The Mekong River

By Jenny Fyall for The Scotsman in Edinburgh.

A VIETNAMESE catfish is growing in popularity with UK consumers faster than any other type of seafood.

The pangasius, or basa, is being sold in supermarkets as “Vietnamese river cobbler” and has many of the attributes of cod at a much lower price.

Sales have risen by 60 per cent in the past year, with 1,005 tonnes of the fish eaten in the UK.

This puts it almost on the same level of sales as sea bass and coley by weight, and is double the amount of crab and scallops.

In contrast, sales of cod have fallen by 17 per cent over the past year, salmon and tuna by 4 per cent, trout by 11 per cent and plaice by 13 per cent. However, sales in haddock have increased by 2 per cent.

The Vietnamese cobbler is farmed in the Mekong Delta, is relatively bone-free and has a mild flavour.

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