Grimsby-based JCS Fish has launched Bigfish Brand Sea Trout Fillets. This is an extension to its established Bigfish range which currently focuses on frozen prepared salmon fillets. The new product utilises a strain of rainbow trout (Oxyrhynchus mykiss) which is slow grown at sea, producing a fish with full marine flavour and firm flesh that, the firm claims, is an excellent alternative to farmed salmon. The product is supplied in a 250g pack for two fillets (rrp £5.99).

Bigfish Brand Sea Trout comprises individually wrapped fillets which can be poached in the pack, microwaved or baked straight from frozen. From frozen to plate in four minutes, it’s a highly convenient option for time-poor consumers looking for healthy meal ideas.

Founder and managing director of JCS Fish, Andrew Coulbeck, said: “Our new product handles and eats much like salmon but offers an interesting point of difference for consumers. Our tried and tested prepared and individually portioned frozen format also has strong benefits in terms of consumer accessibility and the long shelf life helps minimise wastage.”

Atlantic salmon buyers have faced a ‘perfect storm’ of supply and pricing issues this year, starting with a sea lice outbreak which affected Scandinavian production followed by a toxic algal bloom in Chile which further increased the pressure on European supplies, claimed JCS Fish.

Coulbeck said: “Given that the ongoing supply problems with farmed salmon will inevitably feed through to higher in-store prices this autumn, there is a distinct benefit in stocking our Bigfish Sea Trout, which capitalises on the growing consumer appetite for prepared salmon but is an accessible alternative with more stable pricing and availability.”

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