JUST as whiskey is the wine of Scotland and rum is the wine of the Caribbean, Salt Fish is regarded as a food of the Caribbean. Salt Fish, as we know it today, became an essential part of the Caribbean diet some 600 years ago after Columbus’ arrival in the Americas. It predates rice and “ground provisions”.
When Europeans first arrived in the Caribbean, Central and South America, they found the rivers and shores teeming with fish. Fish immediately became an important part of their diet and since there were large deposits of salt in easily accessible places such as Curacao, fish began to be salted so as to preserve it and provided them with a store of food as they travelled.

Slavery was introduced shortly after Columbus’ arrival and Africans were fed with salt fish as a cheap, nourishing and easily obtained food. When the plantation system developed, salt fish as a cheap form of protein became a staple in the diet of the slaves. And over the centuries, the slave society developed a rich corpus of salt fish recipes, many of which survived after Emancipation. Among these salt fish recipes were salt fish cakes made in a variety of ways with various combinations and ingredients. Salt Fish was combined with other forms of cooking. Salt Fish and bread and Salt Fish and plantains became a unique part of the Caribbean diet.

In addition, many Caribbean territories developed their own particular salt fish recipes such as salt fish and breadfruit cooked in a variety of ways in the Windward and Leeward Islands, and Akee and Salt Fish in Jamaica. Akee was introduced from West Africa in the 18th century to feed the slaves and it was immediately combined with salt fish to produce what is now the Jamaican national dish. When immigrants from China, India and Madeira were imported to work on the plantations, they too grafted on salt fish to their cooking as for example “salt fish choka” in Indian cooking.

Most of the salt fish consumed in the Caribbean in the 19th and 20th centuries, up to the beginning of World War II, was imported chiefly from North America. During World War II salt fish could not be imported because German submarines (U-Boats) destroyed ships and the resultant shortage compelled some people to experiment in producing salt fish. The local product was not successful in achieving the standards of the foreign imports and after the War, salt fish importation quickly resumed.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Guyana experienced serious shortages of foreign exchange and salt fish was not imported and this was the catalyst which gave the push for the establishment of a local salt fish industry. Guyanese producers learned from experimentation and experience and were able to produce a salt fish fairly comparable to the best foreign import. Locally produced salt fish was widely used and was sold in the main groceries.

In the last two decades, the quality of local salt fish deteriorated and the supermarkets did not stock it or very little of it. Into the reasons for this deterioration, we shall not go, but the salt fish smuggled from Suriname, probably produced in Holland, was a constant reminder of the poor quality of our local product. Salt Fish fell out of the diet of many people, especially the more affluent, but despite its poor quality, it was stoutly retained as a staple by the working class.

Today, many of the salt fish producers use fish which is beginning to deteriorate and which could be bought at a small fraction of the price of fresh fish. And their methods of cleaning, salting and drying have remained primitive. The fish is dried in trays in the open which are subject to swarms of flies, bird droppings and dust and the finished product often has a rank smell.

The regulatory bodies are understaffed and cannot execute detailed inspections of these producers. They are concerned with ascertaining that the final product marketed is wholesome and have to trust that cooking would destroy harmful bacteria.
The immediate hope for consumers having a healthy salt fish of international standard lies in the competition in the marketplace. There are now emerging a few companies which are producing salt fish by state-of-the-art methods The staff engaged in these very few companies are appropriately attired with gloves, aprons and proper boots and preparation of the fish and salting are done mechanically and drying is done by solar power. The use of solar power is more hygienic and results in more efficient production since the drying process no longer depends on the vagaries of the weather.

The few progressive companies produce with various types of fish such as snapper, trout, bangamary and others to meet the consumers’ pockets. These few companies are having a growing share of the market and other producers are realising that they have to raise their standards or go out of business. This is an example where the workings of the market are raising standards as much as the efforts of the regulatory bodies. One of the companies which think it is an exemplar in the modernisation and marketing of fish production, and in particular salt fish, is Global Seafood Distributors.
Many consumers have complained that the price of good quality Salt Fish has become so comparatively high that salt fish, once the poor man’s staple, is now a luxury food. With the expansion of the Industry and the introduction of greater efficiencies prices will fall and be affordable to all,