ASDA is reportedly selling a whole salmon for just £3 - less than the price someone would have paid for it in 1979 - when Jim Callaghan was replaced by Margaret Thatcher as prime minister.
The move is part of the inter-supermarket rivalry where seafood sales reach their highest peak of the year. Most salmon producing plants in Scotland are now working flat out to cope with peak demand.
However, the Asda bargain salmon comes from North American waters - not from the fish farms of Scotland or Norway. And it is Alaskan pink salmon The company says it has been able to offer the fish at half the usual price because it has been able to reduce transportation costs by missing out one of its normal ports of call in its journey to the UK.
An Asda spokesman said their aim this Christmas was to offer customers the best value for money when it comes to buying seafood. 'It is the lowest-priced salmon on the market. It is sustainably sourced from Alaska where the fish are caught in the wild and frozen immediately to ensure the best quality and flavour.'
Alaskan pink salmon is regarded as a fully sustainable species and is normally found on supermarket shelves as tinned pink salmon.
However, the majority of UK shoppers are expected to go for Scottish (red) salmon this Christmas, whether fresh or smoked. Most of the fish sold is farmed although a few truly up-market London shops like Fortnum and Mason insist on selling Scottish wild salmon. Sales of fresh and frozen prawns are also expected to reach record levels despite the recession.
Should fisheries be closed during breeding time to allow stocks to reach more sustainable levels?
