Fresh fish supplies hit by bad weather

SUPPLIES of freshly caught fish have all but dried up, because fishermen have been unable to operate in bad weather.

Fishmongers who insist on sourcing direct from day boats have been left high and dry over the past week, with a meagre selection to offer customers. It is a result of days of relentless high winds, combined with high tides, which made it impossible for smaller boats to go out, except in rare weather windows.

David Muirhead, of the South West Hand Line Fishermen's Association, said scallopers were among the worst affected. He said the timing was particularly unfortunate, as it is normally a lucrative season for fish. "It's hitting a lot of people very hard, particularly as Christmas is coming and fishermen will be hoping to earn a bob or two," he said.

In Falmouth, he said 10 tankers which are waiting for the price of oil to go up before they unload have caused problems, and said one large ship recently raised anchor and took 20 crab pots with it, causing around £800 worth of damage.

Neil Hodder, of Cornish company Matthew Stevenson Ltd, said he is having to supply customers with frozen stock. It is one of the largest hotel and catering suppliers in the region, counting Rick Stein's restaurants among its customers.

Mr Hodder yesterday said the weather was having a "massive impact" on its operations. Of the 30 varieties of fresh white fish normally available, the company had just 10 yesterday.

Mr Hodder said: "It's certainly not enough for us. We do carry a back-up of stock which we have processed and frozen ourselves, but we don't like to supply our customers with frozen, and most of them don't really want it.

"This does happen with prolonged spells of weather, and we usually manage to scrape through with people taking alternative fresh stock, but it's looking like this weekend could really be a problem."

At Chandos Deli, in Exeter's Princesshay complex, only a few varieties of fresh produce were available on the fish counter this week. Grant Boughton said the policy of only buying fresh, direct from day boats, meant rough weather played havoc with supply.

But he said: "Obviously it affects our sales, but I think our customers understand, and appreciate why we operate that way."