Episode Three:
Chef Martin Shanahan follows Irish fish to Spain and cooks up delicious recipes along the way.
Martin’s catchphrase ‘No Skin, No Bone, No Problem’ has taken the mystery out of cooking fish. Martin’s aim is to make every day a fish day in Ireland.
In this series Martin continues to with his vision, which he believes in with almost a religious zeal; to convert the fish shy Irish over to the joys of eating the most healthy and tasty food in the world.
Martin wants to wean the population off beef and chicken and onto fish – he wants Irish people to feel the same way about fish as they do about beef. Martin introduces a new fish to our table called Megrim; often thought of as a Spanish fish and rarely eaten here in Ireland. It’s the seventh most caught fish by Ireland’s fishing fleet, most of which is exported.
Martin also follows the Irish fish to Spain where he cooks up a fishy storm. The export market is accepted to be of prime importance to Ireland’s economic recovery. Ireland’s seafood exports have continued to grow to a value of €333 million. The Irish fish industry employs over 12,000 people and is worth over €700 million – it produces over 270,000 tonnes of seafood per annum!
Martin’s Still Mad About Fish is sponsored by BIM.
Martin Shanahan:
Martin Shanahan is one of Ireland’s leading seafood chefs. Over the last 10 years he has had remarkable success with his restaurant ‘Fishy Fishy’ in Kinsale, Co. Cork.
About BIM:
BIM, the Seafood Development Agency, is charged with the sustainable development of the sea fisheries and aquaculture sectors. We provide commercially relevant and innovative services to the Irish seafood industry that drive growth opportunities, add value, enhance competitiveness, and create jobs.
Ireland has a diverse range of high quality natural seafood with over 70 species in our waters. Approximately 40 of these are commercially developed and the industry was worth over €700 million in 2010. Most importantly, the industry employs almost 12,000 people and what many people don’t realise is that the real significance of these jobs is that they are mainly located in our most remote coastal communities – Ireland’s seafood is what keeps many of these communities alive and well in the absence of economic alternatives.
With this fantastic resource at our doorsteps and focussing on the right development opportunities, we can create more jobs and more wealth for this nation. We are on target to generating 3000 extra jobs by 2020 by working to add value to our seafood and develop our aquaculture industry. (Ref: Government Strategy for the food sector- Food Harvest 2020)