British rainbow trout could disappear from the nation’s tables within a generation, Morrisons fishmongers are warning. Sales of the fish have been in decline for the last decade. They have dropped by nearly 10 per cent within the last five years. Should this trend continue the nation will have stopped eating the fish completely within 17 years.
Morrisons is trying to stem this decline by stocking only British rainbow trout on its counters. Either whole fish or filleted portions can be prepared by its trained fishmongers to make home cooking easier for customers. The retailer is also offering new ideas on cooking the fish, including bake-in-the-bag options with rubs and butters.
Rainbow trout is one of Britain’s two commonly sold freshwater fish, the other being salmon. It has been widely available from UK supermarkets since the 1960s. During the 1970s rainbow trout was one of the nation’s most popular fish dishes.
Huw Thomas, Fisheries & Aquaculture Manager at Morrisons said: “The last few years has seen a rise in imports of international freshwater fish species, such as Tilapia and Pangasius. Many customers have also switched to either white fish such as cod or salmon. This has left rainbow trout out in the cold.
“But trout is a beautiful fish. It’s got a delicate flavour which is slightly nutty and earthy. It’s much more subtle than Salmon. Its flesh is also soft and tender in texture and has a small flake. There are a huge range of classic trout dishes, but personally I prefer rubbing spicy flavours on to the fish skin such as paprika and cumin, then baking them.”
Morrisons rainbow trout is sourced from three fish farms based across Yorkshire. In order to cope with past customer demand freshwater rainbow trout has been reared on British fish farms since the 1950s. These farms closely simulate a trout’s natural growing conditions. The fish start life in hatcheries, then move to large freshwater ponds and raceways. These mimic a natural river habitat, in which trout are territorial and tend to occupy small localised areas. Farmed trout are fed natural diets made from fishmeal, fishoils, vitamins and minerals.
Morrisons trout is sold both as a whole fish and in fillet portions. With more fully trained fishmongers preparing more fresh fish in store than any other retailer, Morrisons can prepare each trout to a customers’ specific requirements.
