Processors have a choice of raw material available in the form of cheaper, imported products and the plaice fillets that found their way to markets in Southern Europe and elsewhere have been replaced by lower cost flatfish, such as yellowfin sole, reports Intrafish sister publication Fishing News International.
At the same time, consumers across Europe are tempted with pangasius and other farmed species at prices wild-caught fish can never hope to compete with.
“Tilapia is now being farmed in Egypt and this is an even bigger threat than pangasius as these new farms improve their results,” said Pim Visser of Visafslag Hollands Noorden, which runs the Den Helder and Den Oever auctions.
“This
