IT was once considered nothing more than creel bait for fishermen who regarded it as worthless on the market.
But thanks to an award-winning restaurant in Scrabster, demand for gurnard has increased significantly, creating a new revenue for the fishing industry.
Chef Jim Cowie, of the Captain’s Galley, has turned the once unprofitable fish into the catch of the day as it has become a mainstay on the restaurant’s menu. His philosophy of serving sustainable fish is part of his mission for other restaurants to explore alternative species.
Mr Cowie said in the past he could walk into a fish market and receive the fish for free, if fishermen had not already thrown it overboard. But since introducing the fish on to his menu, he said 75 per cent of diners chose to eat it during the festive period and gave positive feedback.
Now across the country more fishermen are going out to sea to take home a haul of gurnard.
"The gurnard has been a mainstay on our menu for the last few months and it has proven to be very popular," he said.
"Despite it not being known to the public, we don’t disguise what it is and put the name of the fish on the menu.
"People may have turned their noses up at certain types of fish in the past, but these have turned into some of our most requested orders.
"A lot of fish on our menu has had a history of being slow to sell on the market, but in recent months the price of gurnard has rocketed at market and I’m proud to have played my part in showing what a quality fish it is."
The Captain Galley’s was recently named as the UK’s most sustainable seafood restaurant after it received the highest rating of anywhere in the country by sustainable fishing guide Fish2Fork.
Fish served at Scrabster from sustainable sources include pollock, saithe, mackerel and sea bass.
But Mr Cowie believes there are plenty more species of fish that are sustainable and should be served more widely.
"Part of our role as a restaurant is to let people try new things and species of fish which they may not have heard of before," he said.
"When people talk about conservation, one of the main areas to help achieve that is by helping to promote other sustainable fish. I don’t go for using a fish as an alternative to more traditional favourites, I just think the fish I do serve are great in their own right.
"More restaurants should be trying more species and that way the public get to become more knowledgeable of the amount of variety which exists in our seas.
"At the same time, fishermen will get an extra supplement on their income and take new quotas for fish that they traditionally didn’t aim to catch. It is a win-win situation for the restaurants, the fishing industry and fish conservation."
