Why don’t we eat more fish and seafood?

[KhansMambo]

A friend and I were chatting about fish and seafood (it’s Easter, after all), and wondering why the U.K. doesn’t have more of a fish/seafood culture or seafood based cuisine. Apart from the occasional bit of battered and deep fried fish, it doesn’t feature largely in a lot of people’s usual diets. And we consume markedly less than other countries with similar access.

As we’ve had so much access to it, historically, it’s interesting that it’s not the core of our traditional diet. Why don’t we have hundreds of razor clam recipes? Why didn’t everyone grow up eating an array of fish stews? Or using different kinds of seafood and seaweed as seasoning? I’m sure there’s all sorts of interesting anthropological reasons. I was wondering what everyone thought they were.

A quick Google dig up these, which I thought were really interesting.

• www.spectator.co.uk/article/britains-strange-aversion-to-seafood/amp

• www.newstatesman.com/culture/food-drink/2021/09/britain-is-surrounded-by-fish-so-why-do-we-eat-so-little-of-it

@OfstedOffred

Every time I cook fish I'm horrified by the price. The same stuff I buy in Spain or France costs at least 3 times as much! I'd love to cook seafood more often but I get annoyed by how its deliberately priced high for the british market (stuff caught in our waters is exported and sold for less elsewhere).

Agree. We just don't have the abundance of it made available to us at a realistic price point. It is always going to be £5 per person for a badly cut, slightly smelly fillet. As for those frozen bags of seafood with the rubbery squid rings which we have all bought for paella at some point, the Europeans would genuinely turn their noses up at the very thought of them!

Im from the coast, we always had fish. Now veggie, I still crave it though.

I love fish but with a large husband and two teenage boys, it’s just too expensive.

I think that it is astonishing how little fish is actually available for purchase in coastal towns. Pretty much the only place I have been to where you can buy some easily is Aldeburgh.

Poor fishing practices, resulting in massive numbers of dead fish, over fishing and pollution

Allergies

Seaspiracy. Won't ever eat it again.

I agree it's the expense.

I would happily eat more seafood in general, but can only rarely afford fish and other types of seafood even less. However, I do eat a lot of seaweed, though strangely I have to import it from Japan as dried British seaweed doesn't seem to exist here and what is served as seaweed from your local Chinese is actually deep-fried kale or cabbage.

My kids don't particularly like seafood, but I do put that down to lack of regular exposure.

We never ate fish growing up because my DF hated it after growing up poor in a coastal town, he was fed fish stew all the time. Just the smell of fish would turn his stomach.

After leaving the uk and living in a country where fish and seafood is a stable part of the diet I learnt to appreciate nice fish and seafood. Unfortunately one of my dc is allergic to all fish and seafood so now we dont have it in the house at all. The rest of us eat it when out if we get a chance when my DCs isn’t with us.

I also find the quality, choice and the way it’s cooked in England not appealing at all. I’ve had some very nice fish and seafood in Scotland though.

It is expensive. Turbot, John Dory or wild seatrout are delicious fresh from a good fish monger (forget the supermarket counter, fish is too old) but extremely expensive. Mackerel/sardines are cheap but not everyone likes the stronger flavour.

As a child was fascinated when Dad brought home fresh crab from Billingsgate Market .He read up on how to dress a crab .(Then a little extra to pay if you wanted it dressed ).Lovely memories of Friday evenings! As an Adult never fancied doing it though! Loved Rock Eel and chips too .Now Fish fingers or frozen fish .Or sometimes Fish and chips (Quite dear now though nearly £20.00 for 2 med Cod and Chips!)

I hate seafood.
Lots of fish stinks.
I wouldn't eat a woodlouse but people would happily eat a prawn, crab or lobster which IMO looks like some sort of disgusting sea insect.

I also think the practice of mass fishing is terrible. Fishing has so much waste and damage to wildlife (dolphins, whales, sharks etc) which people don’t really seem to care about when eating it! I’ve watched documentaries of sharks being thrown back finless and whales being beached and stabbed to death as well as all of the animals caught in nets. Then there the practices of boiling lobsters alive and cutting off crabs legs while it’s still trying to get away.

I’ve no idea how it’s still allowed

@CrowAndArrow

I gave up eating fish and sea food after watching Seaspiracy, I'll never eat it again.

Rope grown mussels is the most sustainable and carbon neutral food source available. Seaspiracy didn't bother to have a balanced argument at all and didn't bother to look at sustainable fishing practices as it was funded by vegans......

@FelicityGreen

It is expensive. Turbot, John Dory or wild seatrout are delicious fresh from a good fish monger (forget the supermarket counter, fish is too old) but extremely expensive. Mackerel/sardines are cheap but not everyone likes the stronger flavour.

I found that there is an abundance of cheaper fish in Portugal and I didn't enjoy eating it or they way in which it was prepared. The smell of the sweat on some of the locals in the sweltering heat seemed to have a whiff of fried fish.

There isn't enough to go around. We overfish massively as it is.

Fishing is very damaging to the environment - both the removal of fish and other animals plus the act of fishing itself.

Farmed fish has all sorts of environmental issues.

I love fish. I rarely eat it because of the above. Some species I never eat.

@dottydodah

As a child was fascinated when Dad brought home fresh crab from Billingsgate Market .He read up on how to dress a crab .(Then a little extra to pay if you wanted it dressed ).Lovely memories of Friday evenings! As an Adult never fancied doing it though! Loved Rock Eel and chips too .Now Fish fingers or frozen fish .Or sometimes Fish and chips (Quite dear now though nearly £20.00 for 2 med Cod and Chips!)

I woke up (Really) early and went there once. I ended up with something apparently illegal which I could not enjoy. I wish that place was geared towards selling to non-trade as well as trade.

@TimBoothseyes

It doesn't matter what fish it is or how it's been cooked, to me, it all tastes the same, other people may notice the difference but I can't. It's not something I enjoy eating so I don't.

You need a new chef if it all tastes the same to you! Some people spoil the taste of fish by using sauces etc that are too strong, it needs a delicate treatment, unlike a slab of beef.

Toxics, particularly mercury.

I’m right in the coast here.

My mate fishes for fun and I regularly get bags of freshly line caught fish and we eat it a couple of times a week

I’m going to learn myself in the coming months and hopefully get my own catch.

I’ve got a smoker plan and a some supplies ready to make one and can’t wait to try smoking my own fish, meat and cheese.

@tilder

There isn't enough to go around. We overfish massively as it is.

Fishing is very damaging to the environment - both the removal of fish and other animals plus the act of fishing itself.

Farmed fish has all sorts of environmental issues.

I love fish. I rarely eat it because of the above. Some species I never eat.

In the med yes but actually UK fish stocks are in a good position for majority of species and some Ray species are protected.

Fish farming depends on the system and fish involved. Aquaponics for instance is a loop system for vegetable growing and feeding tilapia there is minimal wastage.

Other systems use seaweed filtration systems for seabass which not only filters waste effluent but then you have the seaweed product which can be sold too

Salmon farming depends on the farm there are some very good natural systems which use mussel beds and seaweed underneath for filtration, keep a low stocking density and have very few issues with sea lice.

Rope grown mussels are carbon neutral and extremely sustainable.

It's more about what you choose and knowing your sources.
Not all fish farms are environmentally bad!

I like almost all fish and seafood but I’m not confident in cooking it - so nearly always order it when out, but only cook a few dishes at home.

Rarely eat it for environmental and financial reasons

Had mussels food pm the River Fowey last night. Easy to cook, and a lovely meal for three of us.

@YryBuyTry7295

There is an English tradition to eat fish on a Friday

The last place I worked, there was always fish in the canteen on a friday

It's a Catholic tradition, really.