Cuttles make £4/kg at Brixham
2nd November 2016
Cuttlefish were making over £4 per kg on Brixham fishmarket a couple of weeks ago, reports Tim Oliver.
“That’s an unheard of price, it’s a prime fish price,” said SWFPO chief executive Jim Portus. The high prices follow Brixham’s first £1m week (Fishing News, 20 October), which Jim Portus said was ‘a cause for celebration’. He said the high prices were partly due to a collapse in some other cuttlefish fisheries in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, leading to a stronger demand for the local catch.
The ‘vast majority’ of the cuttlefish is exported, he said, and the weak pound was also helping exports because it meant buyers could afford to pay a bit more.
“Long may it continue, as far as Brixham is concerned,” he said. “We don’t know an awful lot about cuttlefish from a scientific point of view but so long as they keep coming back and the breeding stock is able to lay its eggs in the early part of the summer – they seem to be prolific on the inshore grounds.”
The fishery is year-round, with the cuttles caught in traps in the summer and trawls during the winter. As well as making good money, another advantage of the fishery is that the cuttles do not have to be gutted, just looked
after well with plenty of ice.
Read more from Fishing News here.
Cuttlefish were making over £4 per kg on Brixham fishmarket a couple of weeks ago, reports Tim Oliver. “That’s an unheard of price, it’s a prime fish price,” said SWFPO chief executive Jim Portus. The high prices follow Brixham’s first £1m week (Fishing News, 20 October), which Jim Portus said was ‘a cause for celebration’. He said the high prices were partly due to a collapse in some other cuttlefish fisheries in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, leading to a stronger demand for the local catch. The ‘vast majority’ of the cuttlefish is exported, he said, and the weak pound was also helping exports because it meant buyers could afford to pay a bit more. “Long may it continue, as far as Brixham is concerned,” he said. “We don’t know an awful lot about cuttlefish from a scientific point of view but so long as they keep coming back and the breeding stock is able to lay its eggs in the early part of the summer – they seem to be prolific on the inshore grounds.” The fishery is year-round, with the cuttles caught in traps in the summer and trawls during the winter. As well as making good money, another advantage of the fishery is that the cuttles do not have to be gutted, just looked after well with plenty of ice. Read more from Fishing News here.
