Buying fresh fish on line

[Suffs Profile]

Those of you with freezers who say you envy my trips to Southwold Harbour to buy fish freshly landed from the boat ... have you discovered Pesky Fish?

https://peskyfish.co.uk/

If it works as it says it does, it looks fantastic ... I looked in yesterday evening to see what had been landed ... line caught wild sea bass from west Wales, plaice from Devon and Red Mullet from Brixham ... you even get the name of the boat that landed them. If I'd ordered last night they promise delivery tomorrow ...

[Pampy Profile]

I've ordered from Pesky Fish a few times. The order always arrives when they say and the fish is really good. It's more expensive than supermarkets but you get much better quality.
The chap who started the company was on Countryfile last Sunday.

[PatsyMFagan Profile]

I've ordered from Pesky Fish a few times. The order always arrives when they say and the fish is really good. It's more expensive than supermarkets but you get much better quality.
The chap who started the company was on Countryfile last Sunday.

Yes, I saw that on a programme in the week ... not sure if it was also Countrfile, but certainly looked a very good idea /

Meant to add was it also on CF the idea of re-naming some fish (eg Megrim to Cornish Sole) to encourage more peeps to try it ? Horrified to hear that my favourite fish from the chippy (Huss/Rock Salmon) is on the endangered list as is other sharks/dog fish

[Pampy Profile]

Yes - spider crab has been renamed Cornish King Crab!

[PatsyMFagan Profile]

Yes - spider crab has been renamed Cornish King Crab!

Can't wait to get my hands on that -- had it years ago in Singapore ( and might have been the same place that I had the best Ox tail stew I have ever tasted)

[halfateabag Profile]

I was put off Pesky fish by the price not only that but I actually like to see my fish before I decide. I suppose that comes of visiting fish markets all over the world. I bought a spider crab in France many years ago. We wanted to compare it to traditional crab. It was slightly sweeter. I also bought a large traditional crab and called it Claude (Clawed) geddit.....

Whilst in Tobago many moons ago we went to an outlet to buy a few lobsters for a house party. We also bought some 'croakers' very tasty and inexpensive fish. The lobsters were sublime cooked with lime !!!! on the BBQ. Happy memories there.

I bought scorpion fish at the fish market in Venice and brought it home to UK... A real treat. We ate the last of the megrim last week, a very much underrated fish. The trouble with changing names is that it normally sends the price of them sky high.....

When I was in Rhodes last July I bought anchovies (can't remember the fish name) from the back of a scooter, ate half in Rhodes and filleted the rest, froze them and brought them back to the UK and marinated them in lemon juice, garlic and EVOO.

[Suffs Profile]

Yes … I buy my fish fresh from the boats … however many folk here are not within easy travelling distance of the coast and envy my ‘hauls’ so I thought, rather than a generic thread about fish, a thread discussing reliable online fish suppliers would be helpful … it’s also an opportunity to support our UK fishing fleet which is having such a difficult time since Brexit.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

We discussed this during the first lockdown and quite a few of us signed up I think. It's a great idea. In reality it seemed a bit hit and miss at the time and needed a lot of forward planning but now life is more 'normal' I hope it goes from strength to strength.

[Suffs Profile]

Ah, I must've missed that EM .... we're so lucky living here (in more ways than one) .... I'm not sure I appreciated just how lucky until DS's MIL from central Russia walked along the beach at East Runton almost tearful at the thought of there being fresh sea fish in the water for the catching. She'd only had fresh sea fish a very few times in her life when on holiday in Black Sea resorts. She told us she'd give anything to live where she could get fresh sea fish, and every time she visits the UK now one of the first things she does is go to the local beach and buy fish from the day boats.

[Earthmaiden Profile]

Lucky indeed!

[Badger's Mate Profile]

I've bought the occasional bit of fish and game online but it (of necessity) comes with a lot of packaging and chilling paraphernalia. There's only so much that can be reused, usually only for a short time or a few freezings. I feel I get a lot of packaging waste for not much produce, which takes the edge off the feelgood factor for me.

[Pampy Profile]

Pesky use 100% curbside recyclable packaging. Their produce is completely traceable and caught using only sustainable practices. Maybe in an ideal world it could be better to see your fish before buying but for those of us who don't live near a port, have serious health issues and can only access supermarket fish, something like Pesky is ideal.

[Suffs Profile]

I've not bought anything from them ... my freezer is already rammed and as I've said, I live near the coast ... but the site says ...

"Your order is packed in fully curbside recyclable boxes supplied from the team at TemperPack. Their ClimaCell boxes are manufactured from renewable plant-based components and paper. They're designed to protect your fish and keep it at the right temperature during transportation, ensuring it reaches you in perfect condition."

How that compares with the total environmental impact of buying fresh or frozen fish from all over the world from a supermarket I don't know ... anyone ... ?

[liketocook Profile]

Like suffs I'm fortunate to have easy access to a fishmonger (who delivers if wanted) and quayside stall but would happily use a online service rather than buy online from a supermarket. DS2's friend and partner are pescatarian and have a regular delivery from these folk and really rate them https://www.thefishpeopleshop.co.uk/delivery.
Campbells who are online butchers that I sometimes use also offer a decent selection of fish, handy if you want to minimise deliveries and combine stocking up. I've tried the salmon, kippers and smoked haddock and all were excellent. https://www.campbellsmeat.com/fish

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I don’t buy fish in local markets, as they aren’t quayside and most of the fish available is untraceable and half thawed; I don’t want either the dodgy economics or the potential for scumbrotoxin

However we have 2 really good fishmongers in Stokey “village” and if I fancy a nice walk there’s the legendary Steve Hatt in Islington, wonder if anyone is lined up to take over the business, he’s my age so due to hang up his apron

Steve and the bigger local shop kept going through lock down

One day I’ll go to visit Billingsgate before it relocates, maybe

[Stokey Sue Profile]

There are other ways of getting fish - just replace your luggage when travelling
It beggars belief that luggage handlers at both ends of the journey would well, handle, a full hold of frozen crates of fish when when they were expecting ordinary personal luggage, I know it's more automated than it used to be but really

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-59141394

[Earthmaiden Profile]

madness! I hope the fish didn't have to be thrown away having been de refrigerated.

[Amber Profile]

In the olden days….I used to buy fresh fish from Billingsgate on my way in to work at 0830am. The fish then sat underneath my open plan desk until about five o’clock. It wouldn’t happen now . (and we were never ill!)

[Suffs Profile]

Maybe offices weren’t as well heated in those days?

[Earthmaiden Profile]

That's one thing but a consignment of fish en route to somewhere overseas which has been removed from what hopefully are ideal conditions for several hours and then put back might be slightly dodgy when you consider all the other mishaps it might meet on the journey! We really don't know what happens to any food we buy from far away, do we?!