[esoxfly]

Was thinking about the debate surfacing again in other posts re. native species and our attitudes to the fish, food and fishing opportunities in our local waters.
Here are some images of the fishmonger's counter in Stockholm.  How many species can you spot?

No comparison intended between local rivers here and the baltic archipelago!  

[Rob Brownfield]

My friend Jahanna is quite right in what she says in that for every person in Sweden, there are 100 lakes. Freshwater fish makes up a great deal of the Swedish diet. She has promissed me Carp stew the next time across...arrrgh!..lol

[adambrain]

I see there are quite a lot of pike and some perch, why do you think they eat them over there but not here?
I remember when I was younger in Sweden i had perch and it was very nice, but all my years course fishing never even thought about eating them.

[esoxfly]

Just had a worrying thought - I don't want this post to encourage anyone to start knocking coarse fish on the head to eat!!!!!  

I should stress that these fish are commercially caught and the guided fishing is mostly catch and release.  The swedes are are very aware of the value of their natural environment.  Maybe Harri, our resident swede on the site will have a view?

To answer your question adambrain, I think it's cultural and what is readily available.  It always makes me laugh to hear people over here express shock at the fish species other people eat.  I grew up fishing the Forth & Clyde canal for pike, perch, roach and tench and occassionally met an oriental fisherman who loved to eat tench!  Passers by would always comment to me that "they would never eat anything out of that canal" (because at that time there were more than a few cars, fridges, dead dogs etc in it  )  This baffled me as I knew the fish didn't live on the junk that they swam around!

Some of the other fish in the bottom picture are eels, small zander and char.

Perch are a delicacy and bream are also eaten.  

Cheers,
Chris

[Rob Brownfield]

I see there are quite a lot of pike and some perch, why do you think they eat them over there but not here?
I remember when I was younger in Sweden i had perch and it was very nice, but all my years course fishing never even thought about eating them.

A couple of reasons...

Firstly, all fish belong to someone, so taking a fish without permission (in the case of coarse fish in Scotland) is theft.

Secondly, Pike are renowned for having tiny "Y" bones in there flesh that makes them fiddly to prepare or eat, and I guess us Brits are lazy so and so's

Thirdly, as Chris points out, cultural differences. A lot of this is to do with the fact that the UK is surrounded by sea and quite frankly, cod, bass, pollock etc are easier to prepare and taste a darn site better.

and lastly, but this applies more to down south, coarse fish are viewed as an asset. There is only one "put and take" coarse fishery in the UK, based in Devon..and according to an Anglers Mail mag a few weeks ago,  he is about to go under. If you think about it, a 20 pound carp/pike is worth much more alive than it is dead. Even the likes of Menteith have realised this and openned its doors to coarse anglers...and the extra cash is paying for extra trout for the trouters. Win win situation

[paavo]

The swedes are are very aware of the value of their natural environment.  Maybe Harri, our resident swede on the site will have a view?
Chris
/quote]

Hi all
Sweden and the other Scandinavian countrys have a long tradition to eat fresh fish, and by that, I mean pike and perch. In general, we can say that older people prefer fresh fish, and younger prefer finished industrypacked fish. It´s usually only in major cities it is possible to buy fresh fish over the counter.
If you study a map of Sweden, we see that there is much water, lakes and rivers. Practically all contain a lot of Pike and Perch. It´s  very easy to get access to Pike/perch waters. We have something called ”allemansrätt” http://www.naturvardsverket.se/en/In-English/Menu/Enjoying-nature/The-right-of-public-access/What-is-the-Right-of-Public-Access/ and the Pike/Perch permits are cheep.
For 15-20 years ago it was customary to take up all the fish that was given but in recent years of debates on fish stocks have been made that most now practice C&R.
Swedish Sportfishing Association, http://www.sportfiskarna.se/aktuellt/nyhet.asp?id=1324 has a project on C&R. You have to use Free Translation http://www.freetranslation.com/ and you can reed about it. Yahoo Babel Fish don´t have the Swedish language.

Cooked pike with pepparrots sown and potatoes has always been a popular here in Sweden, but is not one of my favorites.

//Harri

[Ben Dixon]

Overseas fish markets are always fascinating, never seen pike on sale anywhere before.

Cheers
Ben

[Jim Eddie]

When I've flown KLM they have Zander on the menu , never been brave enough to try it though. I hate fish bones.

 

Jim

[Rob Brownfield]

Overseas fish markets are always fascinating, never seen pike on sale anywhere before.

Cheers
Ben

You need to look harder they tend to turn up in the post fishmongers. Ken Watmough in Aberdeen used to have them occasionally. They are pretty common in Billingsgate...no idea why like, they taste crap unless from a crystal clear lake up in canada and cooked in a little butter on the shore at lunchtime.

[adambrain]

Just had a worrying thought - I don't want this post to encourage anyone to start knocking coarse fish on the head to eat!!!!!  

dont worry your not encouraging any drastic culinary delights, its always best to see the fish go back in the water.

[paavo]

Have notice your comments of the Pike as food. This is a recepit from the net.
Pikeburgers,
Remix in the following order: pikefilé, to protein, cream and finally egg yolk. Salt and pepers.
Steak as hamburgers in moderate size. The mixer, and all the ingredients shall be rightly cold, otherwise greater risk of cutting edges.
Remix at its maximum speed, pour in the cream first almost drop-wise then in a balanced jet.
Hack anchovy, onions, dill, the cooked egg and stir with kesellan
Serve as hamburgers with bread out of the lowest late dressing, pikeburger, tomato, salmon sauce, red onion, iceberg lettuce and at the top bread.
Haven´tested, yet. 

//Harri