Female fishmongers fillet as well

The fishmongery trade may be strongly associated with men, but new research - launched to coincide with Seafood Week (5 -12 October) - and Morrisons’ 186 trained female fishmongers would disagree.

The majority of people still strongly associate fishmongery with men. However new research from supermarket chain Morrisons strongly indicates that there is a desire to see more female fishmongers. 87% of respondents claimed they would be pleased to see a female fishmonger. This is further supported by 84% who believe that females were more than capable of being a fishmonger.

Today Morrisons is offering more opportunities and employing more female fishmongers than ever before. Nationwide the supermarket employs 186 trained skilled fishmongers (23.3% of its 800 total).

Every Morrisons’ fishmonger is trained to prepare over 50 different species of fish with counters offering more fresh fish than any other supermarket. Such credentials have gained Morrisons the Retail Industry Awards’ Best Seafood Retailer 2006.

Elaine Harrison, Morrisons Company Fish Trainer said: “The dexterity of females has always made them good fishmongers. We are pleased to encourage such diversity in the workplace and know that this helps to ensure that our customers receive the best service possible.”

Andy Gray at the Seafish Industry Authority said: “It is extremely encouraging to see the dedication of Morrisons in employing and training specialists to provide UK consumers with freshly prepared fish. It is even more refreshing to see that opportunities are open to all people, so that they can train, qualify, work in and sustain these extremely important craft trades.”

Fiona Mortimer from the Women in Work Commission, said: “Diversity at work is incredibly important. It is positive to see more females engaged in fishmongery. National and local employers have a responsibility to raise awareness of the breadth of career options available within their organisations and publicise the role of successful female role models. It’s great to see Morrisons taking this lead.”

The new research has been conducted to coincide with the launch of Seafood Week, the UK’s biggest celebration of seafood, which runs from 5-12 October. One of the themes for this year is to let consumers know more about the industry and those people involved within it.

* 51% strongly associate the fishmongery trade with men. CAPI Omnibus survey, TNS Global, 2007. 1045 respondents.