I wrote a piece some months ago about how a company in Scotland were farming cod in the Shetlands.

Findus the frozen food company are in the news because they are beginning to sell farmed cod. Findus bought shares in a Norwegian Cod Farm and began selling in UK supermarkets in March.
They also planning to sell some of the cod fresh in the beginning of June but have not yet named which retailer this will be stocked in.

The Norwegians are leading the world in fish farming, and I believe the UK like many European countries will come to rely quite heavily on seafood produced in farms in the near future.
Whilst this is good news for the consumer I do think it’s a shame that a country like Britain with such a long seafaring history aren’t leading the way in this technology.

Whilst I don’t claim to have too many contacts in the UK fishing industry, as a chef the stories I hear are still disappointing. An industry that for the main part are in denial of the current stocks of fish in waters around this island. Tails of greed, of undersized fish being caught, of the wrong species being caught when the fine mesh nets scoop up everything in their path and of fishermen bending the rules to get government payments they are not entitled to.

I ask my contact at Findus if they are planning to move completely into sourcing from farmed fish and they told me, “Where species are under serious threat, such as cod, we believe farming is the answer to allow wild stocks to flourish. Findus is reviewing their fish sourcing policy with regards to sustainability, to ensure fish is sourced from seas that have an abundance of supply, and that correct fishing methods are followed”.

I think as consumers we can play our part by asking the question where has this fish come from? As a chef I have been offered a few dodgy deals and have always passed that information on to the authorities. I will not buy or sell to my customer’s fish that was caught illegally.

I’m hoping sometime in the future to take a trip to the Findus Cod farm and see for myself how the process works, and hopefully share news of the trip and more photos with you then. Where in Norway is the cod farm? On the Viking island of Leka that is situated some 300 km north of Trondheim and only 120 km south of the Polar Circle, so I’d better wear my thermal underwear.

I do know that Findus nurture the cod from the original cod roe. The feed given to the cod as well veterinary care is strictly controlled, and all the cod are of a very high quality with no infestation of nematodes (worms). Once the fish have been harvested extra care is taken to produce the individual fillets, every one is hand filleted so no machines are used in the process, which could damage the structure of the fish.

Currently the farmed cod is not organic but Findus are reviewing their processes to initiate Organic farmed cod from September.

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Just like in cooking,timing is critical in media especially it seems radio.

Today because I was unable to answer my mobile phone until late in the afternoon I missed the call from the program planners trying to nail down exactly when my interview would take place. Thus the program planners filled the program without me.

After several phone calls to the station I was told that since the BBQ event is several weeks away that rescheduling is very likely...obviously I am disappointed but hopeful they are good to their word at the Beeb. So let me apologise for not being on the radio tomorrow....watch this space and keep your fingers crossed.