M&J Seafood Urges Chefs to Contribute to Discards Debate

M&J Seafood is urging chefs and restaurateurs to consider the very serious issue of unnecessary fish discarding.

The company, which is a member of Europe's largest foodservice business, the Brakes Group and has a branch in Broxburn, has welcomed the "fantastic backing" of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and his Fish Fight campaign which is raising awareness of the thousands of tonnes of seafood unnecessarily discarded back into the sea every year.

Next year the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) will be reviewed and reflect the changes in the fish and seafood market, although how it will be amended is still being fiercely debated among the 27 EU countries.

In the EU, fish is discarded for reasons including the catch not meeting the minimum landing size, there is little or no money in the catch, fisherman have no quota left and, most importantly, the species caught cannot be easily marketed.

M&J Seafood says that of all the contributing factors to fish discards there is one that we can all do something about – and that is fish that can be easily marketed and eaten, should be.

According to the company, chefs have an important role to play in this. As part of the major Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform, there will be a huge need to utilise species that can and should be used for human consumption.

M&J Seafood is "not waiting around for that moment to happen" and is currently helping chefs to embrace species such as dab, flounder, cuttlefish, witch, megrim, pout, sand sole, and, indeed, the mighty gurnard.

For several years the company has been championing these under-utilised species. In 2008, it brought the humble gurnard to the fore and it is now gracing dining tables up and down the country.

UK chefs have designed new or adapted old recipes, and this demand means gurnard thrown back into the sea unnecessarily has significantly reduced.

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