Catfish making their way into Swiss restaurants

Tastes better than it looks? Keystone-SDA

Europe’s biggest freshwater fish, which is increasingly present in Swiss lakes, is also being touted for its culinary merits in French-speaking Switzerland.

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On the face of it, the catfish might not look appetising, with its large flattened head, wide mouth of tiny teeth, long whiskers and small eyes. It’s also a monster that can grow up to 2.70 metres long and weigh around 100kg.

But as a fillet, minced or sliced, pan-fried, roasted, poached or cold-smoked, catfish is widely praised by fishermen in French-speaking Switzerland, according to the Keystone-ATS news agency. They say it’s a rather noble fish that can even be compared to pike, monkfish or pike-perch. It’s also excellent value for money, they say.

Spreading to Lake Geneva

Catfish have been making a name for themselves in Swiss lakes for some 20 years now. The most recent figures from the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) date from 2023, when more than 7,500 catfish were reported caught, compared with just 500 in 2003.

While Lake Neuchâtel and Lake Murten have been home to catfish for almost half a century, Lake Geneva has only hosted them since the 1990s. Warmer weather, and therefore warmer water, has encouraged the spread in Swiss lakes. The first catches were reported in the 2000s; regular fishing took off in 2015 in Lakes Neuchâtel and Murten, and in 2020 in Lake Geneva.

“Over the past two or three years, catfish fishing has exploded in the Petit-lac region of Geneva, because they come from the Rhône river and the water is warmer there too,” says Alexandre Fayet, president of the inter-cantonal fishermen’s union for Lake Geneva.

“Fishing is also developing very well in the Haut-lac [the other side of the lake, towards Montreux]. If it’s a year with fewer perch and whitefish, catfish is easier to sell directly. It’s a good alternative,” Fayet adds.

The very beginning of a trend

“Of course, we still have to look hard for restaurants that offer catfish on their menus. But we’re going to be seeing more and more of it on our plates in the future, especially if it continues to grow so much in our lakes,” Fayet says.

“I’d say we’re at the very start of a trend. It’s our job as fishermen to promote other species like this one, to say that it’s an excellent fish. Restaurant owners are playing along,” says Fayet. He delivers it himself, notably to an inn in Bursinel, canton Vaud.

The fisherman easily catches up to three catfish a week. He says he has a colleague who catches around 100kg a day. The average size of a catfish varies from 6 to 15kg and the price range is between CHF45-60 ($56-75) per kg, even CHF70 if it’s smoked. Feedback from restaurateurs and customers is meanwhile “very positive”.

Extraordinarily good

Fayet says the fish is “firm when cooked, melting in the mouth”. “Catfish has beautiful white flesh, very firm and without any bones. It’s extraordinarily good,” agrees Alexandre Bonny, president of the professional fishermen’s group from Lake Neuchâtel.

“I catch on average one or two a week, other colleagues catch them every day. The frequency is also linked to a decline in the quantity of other noble fish in the lake over the years,” Bonny says.

“Little by little, year by year, fishermen are promoting and marketing it,” he says. “People are becoming more and more interested in them and are getting over the prejudice that they are ugly and therefore not good,” Bonny adds. “It’s a long-term effort with catfish, but it’s bearing fruit.”

Adapted from French by DeepL/dos

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