Where to get the best seafood in Suffolk and Norfolk

Frequently asked questions

Where are the best places for seafood in the East of England?

In Norfolk head for Brancaster Staithe which has a number of outlets but drive along the coastal A149 and you’ll see shacks, sheds and shops all with their own variety.

Lowestoft still operates a small fishing fleet which supplies seafood to restaurants, pubs and shops along the Suffolk and Norfolk coast.

Southwold is a working fishing harbour and in Aldeburgh fishermen launch their boats from the shingle beach.

What seafood is there in the East of England?

For fresh fish: cod, bass, Dover sole, lemon sole, plaice, skate, turbot, hake, grey mullet, halibut and more.

For shellfish: oysters, mussels, lobsters, crab, scallops, whelks, cockles, shrimp, prawns and crayfish.

Smoked options include haddock, salmon, herring, mackerel, trout, eel, kippers and sprats.

Why is seafood so good in East of England?

The cold, nutrient-rich water from Scandinavia is perfect for fish and shellfish to flourish in the shallow coastal waters of the North Sea.

The fishing communities in the East of England operate sustainable practices which contribute to the quality of the seafood.

What is the history of offshore fishing in the East of England?

The herring industry in Great Yarmouth dates back to Norman times, with the town recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as a fishing settlement benefiting from the annual herring migrations down the North Sea.

By the 13th century, Dutch fishermen introduced advanced curing techniques, boosting exports and establishing the town as a major European herring hub.

At the turn of the 20th century Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft were both hubs for the herring industry, with Scottish and English fleets following the fish migration.

In one day in 1907 fishermen brought over 80 million herring into Great Yarmouth’s harbour. There used to be so many fishing boats, it’s said you could walk across the river boat by boat.

It was the practicality of herring that made them so valuable. They were abundant, easy to catch, and could be preserved for months by salting and barrelling. In the days before refrigeration, that made them an extraordinary food source across Europe — from the Baltic ports to the dinner tables of Russia.

Discover more about the industry in Great Yarmouth at the award-winning Time & Tide Museum, housed in a former smokehouse.

What are bloaters?

Bloaters, a type of whole cold-smoked herring, are salted and lightly smoked without gutting, giving them a characteristic slightly gamey flavour. They are associated with Great Yarmouth and give their name to the Great Yarmouth Town football club.

The word bloater probably comes from the ‘bloated’ appearance of the fish, it being ungutted or it could come from the Swedish word ‘blota’, meaning to soak.

Who were the ‘herring lassies’?

Each September from the mid-1800s until the Second World War, an army of Scotswomen, known as ‘The Herring-Lassies’ descended on Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth for around 12 weeks. In the early 1900s it’s thought Great Yarmouth saw as many 6,000 Scotswomen.

Their work was backbreaking. Working from dawn to dusk, the ‘herring lassies’ would remove the heads and guts from the fish and then pack them in barrels with coarse salt.

What are Silver Darlings?

It was the Scottish fishermen who named herring ‘silver darlings’. When a net was hauled in on a bright morning, thousands of the fish would catch the light at once, shimmering like liquid metal in the water.