Mmm, whiff and chips!

Or would you prefer gurnard? Or weever? Lockdown Britain gets a taste for its native ( but VERY ugly) fish

WHEN it comes to a trip to the chippy, British tastes have always been pretty conservative. Most opt for cod or haddock, while the more adventurous might order skate or swordfish.

Lockdown, however, has forced a change in the market – and a surge in interest in native species that are among the ugliest beasts you’re ever likely to net.

Whiff, also known as megrim, is increasingly making its way on to British plates along with gurnard, weever and spider crab.

Rodney Anderson, a former Defra head of fisheries, said: ‘For decades, celebrity chefs have been telling consumers to enjoy more British fish.

‘ It turns out the silver lining of Covid-19 is the public have seized the

‘It takes pressure off fish like tuna caught far away’

chance and are loving our homecaught fish.’ The UK exports around 70 per cent of fish caught in its waters but lockdown effectively closed this market. This, combined with the shutdown of the hospitality industry, triggered a demand for local fish, and home deliveries soared by 950 per cent.

Alison Raynsford, a business consultant from Plymouth, now regularly buys a £19 box. She said: ‘It’s like a treasure trove – you’re never sure what’s inside.’ She baked the weever fish she received and served it with spinach and tomatoes.

An early effort to keep the UK seafood industry afloat in lockdown was the launch of listings website Call4Fish. Run by Mr Anderson, it linked customers with individual fishermen and boats and demand remains high.

John Molnar, owner of Cods Scall ops i n Nottingham, which was recently crowned the UK’s best fish and chip shop, sells gurnard and chips for £ 7.50. He said: ‘ When I first opened nine years ago, 95 per cent of fish was cod and haddock. Now they are 65 per cent, as underused fish are getting very popular.’

The UK imports about 70 per cent of the fish we eat, with the majority of retail sales being for cod, salmon, haddock and prawns.

In 2018, we imported 674,000 tons of fish, mainly from Iceland, China, Germany, Denmark and Vietnam. By contrast, we exported 448,000 tons, mainly to France, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland and the US. That included most of the 18,000 tons of gurnard and 34,000 tons of whiff landed by UK fishermen.

Eating domestic fish is also green. Charles Clover, of Blue Marine Foundation, which campaigns to protect seas, said: ‘If we ate all the fish landed locally… we would take pressure off species such as tuna, which is caught far away and rather unsustainably.’