A group of Welsh fishermen and fishmongers headed to London for a fact-finding tour of a bustling fish market and the fish departments of Selfridges and Harrods.

Delegates from the Welsh Seafood Cluster will be touring Billingsgate Market

Delegates from the Welsh Seafood Cluster will be touring Billingsgate Market

The study tour began on 23 November with a visit to the UK’s largest inland fish market, Billingsgate Market, and will end on 25 November.

"It will be a great opportunity for us to further our contacts, develop new ideas and expand our sales outlets through speaking to other fishermen,” said Berwyn Dennis of Albatross Fisheries.

He added: “Through meeting with the merchants at Billingsgate Market we also hope to set up a supply chain into the market.”

The 13 delegates from the tour are part of the newly formed Welsh Seafood Cluster, which is a Welsh government supported body dedicated to adding value to fish and shellfish caught or farmed in Wales.

It is part of the Business Development Programme which aims to help Welsh fisheries businesses overcome barriers to growth and exploit commercial opportunities.

The study tour is facilitated through the Cywain project, Caroline Dawson, Cywain manager, said: “The trip to Billingsgate has proved popular and it will be a great opportunity to access new markets through meeting merchants and up-skilling through a hands on block work session.”

“We will also be introducing the attendees to the seafood clustering initiative, which aims to create a platform for joint action to identify and solve common problems within the Welsh fisheries sector,” she concluded.

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