7 minute read
Seafi sh Report
BY VINCE MCDONAGH
Battered but unbowed
The latest report from Seafi sh fi nds an industry adapting in the face of great challenges
Afascina� ng insight into how the UK seafood sector turned coronavirus chaos into innova� ve new business opportuni� es is provided by Seafi sh, the industry’s support organisa� on.
It is easy to forget that op� mism abounded at the start of the year with salmon and whitefi sh prices soaring to record highs. Throughout February and March, however, it became increasingly clear that the world was in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The crisis hit some sec� ons of the fi sh trade harder than most because their main customers, hotels, restaurants and other catering outlets, had closed with no indica� on of when they would reopen.
Seafi sh recently published a detailed study in its latest Covid Impact Review and it has produced a mixed picture. They key points to emerge are: • Export markets were hit fi rst, as key countries including China, Italy, Spain and France entered lockdown. • Retail sales soared as the UK began life in lockdown, before levelling off at an increased level compared with the same � me in 2019. • UK foodservice markets collapsed at the end of March as lockdown put a hold on ea� ng out and tourism. • As businesses along the UK seafood supply chain lost access to their usual markets, new small-scale markets emerged, selling direct to consumers.
Aquaculture businesses face unique and ongoing fi nancial challenges as a result of fi xed “minimum crewing” costs (minimum crewing is required for basic stock management at farm sites).
Those supplying foodservice or reliant on live or fresh export markets were at par� cular risk when these markets disappeared “overnight”. Small primary processors, such as those in Northeast Scotland and the Humber region, supplying fresh whitefi sh to the foodservice sector were hit par� cularly hard.
Seafi sh says major concerns have been raised around the eff ects of lockdown on future supply. Aquaculture produc� on cycles take several years to complete, and the pandemic has broken the cycle of reproduc� on and restocking. There are fears that this crisis will lead to an undersupply of smaller, younger fi sh and seed to restock, and an overabundance of fi sh and shellfi sh of a sellable size and weight in the coming years.
But the survey has also thrown up a genuine tale of ingenuity and enterprise on the part of a number of businesses. It highlighted, for example, the Sco� sh fi rm of CFayre in the town of Largs. At the start of the year it was a family-run fi shmonger with a small online ordering service. Prior to lockdown, 90% of its trade came through the shop door. Seafi sh says that when the pandemic swept the UK, owner John Watson decided to close the shop and shi� focus to online sales.
Immediately, he saw the demand for online sales take off , with home deliveries far outstripping normal shop sales. So much so, that the small family team ini� ally struggled to keep up with the surge in demand.
The review says: “With a huge eff ort, working long hours and pu� ng in more eff ort per sale, they were able to successfully adapt their opera� on. While working to meet heightened online demand, they also worked hard to adapt the shop. A� er seven weeks they reopened with safe physical distancing, contactless payment and branded high visibility
Left: The CFayre team Opposite: Keenan Seafood; The CFayre website
screens to keep customers and staff safe.
“John confi rmed that customers liked the new shop set up and sales remained good as lockdown began to ease. He noted that although online orders fell back as lockdown measures began to ease, they remained more than double what they were before.”
Watson said: “One thing is for sure, both customers and staff feel more comfortable with our new screens, so we’ll be keeping them in place. We’re selling more fi sh now than before the pandemic. We’re not sure whether that’s because customers have discovered us, moved away from supermarkets for their fi sh or are simply apprecia� ng the quality of Sco� sh fi sh, but it’s been very posi� ve.”
Keenan Seafood, based in Belfast and which previously supplied a full range of fresh and frozen seafood to hotels, restaurants and contract catering outlets throughout Northern Ireland, has a similar story to tell.
The review says: “As the foodservice sector was hit hard by the crisis, Keenan Seafood adapted their services to provide home delivery. They off ered a range of frozen packages of fi sh and shellfi sh, including locally sourced Portavogie prawns, and their boxes come with cooking sauces and recipes. As supplies allowed, they have also provided other bespoke fi sh boxes, such as Fresh Ba� ered ‘Fakeaway’ boxes for those missing their Friday fi sh supper.”
Commercial Director Robert Shanks told Seafi sh: “We’ve been adap� ng to demand, as people confi ned to their homes have become more interested in trying a range of seafood and improving their cookery skills.”
Further south in the UK, the review said Cornwall’s “FishToYourDoor” ini� a� ve was successful in helping fi shermen engage directly with consumers.
Seafi sh said Sco� sh salmon farmers were experiencing problems as early as January as export markets dried up. Somewhat luckier were the likes of Young’s, Seachill and Birds Eye, whose main customers were supermarkets. They quickly became the focus of panic buying and sales soared as a result.
However, the outlook for small and medium sized fi rms dealing in fresh fi sh was not so posi� ve. More than four in fi ve UK processors found themselves using government support measures. FF
YOUNG’S: HOW CONSUMPTION IS CHANGING BIG names like Young’s Seafood, which has large produc� on centres in Grimsby and Scotland, also no� ced changes in habits.
Sco� Johnston, Technical & Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Director, at the company said anecdotal evidence suggested that Sco� sh salmon was proving popular with customers.
He also told Seafi sh: “At Young’s, we saw an upli� across the board which began in the lead up to lockdown. This started with strong chilled sales and was followed by an upli� in frozen sales as shoppers switched to bigger, less frequent shops and fi lled up their freezers with 142 million fewer shopping trips taken in between March and April.
“We have seen this trend across the whole industry as data shows that frozen food has grown 19.8 % year on year, whilst frozen fi sh has increased sales by 18.3% (£41.5m) in the same period, a� rac� ng an extra 1.2 million shoppers. This is largely due to the convenience of frozen food, it helps families plan their weeks, is cost eff ec� ve and reduces waste.
Sco� added: “At its peak, total weekly volume sales grew by 56%. The ambient and frozen sectors benefi � ed the most from panic buying as shoppers stocked up on cupboard staples and fi lled their freezers.“
