Fresh fish from trawler to the shop

mikelata

Hi all,

I am trying to understand a bit better how fresh the fish we buy in supermarkets or fishmongers is.
I have always bought fish to be eaten the same day. But how long do supermarkets and fishmongers keep the fish in the shop before selling it?

I just wonder what the full cycle from the local trawler to the end consumer is (in terms of freshness, preservation and time)

Thanks!

odyssey06

Something to be aware of is that a lot of fish and seafood is farmed esp salmon. It should be labelled as such or watch out for wild caught labelled.

mikelata

odyssey06 wrote: »

Something to be aware of is that a lot of fish and seafood is farmed esp salmon. It should be labelled as such or watch out for wild caught labelled.

Yes, that is another dimension: wild vs farmed
Or origin: local vs foreign fishing zone

It is not easy to understand all the variables in the absence of clear labelling

Jim2007

Depends on the size of the vessel. Some land within 24 hours, some catch, process and store for a week or more..

downwesht

The "fresh" wild fish catching history is roughly this

1.Day fish......this is usually fish caught and landed within the same 24 hrs.Top quality if handled properly.....usually ends up being sold by fish shops local to the pier of landing.Live langoustines(Dublin Bay prawns) are usually from day boats.

2.Seine net fish .....very good method of fishing which is not damaging on the fish.These boats normally land every 3 days on average.Cod,whiting,haddock and hake are caught using this method.Command better price on the market.

3.Trawl fish.Caught by boats over a 5 to 7 day period.Quality of fish can vary depending on the length of time the net is towed and how good the crew are at handling the fish,also how good the refridgeration is on the vessel.Monkfish,flatfish,all whitefish species and prawns are caught this way.

4. Beam trawl.... A net towed on the bottom suspended from a heavy metal beam with chains at the bottom.Used to catch sole and bottom dwelling fish.Fish can vary in quality depending on the type of ground.

5.Gill net .... This is a selective type of fishing where nets are set on the bottom and fish swim into them and get caught by their gills.Hake,pollack,monkfish and turbot are caught this way.Quality can vary again by how long the nets are set for and how well the fish are handled.

6. Pelagic trawling.Fish caught in the upper levels of the sea mackerel,herring and tuna for example.Can be of very high quality or poor depending on how the fish is handled.

Fish is only as good as the people who have caught it.This in MY OPINION is where we fall down as a fishing nation.All the emphasis is on quantity and not quality.....I think we could do more on quality but that is another conversation!



The supermarkets source fish from large companies dealing in fish from local sources and imports. These companies usually have their own shops too.The fish they provide to supermarkets IN MY OPINION is not the top quality.It is often fish that is "glut" fish or fish that is old and needs to be "moved on".In general the Irish consumer is not "well up" on how to judge fish and it's quality.Their experience of fish is poor especially when living away from the coast.
I could write more!
To sum up ,if you want to buy quality fish, be prepared to pay a bit more than the supermarket and go to a local fishmonger.Look for a good shine on the skin,a bright clear eye and most importantly FRESH FISH DOESN'T SMELL FISHY!

Hope this helps!

mikelata

downwesht wrote: »

The "fresh" wild fish catching history is roughly this

1.Day fish......this is usually fish caught and landed within the same 24 hrs.Top quality if handled properly.....usually ends up being sold by fish shops local to the pier of landing.Live langoustines(Dublin Bay prawns) are usually from day boats.

2.Seine net fish .....very good method of fishing which is not damaging on the fish.These boats normally land every 3 days on average.Cod,whiting,haddock and hake are caught using this method.Command better price on the market.

3.Trawl fish.Caught by boats over a 5 to 7 day period.Quality of fish can vary depending on the length of time the net is towed and how good the crew are at handling the fish,also how good the refridgeration is on the vessel.Monkfish,flatfish,all whitefish species and prawns are caught this way.

4. Beam trawl.... A net towed on the bottom suspended from a heavy metal beam with chains at the bottom.Used to catch sole and bottom dwelling fish.Fish can vary in quality depending on the type of ground.

5.Gill net .... This is a selective type of fishing where nets are set on the bottom and fish swim into them and get caught by their gills.Hake,pollack,monkfish and turbot are caught this way.Quality can vary again by how long the nets are set for and how well the fish are handled.

6. Pelagic trawling.Fish caught in the upper levels of the sea mackerel,herring and tuna for example.Can be of very high quality or poor depending on how the fish is handled.

Fish is only as good as the people who have caught it.This in MY OPINION is where we fall down as a fishing nation.All the emphasis is on quantity and not quality.....I think we could do more on quality but that is another conversation!



The supermarkets source fish from large companies dealing in fish from local sources and imports. These companies usually have their own shops too.The fish they provide to supermarkets IN MY OPINION is not the top quality.It is often fish that is "glut" fish or fish that is old and needs to be "moved on".In general the Irish consumer is not "well up" on how to judge fish and it's quality.Their experience of fish is poor especially when living away from the coast.
I could write more!
To sum up ,if you want to buy quality fish, be prepared to pay a bit more than the supermarket and go to a local fishmonger.Look for a good shine on the skin,a bright clear eye and most importantly FRESH FISH DOESN'T SMELL FISHY!

Hope this helps!

Thanks a lot for your reply. It was really helpful and informative!

mikelata

downwesht wrote: »

The supermarkets source fish from large companies dealing in fish from local sources and imports. These companies usually have their own shops too.The fish they provide to supermarkets IN MY OPINION is not the top quality.

I was wondering today...

so I am getting that local fishmongers get their fish from small fish suppliers (not large companies like supermarkets)
Is that what restaurants do? Same suppliers as fishmongers?

Something that confuses me about my local fishmonger is how much the freshness varies. Sometimes is really fresh but not always. Is that the way they handle the fish themselves? Or maybe an unreliable supplier?

Thanks again

eusap

Did you know a fish seller had to put the Latin name of the fish on display in the shop?

Local butcher told/showed me this and i often wondered why, could not find the answer

killbillvol2

mikelata wrote: »

I was wondering today...

so I am getting that local fishmongers get their fish from small fish suppliers (not large companies like supermarkets)
Is that what restaurants do? Same suppliers as fishmongers?

Something that confuses me about my local fishmonger is how much the freshness varies. Sometimes is really fresh but not always. Is that the way they handle the fish themselves? Or maybe an unreliable supplier?

Thanks again

My local fishmonger supplies most of the restaurants around. They know the origin of everything they sell. I usually just ask what's good today and pick something they suggest. The surprising thing is that they're not much more expensive than the supermarket.

downwesht

Fish is highly perishable as you know.The main enemy of fish is heat!This accelerates the decomposition process.
Say fish comes out of the water here at 10 degrees C onto the deck at air temp 12 degrees C the temperature of the fish is risen before it is even gutted,presuming that it is gutted and washed properly it is then sent to the hold where it is iced and refridgerated.This should get the temperature down to 2 degrees C.When landed this temperature should be maintained in refridgerated transport and then into the fridge of the fishmonger.The fishmonger will then fillet the fish and put it on a chilled display.
If any of the links in this chain are broken the product is compromised.
Ideally fish should be sold on the day of processing but if not it will deteriorate over the next few days in and out of the fridge.......
When weather is bad fishmongers do their best to stretch the shelf life of their product eg. keep fish landed on Monday until Friday (a busy day)
The question a customer should ask in a fishmongers shop is "when was the .....Eg Cod ...landed?" not "is the cod fresh?"
Now ...note one thing some fish eg Cod,Turbot,Black Sole and Brill improve in taste by maturing on ice over a day or two, but other fish eg Mackerel,Herring and Whiting are best eaten withing 24 hrs.

As regards the Latin name question this is done to show clarity and accuracy in describing the products on offer.Monkfish for example is actually Angler Fish, Rock Salmon is Spur Dogfish and Golden Fillets imported Tilapia.

social butterfly 2020

mikelata wrote: »

I was wondering today...

so I am getting that local fishmongers get their fish from small fish suppliers (not large companies like supermarkets)
Is that what restaurants do? Same suppliers as fishmongers?

Something that confuses me about my local fishmonger is how much the freshness varies. Sometimes is really fresh but not always. Is that the way they handle the fish themselves? Or maybe an unreliable supplier?

Thanks again

eatmorefish.ie is the place to go for fresh fish

Thelonious Monk

It's a bit of a minefield. Even the fish shops in Howth, many of their products are from the far side of the world or farmed.
I don't think it's possible to buy salmon that hasn't been farmed, there are hardly any coming back to Ireland these days compared to how it used to be even as soon as the 1970s. Very sad.
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/just-three-or-four-in-100-wild-salmon-return-to-irish-waters-1.3875588

anewme

Just to say thanks to Downwesht for the great posts.

mikelata

downwesht wrote: »

Fish is highly perishable as you know.The main enemy of fish is heat!This accelerates the decomposition process.
Say fish comes out of the water here at 10 degrees C onto the deck at air temp 12 degrees C the temperature of the fish is risen before it is even gutted,presuming that it is gutted and washed properly it is then sent to the hold where it is iced and refridgerated.This should get the temperature down to 2 degrees C.When landed this temperature should be maintained in refridgerated transport and then into the fridge of the fishmonger.The fishmonger will then fillet the fish and put it on a chilled display.
If any of the links in this chain are broken the product is compromised.
Ideally fish should be sold on the day of processing but if not it will deteriorate over the next few days in and out of the fridge.......
When weather is bad fishmongers do their best to stretch the shelf life of their product eg. keep fish landed on Monday until Friday (a busy day)
The question a customer should ask in a fishmongers shop is "when was the .....Eg Cod ...landed?" not "is the cod fresh?"
Now ...note one thing some fish eg Cod,Turbot,Black Sole and Brill improve in taste by maturing on ice over a day or two, but other fish eg Mackerel,Herring and Whiting are best eaten withing 24 hrs.

As regards the Latin name question this is done to show clarity and accuracy in describing the products on offer.Monkfish for example is actually Angler Fish, Rock Salmon is Spur Dogfish and Golden Fillets imported Tilapia.

I guess a reasonable assumption would be that Tuesdays are a good day to buy fish?
Many fishmongers close on Monday, so fishmongers get a fresh supply of fish every Tuesday morning, and would unlikely try to stretch the shelf life of last week's fish?

Muahahaha

mikelata wrote: »

I guess a reasonable assumption would be that Tuesdays are a good day to buy fish?
Many fishmongers close on Monday, so fishmongers get a fresh supply of fish every Tuesday morning, and would unlikely try to stretch the shelf life of last week's fish?

yeah I think there is something in the Tuesday for landing fish. Ive ordered from these guys before and they only do deliveries on Wednesday to Friday so would presume that is from everything that has been landed on Tuesday
https://eatmorefish.ie/

mikelata

Muahahaha wrote: »

yeah I think there is something in the Tuesday for landing fish. Ive ordered from these guys before and they only do deliveries on Wednesday to Friday so would presume that is from everything that has been landed on Tuesday
https://eatmorefish.ie/

the info on that site about catch area and method of capture is very impressive

Muahahaha

yeah theyre a good operation, the range of fish they have on the site is something else too. It wont always be in stock but good to see you can get more unusual species that arent available in the supermarkets. Ive no fishmonger near me so find them handy to order from time to time, Im not sure if theres any other fishmongers offering natiowide delivery but it is a good idea as fishmonger shops are few and far between these days

the beer revolu

Muahahaha wrote: »

yeah theyre a good operation, the range of fish they have on the site is something else too. It wont always be in stock but good to see you can get more unusual species that arent available in the supermarkets. Ive no fishmonger near me so find them handy to order from time to time, Im not sure if theres any other fishmongers offering natiowide delivery but it is a good idea as fishmonger shops are few and far between these days

While I hate dealing with packaging, generally, I'm sure I'd really hate dealing with fishy packaging from online delivery of fish - I'm thinking loads of polystyrene and plastic.

How does it come?