Public “Ignorant” About Shellfish

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30100, 6 April 1963, Page 14

Public “Ignorant” About Shellfish

Christchurch people could enjoy an abundance of cheap shellfish, according to a Christchurch fish retailer, Mr L. T. Taylor. But few New Zealanders are prepared to venture away from oysters and try pauas or scallops, a delicacy in other countries.

Both scallops and pauas are readily available (frozen) in Christchurch for most of the year. “Judging by the trade my shop does in pauas and scallops not more than one Christchurch family in 50 gives pauas or scallops a go,” said Mr Taylor yesterday.

At 8s per lb, scallops, on weight, this week were twothirds the price of oysters.

Pauas were even cheaper. At 2s 8d per lb they were a quarter the price of oysters. Prices cannot be blamed for public apathy towards scallops and pauas. In Mr Taylor’s opinion it is public ignorance. “The only thing the average Kiwi knows about pauas is that they make brooches out of the shells,” he said. Another reason for the public’s not buying scallops or pauas in quantity was that they either did not know how to prepare them, or could not be bothered to do so.

Because scallops available in Christchurch are frozen, few persons eat them raw They may be fried, steamed, or stewed; pauas may be minced and cooked in patties. or used in soup. “The biggest demand we ever had for scallops in Christchurch was after some ‘wallah’ on TV demonstrated how to cook them,” Mr Taylor said. “The rush lasted one week and then died off.”

The frozen scallops sold here come from Nelson. The frozen pauas, sold in four Christchurch fish shops, come front Stewart Island. Many shops do not stock pauas or scallops because the demand is extremely limited.