Bid to change views on fish

Press, 11 June 1982, Page 13

Bid to change views on fish

PA Wellington The Fishing Industry Board has discovered that people think fish is too expensive and retail mark-up on it too high. In a move to counter these attitudes, shown in surveys, the board's general manager, Mr N. I. Jarman, has issued a long press statement in which he argues that fish is reasonably priced. Meat prices increased 206 per cent in the last five years, compared with an 184 per cent rise in the price of fish, he said. Average retail mark-up was between 50 and 70 per cent. Mr Jarman said the board considered this acceptable for a perishable food. “It is similar to that of the

retail butcher who has a significant advantage in a much greater turnover." he said. Generalised comments on fish pricing frequently overlooked that between the fishing vessel and the consumer, fish was extensively processed. To prepare a skinless, boneless fillet, for example, more than two-thirds of the whole fish was wasted. Mr Jarman said that although traditional retail outlets were selling less fish than previously, the consumption of fish in hotels and restaurants had increased considerably. The result was an over-all increase per person in fish consumption.