Red mullet is a regular summer visitor to south west coasts of the UK and is caught near to shore by netters. Red mullet has a unique texture somewhere between white and oily fish. Its high fat content adds a richness to it's flavour. It's liver is considered a delicacy. It has all the healthy eating attributes of white fish: high in protein and vitamin rich and also has the health benefits of being a source of Omega-3 fatty acids. Red mullet are very delicate and must be put straight onto ice as their quality deteriorates quickly. For best freshness source direct from a fisherman or specialist fish seller.
Red mullet make up a small, but high value part of the Cornish fishing industry's landings. Red mullet stocks are not well studied in our area. Landings data show a fluctuating quantity of red mullet landed to Cornish ports. The stocks are not protected by quotas but in Cornwall are protected by a minimum landing size of 15cm. Red mullet are caught using specialised red mullet nets in coastal waters and are also caught in Cornish trawl fisheries.
In 2021 a total of 41 tonnes of red mullet were landed to Cornish ports with a value of £374k (MMO data).
Updated July 2023
Cornish boats landing to Cornish ports
Demersal trawls are large nets that are pulled through the water with the bottom edge of the net touching the seabed. At each edge the net is pulled open by metal ‘trawl doors’. Sometimes referred to as Otter trawling.
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Cornish boats landing to Cornish ports
Gill nets are lightweight nets made of nylon (monofilament) fishing line that are anchored to the seabed and are used to catch fish by entangling the gills.
Learn moreCornish boats landing to Cornish ports
Beam trawls are nets with a steel beam that holds the net open. The belly of the net is made of chains and the upper surface of the net is mesh. Beam trawlers pull two nets along the seabed simultaneously.
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Cornwall Good Seafood Guide rates fish on sustainability using a scale of 1 to 5.
1, 2 and 3 are recommended, Fish to avoid are rated 5.
We use the system devised by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) so our scores are comparable with the scores produced by MCS for the UK and fisheries from all around the world. For more information on scoring click here.
Red mullet stocks are not well studied in our waters but there is no local evidence to suggest that stocks are declining. This is backed up by Seafish on their RASS infomation website. Red mullet are a warm water species that moves into our waters in the summer months. CEFAS list Red mullet as a species that is currently underutilized and having potential for increased fishing effort in its report (Catchpole 2011) Identifying under-utilised species.
ICES advice on Striped Red Mullet in areas 6, 8 and 7 a-c, 7 e-k and 9a 2020
Seafish RASS Red mullet in Gillnets North East Atlantic
Forster.R, and Smith.S, 2001 Selectivity of Gill nets used in the Cornish Red Mullet Fishery, Fisheries Science Partnership, Cefas Lowestoft
Red mullet netting code of practices CIFCA 2011
Seafish responsible sourcing guides Red mullet 2014
ICES WGNEW report 2014
Project Inshore Pre assessment database
MMO landings data
Catchpole.T, 2011, Identifying underutilized species CEFAS Lowestoft.
Ref -Cheung, W.W.L., T.J. Pitcher and D. Pauly, 2005. A fuzzy logic expert system to estimate intrinsic extinction vulnerabilities of marine fishes to fishing. Biol. Conserv. 124:97-111
Cornwall Good Seafood Guide is underpinned by the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) Good Fish Guide. The first UK consumer guide to sustainable seafood. For more information visit www.fishonline.org
