In the 2000’s, Fishion developed a fully integrated supply chain for Claresse®. From the Tilapia project we learned that, for the European consumer, all fish fillets were appreciated more or less the same, as long as it was white. This meant that European aquaculture and fisheries had to compete with low priced imports from the far East, like pangasius. Today, these fillets are still landed in Europe at prices of around €2,- per kg.
Fishion therefore started looking at a fish species which could be produced at the lowest possible cost price, with the characteristics of a white fillet. The fish that came closest was also a catfish species, a hybrid of Heterobranchus and Clarias, called Claresse®.
Together with Anova Seafood, Fishion successfully introduced this hybrid on the European Seafood Exhibition in Brussels in 2008. Claresse won the Prix d’Elite for most original product and was declared most sustainable fish by the WWF.
Claresse is still produced in the Netherlands today and although it has competition from Pangasius, it is gaining ground due to its freshness and sustainable character.
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