Today
The board, as it is on the slab.
Written at eight when the overnight landing is laid out, and a line is marked gone within the hour of the last of it selling. Every line has its type, whether we sell it whole or filleted, the boat it came off and the price. Filter it by what you are cooking; the filter is for the person who rang to ask if the turbot was still in.
The lines
This morning's landing from Milford Haven has been on the slab since 8am; lines marked gone are gone for today. Closed for today; opens tomorrow at 8:00am.
24 lines21 in today, 3 gone
- In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Cod
Thick loin fillets or the whole fish; the Friday box fish
Sea Breeze, Milford£24.50/kg - In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Haddock
The fryer's fish. Skinless and pin-boned on request
Girl Rhiannon, Milford£19.50/kg - In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Hake
Welsh hake, the chefs' choice; steaks on the bone or fillets
Sea Breeze, Milford£22.00/kg - In todayWhite fish · Filleted
Pollock
Cheap, firm and underrated; fishcakes and the pie
Girl Rhiannon, Milford£12.50/kg - In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Plaice
Whole for the grill, or filleted; spotted and firm
Lowri Ann, Milford£16.00/kg - In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Lemon sole
Sweet, quick in butter; one each
Lowri Ann, Milford£21.00/kg - GoneWhite fish · Whole
Turbot
One fish this morning, a two-kilo one; gone by eleven
Lowri Ann, Milford£42.00/kg - In todayWhite fish · Filleted
Monkfish tail
Skinned and trimmed; for the roast or the curry
Sea Breeze, Milford£29.00/kg - In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Sea bass, line-caught
One-and-a-half-kilo fish; whole for two, or filleted
Ynys Môn, off the Gower£26.00/kg - In todayWhite fish · Whole · Filleted
Red gurnard
The cheap one that tastes like the dear ones; ask us to fillet it
Girl Rhiannon, Milford£11.00/kg - In todayOily fish · Whole · Filleted
Mackerel
Stiff and bright this morning; butterflied for the barbecue
Ynys Môn, off the Gower£9.50/kg - In todayOily fish · Whole
Herring
For the pan, or soused; the kipper fish
Ynys Môn, off the Gower£8.00/kg - GoneOily fish · Whole
Sardines
A box this morning, sold by ten; back when the boat finds them
Sea Breeze, Milford£9.00/kg - In todayOily fish · Whole · Filleted
Salmon
The one farm we have visited; fillets, steaks or a side
One farm, Loch Fyne£27.50/kg - In todayShellfish · Whole
Dressed crab
Dressed by hand this morning; whole cooked crab £12 a kilo
Pots off the Gower£7.50 each - In todayShellfish · Whole
Lobster
Cooked this morning or live; from 600g
Pots off the Gower£38.00/kg - In todayShellfish · Whole
Menai mussels
Cleaned and debearded; a kilo feeds two
Menai Strait rope farm£7.50/kg - In todayShellfish · Whole
Rock oysters
Six for £8.50; opened at the counter if you ask
A Pembrokeshire creek£1.60 each - GoneShellfish · Whole
Scallops, hand-dived
The divers were out Thursday; sold by Saturday noon
Two divers, Milford£2.80 each - In todayShellfish · Whole
Prawns, frozen at sea
The one frozen thing in the shop, and we say so
A Scottish trawler£18.00/kg - In todayFrom the smokehouse · Whole
Kippers
Smoked Tuesday; undyed, the colour of a kipper
Our kiln, oak£4.20 pair - In todayFrom the smokehouse · Filleted
Smoked haddock
Pale gold because it is undyed; for the kedgeree
Our kiln, oak£19.50/kg - In todayFrom the smokehouse · Filleted
Smoked salmon
Cured overnight, cold-smoked a day and a night, sliced by hand
Our kiln, oak and beech£48.00/kg - In todayFrom the smokehouse · Filleted
Hot-smoked mackerel
With cracked pepper; the thing to try first
Our kiln, beech£3.80 fillet
Prices are per kilo for most fish and each for the small whole ones, the crab, the oysters and the scallops. Everything is filleted, skinned, pin-boned and portioned while you wait for nothing. The frozen-at-sea prawns are the one frozen thing in the shop. Sunday is Saturday’s landing at the Sunday price.
The boats
Nine boats, named on the ticket, and the van at the market at half past four.
Six day boats out of Milford Haven: Sea Breeze and Girl Rhiannon for the cod, haddock and hake; Lowri Ann for the flat fish; three more for whatever the night brings. Ynys Môn works the bass and mackerel off the Gower; three pot boats bring the crab and lobster up on Monday and Thursday nights. Gethin buys on the market floor from skippers he has known for thirty years, which is why the turbot is a two-kilo fish and not a one-kilo one.
- Day boats: out at dusk, back at dawn, the fish never more than a night old
- Undersized fish, out-of-season crab and berried lobsters go back
- Mussels from the Menai, oysters from Pembrokeshire, salmon from the one farm
Questions about the board
Is the fish fresh or frozen?
Fresh, landed the night before at Milford Haven or that morning off the Gower, on ice, sold within two days or smoked. The only frozen thing in the shop is the prawns, which are frozen at sea on the boat, and we say so on the ticket.
What is the best day to come?
Tuesday to Friday after eight for the fullest slab; Saturday by nine before the best of it goes. Sunday morning is Saturday's landing at the Sunday price, which is honest and cheap.
Fish and chips at home this Friday, from this morning's boat.
A box for two, four or six: haddock or cod landed that morning, batter mix, blanched chips, mushy peas, tartare, a lemon and the card. Order by Thursday 6pm, collect Friday four till seven or have it delivered within five miles. The same form takes a counter order, a lobster, or a seat at fish school.