Fruits of the Sea

Peter and Fred during a visit to Peterhead with the Budding Chefs in 2014.

by fisherman Peter Bruce.

Sometimes reading in the media you would think that’s it’s only cod and haddock that our fishermen catch in the seas around the U.K. Nothing could be further from the truth. Looking into the fish hopper on my trawler Budding Rose, I’m always amazed at the amount of different species we catch, especially in the summer months when we can catch up to 15 different species in one haul. Yes, we do catch cod and haddock but also species like wolffish (rock turbot), monkfish, hake, saithe, whiting, lemon sole, plaice, megrim, halibut and turbot to name a few of them.

Being a fisherman, I’m very lucky to have a chance to try all these different species. Believe me, they are all very tasty. One of my new favourites is hake, a lovely meaty fish that you can cook in a lot of different ways. Yes, a lot these different species are favourites in countries like Spain and France but we fishermen have to do more to encourage customers in this country to try these wonderful tasty fish. Doing so with chefs and restaurateurs must be the way ahead. In saying that, it’s great to see that things are changing and it’s not uncommon to see hake on a restaurant menu nowadays. 

Personally, l love to eat all kinds of seafood but if l were to pick a favourite it would be whole turbot cooked on the bone. Very simple to cook but very delicious!! Fish is usually the first dinner we have after we’ve landed our catch at the local Peterhead fishmarket. I’m very fortunate to live in Peterhead, only 5 minutes from the harbour and the U.K.’s biggest fresh fish market. There is nothing l like better than to walk through the market and see the wide variety of fish landed there.