Nothing Fishy About It

In an age of instant gratification,it is surprising that many seafood lovers still have reservations about consuming seafood during the monsoon.

In an age of instant gratification,it is surprising that many seafood lovers still have reservations about consuming seafood during the monsoon. The reasoning we have been told is that since there is no fresh local seafood,the seafood served at restaurants must be stale,unhygienic and risky. While this might be true for any establishment with dubious quality standards,the risk of food poisoning in such a restaurant would probably be there throughout the year. But eating seafood at credible restaurants neednt have to wait for a few more months. While local fishing is banned and risky for fisherman,it does still happen and there is still fresh fish available in trickles. Fishermen normally send trawlers for 15 days at a time,often as far as Gujarat or even close to Pakistan. During the monsoon,despite the risks and costs involved,they go up to Alibaug and return within a day; any catch sells for four times the normal price, says Mangesh Parshuram Wadkar,who owns five trawlers.

More importantly,better transportation facilities mean that local restaurants can source their seafood from Gujarat,Cochin or Kolkata. Being a seafood specialty restaurant,we cannot shut shop; we simply source from other parts of India during the rains, explains Taranath Kuckian,manager of Trishna in Kala Ghoda. Executive Chef of the Grand Hyatt Jean-Christophe Fieschi similarly does not take any seafood off the menu at all.

We source our local seafood such as prawns and lobsters from Cochin or Chennai through daily deliveries that are flown in. We are stringent about quality and will not serve any seafood that is not up to our standards, states Fieschi.

Significantly,we now also have greater access to frozen seafood,both imported and domestic.

Alliance Foods,based near Surat in the Bay of Cambay (Khambhat),started prawn farming in 1997 and claims to be the biggest in the business in India. As soon as we harvest the prawns,they are immediately frozen carefully to ensure that the texture remains the same. The monsoon and winter months are our peak times for business; during the monsoon there is a 35-40 per cent increase in sales, says marketing manager Sanjay Rahatade.

Another firm founded in 1997,Fortune Foods is an importer of a variety of cheeses,meats and seafood. While they mainly sell high-end products to niche restaurants,they do see a growth in sales for some fish. Consultant to the firm,Rustom Dalal,states the sales of cheaper fish that can be viable alternatives to local varieties such as the Alaskan Pollock see a spurt in sales.

From a consumer point of view,Tamanna Nayar,an engineer from Mangalore,aptly sums it up. While I dont stop eating seafood in the monsoon,I am simply picky about where I eat it. Frozen seafood is never as good as fresh seafood,but that holds true for any frozen meat. I wouldnt say no to succulent lamp chops just because they have been frozen and flown all the way from New Zealand.

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Mumbai