Fish tails causing a splash on local menus - But nutrionist says it’s not high in protein

A viral video circulating on social media has sparked discussions about the sale of fish tails in local supermarkets, with a price tag of around $500 in some places.

While some consumers defend the purchase, Dr Suzanne Soares-Wynter, a clinical nutritionist at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research, has raised concerns about the value of fish tails as a protein source. She even suggested that a simple bulla cake may provide more sustenance.

"It certainly wouldn't be high-quality protein," she stated. "You wouldn't be getting a lot of the flesh off of the meat. If it was a big fish, like cod, there would still be a lot of flesh on the tail. But if it's a smaller fish like snapper or mullet, there wouldn't be much flesh."

"The fin and the bony part of the fish are more cartilage, which doesn't have a lot of nutritional value," she said. "The protein quality would be very low, and it poses a potential risk to small children or the elderly because it would be bony." Soares-Wynter also noted that supermarkets typically discard such parts or use them for soup stock, similar to meat scraps sold for pet food.

"If they think this is something that can be used, why not just bag it and give it away?" she questioned. "How much fish tail would somebody have to buy to even make a meal? I would quickly tell somebody to go and buy a bulla, which has more nutritional value."

McMaster's Meat Mart acknowledged that fish tails were once a popular seller, but a representative confirmed that the entity has not stocked any in a while. A representative from Sampars Downtown also confirmed a similar situation.

"It's a good while since we have not had it," the representative said. "Before, we had it in large amounts, and people could get it in bulk and it sell fast." A shopper at Quality Grains & More Ltd, where many small business owners source their goods, refuted the notion that fish tails were purchased solely by those with lower incomes.

"People buy it a lot for their households, steam it down or brown stew it," she said. "It's not only people who cook big pots for events like dances buying it." She also pointed out that financial struggles are not limited to specific social classes.

"All different types of people buy it. Richness is not based on where you live but what you earn," she said. "People in the garrison can more afford food than people who have big bills to pay. I know for a fact that persons living in upscale neighbourhoods with a nine-to-five job struggle more than some people in the garrison."

Economist Keenan Falconer expressed doubt that the sale of fish tails would be an indicator of the overall health or strength of the economy.

"But that is not to say that a person's individual circumstances don't warrant the creation of differentiated products to satisfy their needs," he said. He explained that economic circumstances often drive product differentiation.

"It might be to satisfy a need that has arisen or even to satisfy a person's preference based on what they can afford," Falconer noted. "To use that as an index of economic strength would not be efficient."