Pickenpack used to be a giant in European fish manufacturing, and roundly respected for its efficiency and quality.

On Dec. 2, the company filed for bankruptcy, not long after parent company Pacific Andes announced a major lender appointed provisional liquidators for its subsidiary, China Fishery.

Who was the culprit? A bad economy? Hard-nosed competitors? Brutal discount retailers? Poor decision-makers?

The German market was already oversupplied with frozen fish -- fish fingers in particular -- so the venture seemed dubious from the beginning, and both rivals and suppliers bemoaned its impact on the market.

The