reLAKSation 173.
Christmas Offers: In the run up to Christmas, British
supermarkets have again offered salmon at discounted prices. We
have summarised the offers below and have provided the data from previous years
for comparison. It is evident that these Christmas offers have changed little
over the past five years with most supermarkets repeating the discounts offered
in previous years. This pattern only changes when any one supermarket decides to
readjust their discount and then the others follow. This year, Sainsburys cut
the price of whole salmon to match that offered by Tesco. However, Tesco then
cut their price to match that offered by Asda even though the prices were only
pennies different.
This year, what is becoming much more apparent is how unimportant whole salmon sales have become. Some store groups used to stock whole salmon on the fish counter and as a prepack in the chiller cabinet. Prepacks have now almost disappeared altogether even from stores without a fresh fish counter and those stores that do stock them, only had them available for a very short time. Other commentators might suggest that this observation is in line with the known increasing demand for fillets, however we, at Callander McDowell, suspect that it is simply a case that fresh salmon is now accepted as an everyday meal choice and is no longer considered special enough for the Christmas festivities. In previous years, some of the supermarkets have advertised their Christmas salmon prices in various newspapers. This year, only Sainsburys did so and then they highlighted price cuts made during the year rather than price cuts especially for Christmas. Following reports of the crisis in the fisheries industry, evidence that farmed salmon is now part of the daily diet rather than a special treat at Easter or Christmas, is further indication of the success of the fish farming industry.
Christmas
prices for whole salmon are summarised as follows, together with the prices
recorded in previous years:
Asda.
December 2004.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.18/kg (Save £1.20/kg)
December 2003.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.24/g (Save £1.14/kg)
December 2002.
Fresh whole Scottish/ Norwegian salmon £3.22/kg (Save £1.16/kg)
December 2001.
Whole fresh salmon £3.19/kg
Whole prepacked salmon £3.99/kg
December 2000.
Whole prepacked salmon £4.20/kg
Morrisons:
December 2004.
Whole Scottish salmon £3.99/kg (Standard price)
December 2003.
Whole Scottish salmon £3.99/kg (Standard price)
December 2002.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.95/kg. (Save £0.43p/kg)
Chilled whole prepacked Scottish salmon £3.95/kg (Save £0.43/kg)
December 2001.
Whole salmon - fresh and prepack £4.38/kg
December 2000.
Whole salmon - fresh and prepacks £4.48/kg
Safeway:
Now owned by Morrisons
December 2003.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £4.99/kg (save £1/kg)
December 2002.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.99/kg but also £2.99/kg in selected stores
Chilled whole prepacked Scottish salmon £3.99/kg (Save £2/kg)
December 2001.
Whole fresh salmon £4.99/kg
Fresh salmon fillet £6.99/kg
December 2000.
Whole prepacked salmon £8.98/kg
Sainsburys:
December 2004.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.28/kg (Save £3.31/kg)
Chilled whole prepacked Norwegian or Scottish salmon £3.99/kg (Save £4/kg)
December 2003.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.99/kg (Save £4/kg)
Chilled whole prepacked Norwegian or Scottish salmon £4.99/kg (Save £2/kg)
December 2002.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £3.99/kg (Save £4/kg)
Chilled whole prepacked Norwegian or Scottish salmon £4.49/kg (Save £2.99/kg)
December 2001.
Fresh whole salmon £3.49/kg
Whole salmon prepack £4.49/kg
December 2000.
Whole fish £4.63/kg
Tesco:
December 2004.
Fresh whole salmon £3.18/kg (Save £3.41/kg)
December 2003.
Fresh whole salmon £3.29/kg (Save £3.28/kg)
December 2002.
Fresh whole salmon £3.29/kg (Save £3.40/kg)
December 2001.
Fresh whole salmon £3.19/kg
December 2000.
Fresh whole salmon- fresh and prepacked £3.24/kg
Waitrose:
December 2004.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £4.99/kg (Save £2/kg)
December 2003.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £4.99/kg (Save £2/kg)
December 2002.
Fresh whole Scottish salmon £4.99/kg (Save £1.50/kg)
Fresh whole Scottish organic salmon £6.79/kg (Save £2/kg)
December 2001.
Fresh whole salmon £4.99/kg
No
difference!:
IntraFish reports that the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research
(NIFES) say that there is no factual evidence to support the claim that Scottish
salmon is better than Norwegian salmon. Researchers at the Institute found that
there was no difference in taste or chemical composition between smoked salmon
samples from Norway, Scotland or Ireland. The only difference was in price,
which Marit Espe of NIFES is more due to tradition and reputation than any
actual quality differences. She said that this research puts paid to the myth
that Scottish salmon is better than that from Norway, however she also said that
she didn’t understand how this myth came about. This is not surprising because
this difference in market image developed long before salmon farming actually
began and long before Scottish salmon came into competition with fish from
Norway.
Salmon
developed its luxury market image for two reasons. The first because of its
association with sport fishing especially amongst royalty and the aristocracy.
The second because Atlantic salmon were relatively rare in the marketplace.
Salmon are also a seasonal fish and are available in limited quantities,
especially when compared with marine fish like cod and herring. This inherent
rareness meant that it filled a special position in the marketplace. It is for
this reason that salmon were a prime candidate species for farming. They had a
high market demand and a high market price.
Yet,
the aristocracy and upper classes were not the only people wanting to eat
salmon. At the turn of the twentieth century, a large influx of Jewish
immigrants came to London, wanting to escape the pogroms of Tsarist Russia.
These immigrants had a tradition of eating smoked salmon and established family
run smokeries in London’s east end to satisfy this demand. Some of these
smokeries still exist, such as H Formans & Son, (www.formans.co.uk)
established in 1905. They developed a unique smoked salmon using what is now
know as the London smoke, which is still available from stores like Selfridges
and Harrods. This is a lot milder than the traditional Scottish smokes.
These
immigrants found it difficult to source sufficient salmon to meet their demand
and so sought suppliers from other parts of the Commonwealth. Canada became a
major supplier sending not the native European Atlantic salmon but rather
varieties of Pacific salmon. Such salmon became the mainstay of the London
smoking industry, although some Scottish salmon was also smoked.
Clearly,
smoked Pacific salmon is a very different fish to smoked Atlantic (or Scottish)
salmon and thus a specific hierarchy of quality developed in which Scottish
salmon was always perceived as being the best.
With
the onset of farming, the pioneering Scottish salmon farming companies naturally
retained this perception believing that their salmon was also the best. They
have maintained this perception through until today, even though they are not
competing against producers of Pacific salmon species, but rather against
producers who are farming the exact salmon species of salmon as themselves.
Wild
Atlantic salmon are migratory fish. They feed out in the Atlantic and then
return to freshwater to breed. It is just a matter of luck that some fish breed
in Irish rivers, some in Scottish rivers and some in Norwegian rivers. There is
no difference between them. They are the same fish. Some fish even return to
English or Welsh rivers. Are these inferior to Scottish salmon? Of course not,
they are the same fish.
The
Scottish industry might argue that Scottish salmon are recognised of being of
superior quality through the award of the prestigious Label Rouge quality mark.
However, the criteria of this quality scheme relate to the way that the fish are
handled throughout the production process and after harvest. They do not
necessarily mean that the fish actually taste any better, which is how the
consumer would determine whether one fish is better than another. The
differences are relatively small, which is not surprising since most salmon are
grown in the same type of cages under the same management strategies using the
same type of feed. They are therefore unlikely to be any different.
NIFES
suggest that any price differences are simply down to tradition and reputation,
rather than any differences in quality. It is likely that these differences will
disappear as consumers increasingly recognise that they are paying extra for no
extra benefit. This is already happening to fresh salmon, which is why the
Scottish industry are trying to exclude Norwegian salmon from the EU market
through trade sanctions. Effective marketing may yet prevent it happening to the
smoked fish.
Eat
more fish:
The editorial in Seafood International comments on the recent report on
over-fishing from the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution. They say that
the UK Government should scrap its advice that people should eat two portions of
fish a week because rising consumption could destroy depleted fishing grounds.
They also call for the closure of 30% of British waters to fishing vessels and
the creation of marine
reserves instead. In addition, they want to see an end to deep
sea trawling and the decommissioning of more fishing vessels.
Mike
Urch, the editor of Seafood International argues that whatever decisions are
made about fishing in the North Sea, the outcome will have little consequence
for the British consumer. 95% of cod consumed in the UK comes from outside the
North Sea and that over 70% of the seafood eaten in the UK is sourced from
around the world, not from local waters. He therefore believes that it is wrong
for the Commission to advise reduced fish consumption because the many health
benefits of eating fish will be lost. Instead, he wants the Government to tell
the public to eat more fish, not less, a sentiment with which we, at Callander
McDowell, agree. However, we would go even further and say that the message
should be to eat more farmed fish.
In
every other area of food production, man has turned from hunter-gathering to
agriculture. We no longer rely on wild caught food to satisfy our needs.
Instead, we rely on a highly developed and sophisticated farming system to meet
our demand for food. Fish supply cannot be different. As demand for fish and
seafood increases, it is inevitable that we will harvest more than the natural
system can produce. Widespread farming is therefore imperative.
Whilst
the warmer climates allow extensive pond culture, cooler waters will require
more intensive farming methods. These are already under attack from
environmentalist and those concerned that intensive aquaculture places a further
demand on wild fish stocks to supply fish oils and fishmeal for feed production.
However, aquaculture is not the only user of these products and whilst there is
an increasing move to seek alternatives, the Royal Commission do recognise that
fishmeal usage for traditional agriculture places even more strain on these
supplies and thus they recommend that the use of fishmeal in agriculture be
discouraged.
It
is clear that aquaculture is still far from perfect put equally more effort
should be invested in finding ways to farm fish in ways which are more
harmonious with the environment and do not put a drain on other resources.
We
should be proud of our industry and we should encourage consumers to recognise
that farmed fish are part of a healthy diet and that increased consumption is a
way of helping reduce the fishing pressure on stock of wild fish. Yes, eat more
fish, but make sure its farmed.