We are surrounded by sea so why is fish so expensive?

I like salmon but can’t afford it often, buy fridge tuna in little pots, not keen on white fish though DH likes basa.
We now eat mainly vegetarian with chicken sometimes and fresh fish even less.
Never even look at fish on the menu at a restaurant, is always so expensive, but treat DH to sea bass or trout on rare occasions.

This is a discussion about the high cost of fish when we are surrounded by fishing grounds making what was once a staple for many people into a luxury for those with the money to spend
Please don’t patronise me by saying what this discussion may or may not be about.
We may be an island but as I said the fish are not waiting to jump into the trawlers’ nets. We do not have exclusive rights in fishing grounds off our coasts and cost reflects labour, fuel, risks, reduced catches when weather des not permit, transport and distribution costs.
The humble herring once a staple has been overfished almost to extinction and rising sea temperatures are also having an effect on stocks of some types of fish .
Fishing has always been a dangerous occupation and this is reflected in what we pay and no doubt the numbers prepared to take the risks compared with cushier indoor occupations.
Are you familiar with the song Caller (fresh) Herring?
This classic Scottish song "Caller Herrin'" features lyrics written by Lady Nairne around 1821 to a musical air by Nathaniel Gow. The song reflects the street cries of Newhaven fishwives and contrasts the dangers faced by fishermen on the Firth of Forth with the wealthy buyers.
You get what you pay for and pay for what you get.

I buy a box of mixed filleted fish direct from our local fisherman (he delivers in his wellies😄) - whatever the catch is - fish is very seasonal. So I pay £55 for 6x 2 fillets, many of which are too big and are cut into two.

So without cutting in half that works out to £9+ per meal but in practice works out to quite a bit less.

We eat fish approx, every third day - my last fish meal was hake with creamed lentils and mushroom sauce - yum.

I loathe all fish and wonder why we are told to eat 2 lots of oily fish per week. Before refrigeration nobody would have eaten fish unless they lived on the coast so it’s obviously not essential.

We lost the cod wars with Iceland, gave most of the rest away to the EU, it's still much cheaper than beef and lamb in the UK.
The big factory ships from Russia and China hoover up everything on the high seas and wherever else they can get away with it.

MawsRosie

😂😂😂😂
They don’t just jump into the fishing trawler nets you know!
Fishing is a dangerous and demanding occupation, subject to often appalling weather and sea conditions -fog, storms, high winds (listen to the shipping forecast) and last but not least fishing regulations to prevent overfishing of some types.
The catch has to be landed- often in the early hours of the morning, loaded onto transport and taken to the fish markets or wholesalers. And all without going off.
You can’t “farm” haddock etc like lamb, beef or pork and our fishing fleets risk their lives on a daily basis.
It’s not expensive, we could be paying with the fishermen’s lives.

Whilst I understand that fishing is a dangerous occupation I think that you will find that as many if not more lives are lost in the farming industry. This is a discussion about the high cost of fish when we are surrounded by fishing grounds making what was once a staple for many people into a luxury for those with the money to spend.

Wyllow3

Blaming Starmer for fish issues is beyond ludicrous imo 🤣

Oh AB will be responsible for absolutely everything from here on in till the next GE 😂

Nanna8 experiencing same issue in Australia whcih is not an EU country!

Asked for every 20 years price of cod from 1950s to current day- AI Overview:

Historical data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and industry tracking demonstrates how retail cod prices in the UK have evolved every 20 years from 1950 to 2026:

1950- 15-22p per lb- Cod was highly abundant and un rationed post WW11.
1970 - 58p per lb- Cod remained highly affordable but the Cod Wars with Iceland began threatening UK fleet access
1990- £5.74 per kilo- The collapse of North Sea cod stocks due to extreme overfishing which reduced supply driving up prices
2010- £11.07 per kilo- UK shifts to importing over 90% of its cod mainly from Iceland and Norway coupled with global fuel inflation
2026- £15- £25 per kilo Driven by high energy tariffs, supply chain issues from geopolitical conflicts and ongoing climate pressures on fish stocks. 12-17% spike in year on year retail cost as a result

Key Trends
The Takeaway Mirror: This shift is is prices perfectly mirrored in the price of a standard takeaway cod and chips portion. A meal that cost roughly 20p in the early 1970s has risen to a nationwide average of £11.41 in 2026.

From Staple to Premium Cod has officially transitioned from a cheap, abundant staple in the 1950s into a premium seafood option today. This has led many UK fish and chip shops to substitute it with cheaper whitefish alternatives like hake or pollock.

Margs

Ah, but this is Rip-Off Britain and greedy shysters run the show.

Besides, foreign factory ships (especially the Russians) are truly massive and there's absolutely no moral conscience where the environment is concerned. They'll take and take and take.......

Surely your independent fish merchant told you if your fish purchases were fresh, frozen, or farmed?

Russian factory ships AT SEA , have nothing to do with the trout you bought. What's sold in fish merchants and supermarkets is commercially farmed trout (in fresh water)

britishtrout.co.uk/about-trout/trout-farming/

I live in Scotland; my fish merchant buys fresh sea fish and shell fish straight from the small boats that caught them (off Scotland) , at Scrabster, the Scottish harbour where they landed.
www.bellsseafood.co.uk/

Blaming Starmer for fish issues is beyond ludicrous imo 🤣

For Christmas I will Treat Myself from Waitrose (or local fishmonger, but Waitrose still have a fish counter last time I checked) - to real undyed smoked haddock. Yum. Bit of fresh dill...butter....

I was brought up in Hull, then a major fish port. Whole areas smelt of same, whole fishing communities now gone. But my, the fresh fish. Guess which hymn we sung a lot of at school

" for those in peril on the sea" was very very much alive.

MawsRosie

😂😂😂😂
They don’t just jump into the fishing trawler nets you know!
Fishing is a dangerous and demanding occupation, subject to often appalling weather and sea conditions -fog, storms, high winds (listen to the shipping forecast) and last but not least fishing regulations to prevent overfishing of some types.
The catch has to be landed- often in the early hours of the morning, loaded onto transport and taken to the fish markets or wholesalers. And all without going off.
You can’t “farm” haddock etc like lamb, beef or pork and our fishing fleets risk their lives on a daily basis.
It’s not expensive, we could be paying with the fishermen’s lives.

I think it’s the combative costs people are discussing.

Fishing is a horrendous way to make a C living! My cousin was on the trawlers many moons ago, bonus, he dropped some amazing fish on our doorstep, not such a bonus, he often stank…🐟🐠🐡🪼🦐🦞🦀🦑🐙

Meandrogrog

Our fishing industry was decimated after. Joining the EU. After leave won there were big signs all around a local harbour saying thank you. Didnt starmer surrender our fishing grounds to the French?

Think if you look back, it might just be Farage when he was an MEP, coupled with the Tories re Brexit.

Why would it be Starmer’s fault? Brexit was 0done and dusted” long before June 2014.

(PS personally I hate Basa but it is an alternative if cooked well)

Meandrogrog

Our fishing industry was decimated after. Joining the EU. After leave won there were big signs all around a local harbour saying thank you. Didnt starmer surrender our fishing grounds to the French?

Heck, weird. Meandrogrog. Factually incorrect.

Its the decline in fishing stocks due to over fishing and necessary limits set on fishing that have put prices up of course

and these apply out of too the control of the EU, they are internationally set in order to preserve fish stocks at all!

As a fish eater I'm happy with the prices in supermarkets. What's wrong with purchasing from them if one is on a budget? It does mean eating farmed salmon which is not ideal, but OTOH gives work to many in Scotland and there are enforced standards.

Line caught Tuna fish, in tins, and fish like kippers (taste great if you buy decent quality - I had two meals out of a pack for around £3.50)...are your friend.

😂😂😂😂
They don’t just jump into the fishing trawler nets you know!
Fishing is a dangerous and demanding occupation, subject to often appalling weather and sea conditions -fog, storms, high winds (listen to the shipping forecast) and last but not least fishing regulations to prevent overfishing of some types.
The catch has to be landed- often in the early hours of the morning, loaded onto transport and taken to the fish markets or wholesalers. And all without going off.
You can’t “farm” haddock etc like lamb, beef or pork and our fishing fleets risk their lives on a daily basis.
It’s not expensive, we could be paying with the fishermen’s lives.

The EU is to blame and our useless weak excuse for a PM Starmer gave our fishing grounds away to his pals, traitor.

Our fishing industry was decimated after. Joining the EU. After leave won there were big signs all around a local harbour saying thank you. Didnt starmer surrender our fishing grounds to the French?

W are fortunate to live pretty close to the cockle sheds, where shellfish is pretty good price wise and fresh 5thoygh I’m aware some us actually frozen!)

But I’m always shocked by the price of fish, it’s totally out of range for so many.

Ah, but this is Rip-Off Britain and greedy shysters run the show.

Besides, foreign factory ships (especially the Russians) are truly massive and there's absolutely no moral conscience where the environment is concerned. They'll take and take and take.......

Ditto in Australia. I love fish but you can get very high quality steak and other meats for less these days. We don’t live far inland,either, so it isn’t a matter of transport.