You can't get any finer fish than from our estuary, according to one who should know.

A man who knows his plaice - Royals fish bar manager Akis Vlassis. Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL 5DJZC2

Fisherman David Harper agrees wholeheartedly with a bid by Essex County Council to promote Essex seafood as a top quality brand.

Mr Harper, owner of Harper's Fish Merchants in Hadleigh said: "Fish from around here is less than 12 hours old when it is sold. When we catch the fish in the summer months they are still flinching when they are weighed.

"Some boats elsewhere are out at sea for two weeks and the fish is consequently two weeks old by the time it gets to market."

Mr Harper, whose boats set out from Leigh, Canvey and Sheerness to net sole and plaice, added: "Most of the fish that we catch round here is very good, some goes to Billingsgate and we take the best before sending the rest to France. They may not eat our beef but they love our fish - let's hope we don't get mad fish disease!"

Terence Tibble, owner of the Fisherman's Wharf restaurant near Southend Pier said: "At certain times of the year we use locally caught Dover sole and lobster and it is very good.

"It is a good quality product and very popular with our customers."

Essex Estuaries Initiative has joined forces with local restaurateurs, fishermen, fishmongers and wholesalers to promote Essex seafood as a brand of "quality and distinction."

The first stage of the promotion will be a calendar containing mouth-watering seafood recipes. It will be illustrated with pictures of the Essex coast taken by photographer Den Phillip.

Next on the agenda for the promotion, funded by the East of England Development Agency, will be a New Year conference to advise businesses how to get the best return on a top quality product.

Peter Martin, regeneration cabinet member for Essex, said: "Essex has over 400 miles of coastline and offers seafood of the finest quality but remains a well-kept secret.

"We hope that by supporting this campaign we can all appreciate the landscape, nature conservation and heritage qualities of the Essex coastline."

Published Monday December 17, 2001