The COVID Storm's Not Over For The Fish Industry - Not By A Long Shot
Billingsgate Market. Tuesday 9th June. 5am: Ask anyone that’s been to Billingsgate, the old one (Lower Thames Street) or the new one (Canary Wharf) and they’ll tell you it’s one of the liveliest places in London, especially at 5:00am on a Tuesday morning. Although being from Medway, Kent where the liveliest spot is a nightclub whose main event of the year is a “Porn Star Party”, maybe I’m not the best to be judging on the best jaunts in London. Billingsgate is loud though. It’s full of big fish, big crowds and even bigger personalities. You know that scene in The Wolf of Wall Street where Belfort proclaims “If you wanna know what money sounds like, go to a trading floor on wall street… I couldn’t believe how these guys talked to each other”. Well, that.
Now by no means am I saying that there’s the same kind of money being thrown about in a fish hall as there is on Wall Street but the slurs, comments and rivalry is very, very similar. It’s a deep ocean in there and predators on every turn fighting for your custom - well, that’s how it used to be. You see the hustle and bustle doesn’t exist in Billingsgate anymore, not like it used to and certainly not in this current climate. As I walk through its polystyrene lined streets, currently, I’m met by the occasional tannoy message “ALL VISITORS MUST ADHERE TO THE 2 METRE DISTANCING”, it’s like walking through Orwell’s 1984. Martial Law in the market or Mar-shell law if you like...no? I’ll see myself out.
Covid-19 has had massive effects on all elements of the fish industry. Not all of it bad, but for a lot of traders it hasn’t done them much good either. I’ve spent the last 6 years in the trade and the levels in which tastes and more importantly, prices have changed in that time is quite extraordinary. Covid-19 has exasperated things for us all; fish holds no exception. In the past couple of months, I have seen the markets that I know, love and visit constantly, drop from having 50 stalls and traders to a mere fraction of that when the pandemic fears struck. You see, Billingsgate has predominantly been a trader’s market - being a central trading hub in the capital it was easy access for a lot of fishmongers to get to. As time has passed a lot of traders have now opened accounts with restaurants and caterers, so when the Government closed all socialising establishments most firms were left with a lot of clients that had temporarily gone out of business, and left them all out to sea.
But what does that mean for the fish industry as a whole? I’ve been lucky enough to chat to some others in the fishing, fish distribution and catering trade to find out exactly what effect the pandemic will have on their business and will we ever truly get over it?
The madness of the past few months has meant all areas of the fishing industry have had to up their business game. We’ve seen Government restrictions lifted so Fishermen can sell their catch directly to the public to keep their livelihoods afloat. In previous years Fishermen were only allowed to sell to registered buyers to make sure all fish was traceable, but with temporary relaxation on the laws it meant those smaller boats didn’t go out of business - which I’m sure we can all agree is vital, especially right now. It’s helped the general public discover local shopping again too. In the past few weeks in our shop we have noticed an increase in enquiries and orders that have marginally eased the blow of losing all of our catering contracts. People are enjoying the lesser queues and fresher produce that you get with local stores - it’s very pleasing to see and one I hope continues long after normality resumes.
Wright Bros Ltd are another example of adapting to “Lockdown Life” after a very, very shaky start. When the Government ordered the public to avoid social spaces (Pubs and Restaurants) they managed to keep their own spaces open for a mere few days until it wasn’t financially viable anymore. With some 300 restaurant clients of theirs following shortly behind. I think that’s what has been forgotten about in these times of crisis, people think about the devastating impact that this will have on the catering sector but fail to take into consideration the domino effect it has had on the supplier industry all the way down to the land and sea. Many, if not all restaurants have big accounts with their suppliers that are usually 4-8 weeks in arrears, this can sometimes amount to thousands of pounds of debt that may well simply vanish should a business close or go into liquidation leaving a supplier leaning on the ropes trying their best just to stand on two feet. It meant in Wright Bro’s case that there needed to be fast and effective changes to the structure of their business. The launch of “Wright Bros - At Home” has given Fishermen chance to fish, their Billingsgate and Brixham coastal depot a chance to work and most importantly its got people cooking restaurant-quality fish and seafood at home again.
Co-founder Robin Hancock explained that their new way of operation gave staff a much-needed boost in morale. While writing this article he tells me that they are in week 7 of their new branch of business, and the hard work has been made all the more worthwhile by the positive feedback each order has had from its recipient. When life returns to normal he can see it becoming a key element to their foreseeable business structure. With very few excellent traditional fishmongers left in the U.K it is important that all areas of the Country have access to the highest quality fish and seafood available. This consumer change in seafood consumption could be seen reflected across the entire nation with a rise in popularity of the aforementioned direct-to-consumer delivery boxes and increased local purchasing. Research from the ‘Sea for Yourself’ campaign - an initiative supported by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and Seafish, a non-departmental public body has spotted a new era for the sector. Mike Warner a seafood expert and ambassador for Seafish stated that “consumers are [now] far better able to appreciate the native fisheries resources we have in the UK… during COVID-19… instead of relying on the ‘big five’ [imported products] - salmon, cod, haddock, tuna and warm-water prawns", with many consumers being unaware that these products are not being caught in our own waters.
“About three-quarters don’t know that hake is caught in U.K seas, and over half [of these surveyed] didn’t know mussels were farmed here, despite half of the country saying they would choose to eat more seafood if they knew it was caught in UK waters” Mike comments, but is it more about education than availability? I believe that the extra time everyone had on their hands during the lockdown meant people have started to do a more in depth analysis on what they were eating, where it was from and experimenting with how to cook it for the best possible results - I know the highlight of my partner’s day was getting creative in the kitchen to stop her going slowly insane. Robin agrees and said he can’t see us going back to our old lazy habits when normality resumes, insisting people now have a broad spectrum of fantastic suppliers and produce to choose from. But Warner’s not too sure. “The question is” he states is consumers have “got used to consuming fresh, seasonal, home-produced seafood, but will these U.K consumers want to continue buying after the pandemic, if the prices increase as regular international trade resumes?” But is hopeful that our seafood culture, one that has been desired for so long, is one that is slowly becoming less reliant on importation and more focussed on seasonally available and diverse domestically caught produce.
Mike Warner
Newlyn, Cornwall:
As we move down the supply line to Cornwall, the business portfolios are less picturesque than the coastal landscape that they inhabit. The Real Cornish Crab co (TRCCc as I’ll call them for time saving purposes) has been an institution for 20 years with a massive fishing fleet that supplies crab products to both the independent and commercial markets. Unlike Wright Bros the lockdown has meant a significant blow to their trade on all fronts, 98% of their trade comes from the hospitality sector which meant that work had to halt for them for 4 weeks once lockdown began. A sudden change in sales methods such as switching from wholesale to public buying is a big step and one that, if you’re not geared up for, can be challenging - to even the most savvy of entrepreneurs (speaking from personal experience from our own pivot at Hales and Moore it can be a massive drain on your physical and mental health). With a limited number of resources for home deliveries TRCCc has seen a drop in turnover of almost 50% which was inevitable but they are still keeping their heads above water - just.
Their Fishing fleets are fighting to survive too. With 75% of their markets being in the U.K. and the other 25% shipped abroad you would assume that the British sales would mean they are still thriving even when removing foreign markets. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Like many other British companies, TRCCc don’t collaborate with the big supermarkets, which means they rely on the public investing their own money so they can continue to fund their business and fish for top quality produce. The removal of restaurants from their supply list has cut trade in half and even though people are changing their shopping habits during lockdown it has left companies stuck in the middle of the chain really fighting to survive.
Porthilly, Cornwall:
“Go West, life is peaceful there” and you don’t get more peaceful than Porthilly and its Oyster Farm. Matt Marshall and his family are now in their fifth generation of Farming in Porthilly - so they’ve seen a lot of difficulties come their way but akin to thousands of other businesses have never had to endure something quite as unprecedented as this. With the vast majority of their sales coming directly from restaurants in the Padstow and Rock area as well as countrywide, it meant their profit plummeted to virtually 0 overnight. Being at the core of the food chain it is incredibly difficult without direct public interest to start a “home delivery service”, luckily for them clients such as fishmongers and “Pop up” farm shops adapted very quickly. The sales to those outlets remained at a steady pace throughout offering home delivery and postal services, although even though there has been a significant drop in trade, they are grateful for any custom at this current time.
In recent years The Marshall’s have found themselves sending less produce abroad (with the exception of the odd high-end restaurant in France and an out of the blue request from Hong Kong a few weeks ago), so the Coronavirus travel bans weren’t something that had affected their business, too much. Matt told me that in recent years and predominantly during the lockdown with more time on their hands, people have had foresight to experiment with new food and flavours. Most importantly, consumers now desire to know where their food comes from, ensuring it is British produce and that it is sustainably and ethically farmed or grown. All of these traits Matt feels are the key to the custom they hope to return in due course, something that they feel will only be helped by their “Excellent restaurants locally that really champion their produce”.
So, with the borders closed and nothing for us to eat but what’s been grown on this beautiful British Isle that we call home, something that has taken us a bit by surprise. But just how much should it have? The British fishing fleet was one of the main reasonings for Brexit and one that in previous years has always been a bargaining chip with the rest of EU law, so surely securing our fishing rights back will be nothing but good for us, right? Interestingly everyone of the merchants I spoke to for this interview were of the same opinion, even if it wasn’t of the same enthusiasm.
Covid-19 has given them an insight into the future of the fishing industry, with difficulty exporting products (which would potentially include larger tariffs post-EU) it means that the British market will need investments. In a post-EU world, there will need to be significant investment into domestic markets, whether that be in advertising, production or harvest and with the ever- worsening state of the economy, the question remains as to whether the funding will be available when the time comes? And I’m not so sure.
I think the past few months have taught us one thing if nothing else, and that is I have as much knowledge of tomorrow as you do, zero. All we can do is reflect on the extra time we all have. Make a change; make a difference. The economy needs us all now more than ever so instead of spending more in your supermarkets, spend an extra £10 a week in your local Fishmongers or Seafood supplier, independent Butcher, Greengrocer or Farm Shop. When they re-open go and have a catch up and a couple of pints with your mates in the local boozer. Do what the British do best: Eat, Drink and Dream. Then maybe, just maybe the future won’t look so dark.