There will be a ‘sea breeze’ wafting through the Food Hall at This week’s Royal Welsh Show as Wales’ seafood industry sets out its stall.

Dipping their toes into the Seafood Showcase will be two producers – Shore Seafoods and Cardigan Bay Fish, who will be showing the public what’s on offer from Wales’ abundant coastline.

Located at the front of the Food Hall, the Showcase has been organised through the Seafood Market Development Project, which is funded through the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF).

A Welsh Government funded programme, the Project promotes Welsh seafood products to enhance reputation and market opportunity for the industry from sea to plate, encouraging an increase in Welsh seafood business growth across the supply chain.

Says EMFF Market Development Manager, Siân Davies,

“This will be the Market Development Project’s first stand-alone display in the Food Hall, and we are looking forward to interacting with the public and promoting the diversity and quality of Welsh seafood and shellfish.”

Other activities during the Royal Welsh Show include a showcase of seafood products at the Business Lounge – a non-public area where producers and buyers can meet.

Monday & Tuesday (July 22 & 23)

Shore Seafoods

For four generations the Brown family has been catching seafood and shellfish off the Pembrokeshire coast.

As Shore Seafoods, the Pembroke-based business processes and sells cooked and ready to eat shellfish wholesale to local restaurants, hotels and shops and direct to the public via its shop in Saundersfoot.

Says Donna Brown,

“All our shellfish is hand-picked, and we buy it from local fishermen, seven days a week.”

“We are looking forward to being on the Food Hall stand on the first two days of the Royal Welsh Show. It’s great to have this exciting opportunity to be in a prime Food Hall location through the EMFF funded Seafood Market Development Project.

We’ve been to the show off and on for four years through the Welsh Seafood Cluster and we have also had some good meetings with companies in the Business Lounge.”

Wednesday & Thursday (July 24 & 25)

Cardigan Bay Fish

The last two days of the Royal Welsh Show will see Cardigan Bay Fish take up the offer of support from the Welsh Seafood Market Development Project to attend the show.

Run by husband and wife team Len and Mandy Walters, the award-winning St Dogmaels based enterprise is a stalwart of local produce markets, where customers flock to buy dishes created by Mandy, such as potted crab and mackerel pâté.

Len and their son Aaron, fish all year-round for a variety of fish and shellfish, as well as being licensed to catch sewin and salmon in the River Teifi.

Says Mandy,

“It is important the public know what shellfish are caught off Cardigan Bay and locally, that’s why we started doing produce markets to make more local people aware of what’s in our seas.

“Some people think fish is hard to cook, but it is about educating them and giving them ideas. You don’t have to make anything fancy, just simple, local, fresh, tasty fish.

“The Royal Welsh Show is another showcase – a way of making people aware of what we have got and what we do. Fishing is a way of living like farming; it is hard work and long hours.”