reLAKSation 450
Mixed messages: At present the salmon industry has no difficulty selling all the fish it can produce. However, in the years to come, increased production will make it necessary to stimulate demand. However, such stimulation may also be required because of declining consumption, especially amongst younger generations. In the UK, SeaFish recently warned that most consumers are not eating the recommended two portions of fish a week with oil-rich fish accounting for less than a quarter of one portion despite efforts to promote the health message.
During his visit to the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels, Scottish Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead announced a £300,000 funding package to help spread his ‘Eat More Fish’ message. He launched the campaign last year with a new microsite on the Scottish Government website intended as a gateway to a variety of information sources about eating fish and seafood (www.scotland.gov.uk/eatmorefish ). The campaign also included a Young Seafood Chef competition and a number of promotions including a presence at the Edinburgh Taste Festival. The poor take up of the two a week message, as highlighted by SeaFish, may suggest that the campaign has not been a great success.
Because the ‘Eat More Fish’ campaign won recognition at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, Scottish regional awards, it has been possible to gain a better insight into the consumer response to the campaign.
Data from the submission to the awards panel indicates that over the initial launch period, the ‘Eat More Fish’ website received 1,182 unique visitors, whilst that belonging to Seafood Scotland saw visitor numbers rise from 3,426 to 8,941. At the same time 500 people visited the young chef website with the competition receiving 42 entrants. Given that the population of Scotland is about 5.1 million, the level of interest created by the campaign is hardly significant.
According to this data, the greatest interest came from visitors to the Edinburgh Taste Festival. Seafood Scotland served 5,000 portions of seafood and an estimated 10,000 people visited the stand. This is not of any surprise since the Festival is really only of interest to serious foodies. With entry costing £16 on the day, and food costing extra, the show is hardly likely to attract the wider public. Not everything in the show has to be paid for so those exhibitors offering free samples, such as Seafood Scotland, are a magnet to any visitor.
It would not be of any surprise if most of those attending the Taste Festival already eat the recommended two portions of fish a week. Those members of the Scottish population, who never eat fish or if they do, buy it from the fish and chip shop, are unlikely to be found at such a food festival. The Taste Festival is an easy target to generate visitor numbers but participation in this event is unlikely to change Scottish eating habits. It is therefore a pity that Seafood Scotland are exhibiting at the Taste Festival again this year (May 28th-30th) rather than spending the money trying to persuade those who never or rarely eat fish to start doing so.
One of the reasons why the campaign has not been a great success is that despite being called ‘Eat More Fish’, the campaign is also intended to spread a wider message about the Scottish supply chain to the public, schoolchildren, retailers and chefs. As part of this wider programme, Seafood Scotland has recently visited three High Schools to highlight the importance of the seafood industry to Scotland, how fish and seafood is caught and processed and the importance of eating fish. Pupils taking part in these lessons are also told about careers and jobs in the seafood sector. Yet however informative these lessons are about the wider industry, the reality is that they dilute the ‘Eat More Fish’ message. They are also unlikely to change the habits of a lifetime.
The health benefits of eating fish and seafood cannot be taught in a single lesson. There really needs to be a sea change in the education system. The emphasis needs to be taken away from quadratic equations and quantum physics and placed on life skills. A report released this week found that one fifth of teenagers leaving school in the UK are so illiterate and innumerate that they are incapable of dealing with the challenges of everyday life. The seafood industry might promote easy to cook recipes, but these are of little use if people can’t read them.
Teaching life skills is the responsibility of the Government and not the seafood industry. Instead, of preaching a message that doesn’t seem to reach anyone but the most interested consumers, the challenge is to produce the type of fish and seafood products that might be attractive to those that rarely eat fish and seafood. Until the industry tries a different approach, it is unlikely that the public will ever be persuaded to eat the recommended two portions of fish and seafood a week.
Claim to fame: Just 10 miles from Glasgow and 38 miles from Edinburgh, the town of Coatbridge has two recent claims to fame. Firstly, it is the home to the winner of this year’s ’Fish and Chip Shop of the Year’ competition. The second is that it has the distinction of being Britain’s fattest town. According to a new report, 21% of locals are clinically obese with a Body Mass Index greater than 30. This compares with the affluent Edinburgh neighbourhood of Morningside with only 9% of residents classed as obese.
Fish and chips are said to be a healthy option but the problem is that many fish and chip shops including Atlantic Fast Food of Coatbridge serve other foods that are not so healthy. The menu at Atlantic Fast Food includes the not so healthy deep fried pizza and deep fried Mars Bars. Perhaps future competitions should consider the healthy eating qualities of the whole menu not just the fish.
Deep fried pizza Deep fried Mars Bar (chocolate)