Shortfall in fish supply affecting processors

A recent trade mission saw representatives from fish businesses on the Humber visiting their centuries-old trading partner.

The two markets, based in Hull and Grimsby, depend on Iceland as the main source of imported fish, and 330m-worth of trade a year is done between the two countries.

But the recession and quota cuts have seen supplies into the Humber dropping sharply.

Lance Stainforth, a director of Hull Fish Merchants Association, said: "The Fisheries Minister is trying to save face by keeping a lot of fish there in their own country to try and get value added there and create job prospects before exporting excess fish into the UK.

"It is a significant thing when Fishgate (the Hull market) is solely based on Icelandic supplies. It has been very poor in the last six months. Grimsby is struggling as well."

Mr Stainforth said businesses had been used to seeing between 8,000 and 14,000 boxes of haddock arriving on any given week but over the past six months the figures have dropped to 3,000 to 5,000 boxes, partly through a drop in quotas.

A year ago the Hull market would have had supplies to last until Thursday. This week it closed on Tuesday and will probably not reopen until Monday.

Orn Jonsson, director of Atlantic Fresh, which supplies both markets with Icelandic fish, said it would take more than a recession to break the centuries-old link with the Humber.

The main thing was to maintain a competitive price for fish. The simple economics was: "If they can do it cheaper it makes more sense to do it there, if we can pay more for fish it makes more sense to send the fish here."