frozen food and discover what's inside our frozen food and our frozen ready meals. They have access that would normally be hard to acheive and they pass their discoveries on to you here at this site. Perhaps, if you are interested in knowing where your frozen food comes from, you could sign up to become one too. To apply to be a Field Operative click here and share your discoveries of frozen food ready meals online!

 

Page last updated at 17:30 UTC, Monday, 19 April 2010