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“Meet me at the gate at 5.45am with wellies, white coat and a hat.” These were the words Mark Lobbuttered – a seemingly odd uniform at a scarily early time. Mark had agreed to give me a tour ... not just any tour....a Brixham Fish Market tour.
I was a little apprehensive, though intrigued knowing that this was a place frequented by an elite club of people, a tight-knit community, most of whom have been in the fishing trade all their lives.It seems a little odd that many of us know so little about the journey a fish makes from sea to plate.
As a premier fish port, Brixham has an economy that has depended on the sea’s produce for many years, landing the largest catch in value in the whole of the UK, totalling over £25 million per year.
So, after an early start (even for me, a farmer’s wife) I whistled through Brixham at lightning speed, seeing no traffic until I approached the harbour when the white vans and men in white coats and wellies started appearing.Mark met me with his normal cheeky smile and looking fresh as a daisy. Impressive seeing he had been up since 3am and this is his normal schedule, 6 days a week. He unloaded his stack of coloured fish crates in the parking lot full of lorries of all sizes.
Buyers include national processors (supplying top restaurants and supermarkets), local fishmongers and restaurants as well as the export market.Mark then led me through into the bright, beaming Fish Market.
This is part of the impressive £20million redevelopment project which was unveiled by Princess Anne in 2011 to accommodate the needs of the 21st Century fishing industry. The smart, glassy exterior hides the stark, functional fish market which is essentially a very large concrete floored, whitewashed room which conveniently opens out onto the quay. There is an institutional air about the place, not dissimilar to a school or public swimming pool - footbath included. Strangely there is no overpowering smell of fish but that is probably due to the arctic-like temperature and large amount of ice.
At 6am, 5 days a week, the handbell is rung and the auction begins. The market is full of men in white coats - fishmongers of all shapes and sizes (both in terms of physique and size of business) jostling and joking whilst subtley placing their bids with nods and finger wags. It’s like a club where everyone wears a hat and they are all different.
Around 40 different types of fish are landed in Brixham including the local soles found in the Bay, a significant catch of shellfish and the valuable hook and line caught seabass. The boats range from 20ft dayboats to steaming great trawlers. The catch is unpredictable and different every day depending on the season and weather and, importantly, this affects the price.
Once landed, the fish is graded, weighed and boxed in white crates (yellow for scallops) which are all labelled neatly showing its contents and what fishing boat it was landed on. The boxes are then carefully laid out in lines and the buyers move in a relaxed but purposeful manner around the carpet of white plastic crates as each box is auctioned off by the kilo.
Despite the modernisations with illuminated auction boards, some internet bidding and computerised bills, the old traditions and practices are still very much apparent. Mark tells me that Brixham is unique in that it is the last shouting fish auction in the country with all the traders equipped with the essential notebook and pen to note in fisherman’s shorthand the lot bought and at what price. Who knows how long that will last.
Mark clearly knows what he is looking for and for what price and leads me around showing me what is available. I meanwhile, as the only woman in the room, look like the proverbial fish out of water and follow mesmerised by the surprisingly quiet goings on and the array of differing fish – mackerel, cod, John Dory and the unforgettable slimy conger eels. The top catch is the hook and line caught sea bass which can fetch up to £1,000 a crate - and that’s before it gets on the plate.I tried hard to take in everything Mark was saying - a smorgasbord of information about fish, the industry and the characters.
There was way too much to learn in a couple of hours and I was not surprised to hear that it’s a business many stay in for life acquiring knowledge along the way. The fish industry is a complex one with buzz words of conservation, discards, marine protection, sustainability and responsible fishing. Add into that, international politics, bureaucracy and media distortions and you can get tangled in the net.
Unlike many other ports the Brixham fishery is largely sustainable and has a world-class reputation for quality with over 70% of our fish being sold for export.Mark Lobb himself has been in the business for 40 years - he knows all the faces, all the stories and knows a good fish when he sees one. He is passionate about what he does and has done it for 40 years having learnt from his father.
It’s a hard and somewhat antisocial life in the fish trade and, though the risks and costs can be high, the rewards can also be substantial. I was told of one skilled and savvy fisherman who earned £250,000 in a week after hitting a shoal of anchovies.
As dawn broke and our tour ended Mark led me out onto the quay to the largest ice-making machine I have ever seen. Here he filled his crates with ice to keep his purchases fresh. I joked that this would be the place for the ultimate ice bucket challenge or the setting for a gory, murder-filled thriller.
With that I depart with my brain full of information and clasping a stash of fresh, shiny sprats for the dinner table. We are truly lucky to have such an industry on our doorstep. The fish we get locally really doesn’t get any better and it doesn’t need to be expensive or difficult to cook.
Any good local fishmonger knows it all - what’s good, where it comes from, how it’s fished and, most importantly, how to cook it. And do go and check out Mark Lobb’s new shop in the market - I recommend the sprats and I gather he does a mean paella too!
To visit Brixham fish market and see the day’s catch being auctioned off contact South Devon AONB or phone 07410 617931.
First published By the Dart October 2014