Fish Kill It, Cut It, Use It


Fish

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From the clothes we wear to the cars we drive,

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from what we use to look good to what we use to relax...

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-THEY SHOUT

-..our lives are full of products,

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and our products are full of animals.

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In the past few years, I've learned a lot about how the meat we eat

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reaches our plates. But I've always wondered what happens

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to the bits of the animal that we don't eat.

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It turns out these leftover parts are made into things we use every day...

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That's a symbolic noise for, like, leather.

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..as well as some things you couldn't even imagine.

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Oh, my God!

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My face is on fire!

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I've never, ever smelled anything like that.

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'To find out how, I'm going on extraordinary journey

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'to see these raw animal parts transformed into shiny new products.

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'And I'm going to be joined by the people who use them to see what they make of it.'

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-Sheep need to get slaughtered.

-Will we be in the room?

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Oh, my God!

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HE GROANS

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Mine had a testicle on it!

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Oh, don't film me being sick!

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'We'll be going behind the doors of unknown companies and into hidden worlds...'

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That is such a weird vision! Just skin hanging there.

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This is when we see what's inside the chest.

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'..getting hands-on...'

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I don't think that's going to go in there.

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'..and discovering what makes these animal leftovers indispensable.'

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-I can't even look at it!

-What am I doing here with these?

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Could knowing that so many of our favourite items

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contain animals change the way we feel about them forever?

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Tonight I'm looking at fish and seafood.

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Whether it's cod and chips or salmon sashimi,

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by the time our delicious seafood dishes have reached our plates,

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there's a trail of leftovers that some clever companies can turn into products.

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The heads, guts and bones of the fish we eat

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end up in all sorts of things - perfume, hairspray, even beer.

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I want to know how they get in there and what they're doing in there.

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-THEY SHOUT

-That is really disgusting.

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-Ugh!

-Don't like it, then?

-No, not at all.

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To find out, I'll get hands-on around the fishing hubs of Europe...

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Ugh! I got a bit of fish juice in my mouth then.

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..visiting manufacturers and factories

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to find out how they turn our fishy leftovers

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-into some of our favourite items.

-Oh, my God! It's a fish!

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I've heard a lot of hair products contain fish by-products,

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so I'm starting my journey in Iceland,

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one of the UK's major fish suppliers.

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'I'm travelling to a town called Siglufjordur,

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'25 miles outside the Arctic Circle,

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'to find out more. But I'm not doing this alone.'

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'I'm Emily. I work in the beauty department of a London store.'

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'I'm Rachel. I work as a model.

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'Emily and I have been best friends since the start of secondary school.'

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We both do take pride in our appearance.

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We spend a lot of time doing each other's hair,

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make-up. I think society's got to a point now

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where it reaches everything. You have to look good.

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Try that on. It's really pretty.

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-I really like it.

-Hair is a big part of that.

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I think it's probably one of the first things you look at

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when you see somebody, is their hair and what it's like.

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For these girls, keeping up appearances means one thing -

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products.

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Every other day I wash my hair, putting shampoo and conditioner in it.

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-'Then volumising mousse.'

-Then I have a hair serum

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-for the ends of my hair.

-I would put a heat-defencing spray,

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-protect it from the blow-dry.

-A curl-boosting mousse,

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a fabricator spray, which basically volumises the roots.

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After that, cover it with hairspray,

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and I'd reapply it several times during the day.

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-And I thought

-I

-was high-maintenance!

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-That's really nice.

-Good.

-Really nice and soft.

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But how much do they know about what's in their products?

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I do think about what goes into the products,

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but a lot of the time I don't understand what's written on the back of packets.

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You get to a stage where you don't know what you're putting on.

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So is there any ingredient that could put these girls off

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their beloved products?

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I've been vegetarian for about 20 years.

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If I found out that my favourite hair product

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was animal-tested,

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or contained any raw animal product,

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blubber or...I don't know, some fish oils or something like that,

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I would be so upset. Really upset.

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From North London to the North Pole -

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well, not quite the North Pole, but it's near enough.

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These girls are about to join me for a journey

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that could change their beauty regime forever.

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There's a fish by-product called chitosan,

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used in some hair products, that increases hold

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without making the hair stiff.

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We're meeting Bjorn Valdimarsson, from fishing company Rammi,

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to find out exactly how seafood ends up in hairspray.

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-Hello, hello! Nice to see you!

-Hello.

-Nice to see you!

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-Right, say hello to Bjorn.

-Hello. Welcome.

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-Nice to meet you.

-Nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Iceland.

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-Thank you.

-This is the first time?

-It is, absolutely.

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Any idea why you're here?

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-No.

-No.

-There's a smell of fish at the moment.

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-Got the smell?

-Got the smell.

-OK.

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Have you heard of a product called chitosan?

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-No.

-No.

-No, we haven't.

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-Chitosan is found in hair products.

-Right. I've never heard of it.

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-What is it, Bjorn?

-Well, I will not tell you now.

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First we will go to this boat, out to sea,

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and afterwards you will find out what it is.

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Ah, we're going on the boat! It'll be an adventure. Come on, girls.

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The trawler we're using can hold 20 tons of fish.

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It goes out in treacherous seas for five to six days,

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fishing deep in the Arctic Circle, where the water is purer.

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-Ever been fishing before?

-Never.

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-Rachel?

-I'm vegetarian, so I definitely don't go fishing.

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This is a tough job,

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in cramped conditions and freezing temperatures.

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-How do you feel about this, then?

-Um, a bit nervous.

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-What have fish got to do with hair products? It's going to be quite interesting.

-Yeah.

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We're not going out as far as the fishermen normally do,

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but even these relatively calm waters will test our sea legs.

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-I'm feeling really seasick.

-OK. All right.

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-Genuinely a bit worried. Going to throw up.

-Oh, no.

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-Are you OK?

-Oh, don't film me being sick!

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-Are you feeling seasick?

-A little bit.

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A little bit. Actually a lot. Oh, dear. Dear, dear.

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-Em, you not feeling well, lovely?

-I'm not feeling very well.

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-Oh, poor thing!

-It's the boat rocking up and down.

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-It's quite motiony.

-I'm fine when I'm looking at the horizon.

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-OK. Keep looking, then.

-How you doing?

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-Yeah, I'm all right.

-You coping?

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-I'm coping at the moment.

-Yeah.

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'I'm not letting a touch of nautical nausea hinder my mission.

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'Unfortunately, ladies, you're going to have to suck it up.

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'Well, not literally, though.'

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What are we fishing for today?

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-Today we're fishing prawns.

-Prawns?

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Because you were asking about chitosan,

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and the answer to that question is in the prawns.

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-So chitosan comes from prawns?

-Yeah.

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'Finally we have the first piece of the hair-product puzzle.

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'Chitosan, which is a key ingredient of hairspray, comes from prawns.

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'But I'm still not exactly sure how it ends up there.

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'Below deck, a haul of prawns is dumped onto a conveyor belt,

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'which the girls and I have to sort from other fish in the catch.'

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-It's in here.

-All right.

-OK.

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Oh, my God!

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'Each haul is about two tons,

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'and takes around eight hours to sift through.'

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-Hurry, hurry!

-There you go. Catch!

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'Owner Gustaf insists we work at the speed his crew normally work at,

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'pulling out the unwanted fish, which, according to Bjorn,

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'are sold at the local market.'

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-Oh! It's so...

-You use lots of hair products.

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I did not realise they were using prawn in my hair.

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-I am never eating fish again.

-You're never eating fish again?

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-No.

-I am never using hair products again.

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You're saying that's... Over there, over there.

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-Got one, got one, got one.

-You're absolutely sure about that?

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-This is going on my hair.

-But we don't know how yet.

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That is true, but...

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-Oh, look. Roe.

-What's that?

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-That's the eggs.

-I really hope it's not the eggs that go into my hair.

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How are you feeling about hair products now, then?

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I really don't know how I feel about hair products.

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I guess if it was maybe, like, fish oils, or...

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that seems logical to go into a product,

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but prawns - that didn't even cross my mind.

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That's exactly what it is. I still haven't got it in my mind's eye...

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-No.

-..what this product is,

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and how it makes its way into hair stuff.

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-OK!

-Thank you.

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'At this stage there's still no obvious link to hairspray,

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'so we follow the trail to the prawn factory.

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'Here our catch is boiled to prepare for processing.

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'It's just a small part of the four and a half million prawns

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'processed here every day.'

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-MACHINERY ROARING

-So, what's going on here, Bjorn?

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-This is the prawn-peeling plant.

-Prawn peeling?

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And here we peel and clean and freeze and pack the prawns.

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Where do they go, the majority of these?

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Most of these go to the UK, to England,

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so if you buy a prawn sandwich when you go back home...

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It probably came out of here. Now I know the history of the prawn.

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-Where does the chitosan come from? Which bit?

-From the shells.

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It is from the shells? Ah!

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These are the peelers. The peelers take the shell from the prawns.

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So the machine does it all? The machine takes the shell off?

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Yes. It takes all the shells from the prawn.

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-Separates the meat and the rest of it?

-Yeah.

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From here, the prawns are checked by an ultraviolet machine

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for any remaining shell, before being frozen, packed

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and sent to Britain.

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But we're more interested in the stuff that's falling under the machines.

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What looks like waste, the antennae, the legs, the shells,

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is in fact a key ingredient in the global beauty industry.

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They're all still just shells. How does it become this product?

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That is the next part of the story.

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We have to go next door to another factory,

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and I will show you that.

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Chitosan comes from chitin, which is the major component of a prawn shell.

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It's the chitin that gives the shell its toughness and durability,

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so it can protect the soft tissues of the prawn.

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Although the value of chitosan as by-product has been known for years,

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the lack of manufacturing facilities in the town

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have meant the shells were simply dumped into the sea.

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In 1999, that changed. After three years of research,

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the company Primex developed the ability

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to turn raw shells into chitosan on an industrial scale.

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-THEY SHOUT

-That is really disgusting.

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Each one of these trucks contains 13 tons of shells,

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which will be processed into 250 kilos of chitosan.

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I'm not putting that in my hair.

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'Chances are you already have.

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'We ask the company's Segovic Valsdottir

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'if we can get hands-on.'

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-Can we have a go with the...

-Oh, yes. Of course you can.

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-Come on!

-Let's go.

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We're in it! Let's do it!

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Why use the hose? Why so much water?

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It's necessary for the prawn, for cleaning them,

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and also to throw them up to the tanks

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for the pressure.

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-They look like prawn soup.

-It really does.

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It doesn't look very appetising.

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Nothing at the moment that I want to put on my hair either.

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'Having followed the prawn from the ocean,

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'we finally get to see the first major transformation.

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'After we hose them down, the shells are mixed with hydrochloric acid

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'to remove the calcium, and then mixed with sodium hydroxide

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'which is commonly known as caustic soda,

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'to remove protein and colour.'

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Weird!

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Oh! It's like little particles of plastic.

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'According to Primex, removing protein lowers the risk

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'of allergic reactions to shellfish.'

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It doesn't look like a shell or a meat, or...

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It smells of nothing.

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'From here on in, the transformations are quicker

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'and more dramatic.'

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Let me see the chitin. Oh, wow!

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'The white sludge is pressed and dried into chitin.

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'This sawdust-like material is what gives shells their strength.'

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-It's not still chitosan.

-Still not?

-No.

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Now the next stage will be to convert into chitosan.

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-This is the lab. Go on.

-Thank you.

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'So, from factory floor to the science lab,

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'and chitosan expert Dr Einar Matthiasson.

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'Finally we get to see some chitosan.'

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-So here you have it!

-Yeah. Here we have it.

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This we've seen before. This is like a sawdust.

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-This is it, yeah. The chitin.

-But this is finally chitosan?

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-This is the final product.

-So it's been ground down.

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-So it's processed into a powder?

-Yeah.

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So, simply, in as non-scientific a way as you can,

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tell me what this product is.

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Basically this is a long-chain biopolymer.

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-SHE LAUGHS

-See, I said make it simple.

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-A long-chain...

-Biopolymer.

-Biopolymer.

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How does it work in a hair product, a hairspray?

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-What does it do?

-It increases shininess

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and gloss of the product. It increases volume.

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It prevents split ends of hair,

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also can moisturise it as well, and so on.

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So when you look at a hair product, why on the label doesn't it say

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that this is derived from an animal, it's an animal product?

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Because we didn't know what chitosan was.

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You'd look at that, and you'd never think that was an animal.

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It's mainly because this is a well known raw material

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to industry, and they don't have to say exactly where it comes from.

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-And do you only find chitosan in prawns?

-No.

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No. You find it in fungi and mushrooms.

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And you mostly supply the hair industry with chitosan,

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-so the chances are it's prawn-derived chitosan.

-Yeah.

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Can you answer this question? Here you've got this powder.

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How does it become the hair product?

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I think you have to ask the manufacturer

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who's buying this from us, because he has all the secrets.

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Ah, so this scientist isn't revealing!

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So we haven't quite finished our journey.

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This eye-opening journey feels like it's finally reaching conclusion.

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It's amazing to follow a process like this.

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And now for the final step - the product.

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It's a surprisingly simple process when you know how.

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The basic ingredients for making hairspray

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are chitosan, water,

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citric acid and ethanol.

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The first step is to add chitosan to water.

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Citric acid helps the chitosan to dissolve

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and make a thick solution,

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which when mixed further becomes a gel.

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Ethanol is then mixed into the gel.

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Ethanol makes the gel dry quicker when applied to the hair.

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Once dry, it hardens, holding the hair in any style you like -

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just not that one.

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Making hairspray follows the same process,

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but more water and ethanol are added,

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to make a more diluted solution which can then be sprayed.

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The other ingredients added by manufacturers

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are the perfumes, colours and preservatives.

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And there you have it.

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Prawns...

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Hairspray.

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As well as making our hair funky, chitosan has some amazing properties

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that have led to the development of new wound-healing creams and diet pills.

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Not so long ago we were out there fishing for prawns.

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I don't have an issue, because I eat the prawns,

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so that for me is fine. The fact that the shell is used in this way,

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is this miracle product, think is fantastic. Vegetarian -

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moral dilemma. What will you do about your hair product?

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For ethical reasons, now I know it has come from a creature,

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I'm going to go home and check all my products,

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and any ones that do contain... contain the ingredient,

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I think will be chucked out. I couldn't use it.

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I'd imagine the prawns on my hair otherwise.

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-I just have a newfound respect for the humble prawn.

-Yeah!

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'If Rachel was freaked out by prawns in hairspray,

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'I wonder how she'd feel about whales in perfume.'

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That's why I'm really interested in ambergris.

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I know it's a substance that comes from whales,

0:18:440:18:47

and I know it's been prized in the perfume industry for centuries.

0:18:470:18:50

But I don't know exactly what it is, and I don't know if it's still used today.

0:18:500:18:55

Where once an A-list film star may have endorsed a perfume,

0:18:550:18:58

nowadays even WAGs are releasing their own ranges.

0:18:580:19:01

The latest figures show UK retailers sold over £1 billion of perfume,

0:19:030:19:08

up nearly nine percent on the previous year.

0:19:080:19:10

I wonder how many people know their perfumes may contain

0:19:100:19:14

something that comes from a whale.

0:19:140:19:17

-Whale.

-Ugh!

-Whale.

-Whoa!

0:19:170:19:20

-I definitely didn't know that.

-What do you think of that?

0:19:210:19:24

-Badly shocked.

-Don't buy it.

0:19:240:19:26

I'll never be able to use perfume again.

0:19:270:19:30

'Now, I had the same reaction when I found out about ambergris.

0:19:340:19:38

'Whales aren't fish. They're mammals,

0:19:380:19:41

'and hunting them is cruel, unethical and unacceptable.

0:19:410:19:44

'I love my perfumes, but...'

0:19:470:19:49

If it's got "whale" on the label, for me, it's a big, fat, non-negotiable "no".

0:19:490:19:53

No. No.

0:19:530:19:55

I'm aware that ambergris has a real mystique around it.

0:19:560:19:59

Medieval mariners called it "floating gold".

0:19:590:20:02

The ancient Chinese called it "dragon spittle".

0:20:020:20:05

'But commercial whale-hunting has been illegal for quarter of a century,

0:20:050:20:09

'so the first thing to find out is if ambergris is still being used.'

0:20:090:20:13

Perfume recipes are closely guarded secrets.

0:20:150:20:18

So will I be able to get a top perfumier to share some with me

0:20:180:20:21

if I'm really nice?

0:20:210:20:24

Floris perfumier on London's Jermyn Street

0:20:250:20:29

has a client list stretching back to the year 1730.

0:20:290:20:32

It made perfumes for kings and queens,

0:20:320:20:35

prime ministers, movie stars - even Ian Fleming,

0:20:350:20:38

the creator of James Bond.

0:20:380:20:40

'I'm hoping to apply some 007-style charm

0:20:430:20:46

'on head perfume designer Shelagh Foyle,

0:20:460:20:49

'to see if she'll reveal the company secrets,

0:20:490:20:51

'starting with the use of animal parts.'

0:20:510:20:55

Are animal parts or by-products used in perfumes these days?

0:20:550:20:58

We used to obtain musk from the musk pods

0:20:580:21:01

which were removed from the deer.

0:21:010:21:03

I believe it's their scent-marking glands.

0:21:030:21:06

In times gone by, they were worth more than their weight in gold.

0:21:060:21:10

'But to remove the pod, you need a dead deer.'

0:21:100:21:13

-From castoreum...

-What's castoreum?

-It came from beaver.

0:21:140:21:17

We've used ingredients from civet cat,

0:21:170:21:21

and to obtain that, the cat is irritated

0:21:210:21:25

by often poking it with sticks or some other process,

0:21:250:21:30

and then it's milked.

0:21:300:21:32

So would it be fair to say it's frowned upon

0:21:320:21:34

to use any real animal part or animal product

0:21:340:21:37

today in the perfume industry?

0:21:370:21:38

We use the manmade, synthetic alternatives.

0:21:380:21:42

We just don't want to use anything that causes harm.

0:21:420:21:45

But is it used to your knowledge?

0:21:450:21:48

Would anything from an animal be used?

0:21:480:21:51

Not necessarily something that would harm the animal.

0:21:510:21:55

The only natural ingredient that is probably still used

0:21:550:21:58

-may be ambergris.

-It's funny you should mention ambergris,

0:21:580:22:01

because that's what I'm on a mission to find out about.

0:22:010:22:04

I know it's something to do with whales,

0:22:040:22:06

which I'm not happy about at all. You obviously don't use it.

0:22:060:22:11

-We don't use it, no.

-Do you know where I can get any,

0:22:110:22:13

-where I can see some, smell some?

-What - natural ambergris?

-Yeah.

0:22:130:22:17

-I've no idea.

-Tricky, then?

0:22:170:22:20

-Yeah.

-Very tricky.

-Yeah.

0:22:200:22:22

'Now, if animal parts from deer, beavers and cats

0:22:260:22:30

'are no longer used to make us smell good,

0:22:300:22:33

'why are whale parts still used?

0:22:330:22:35

'I think I'll need to get my hands on some actual ambergris

0:22:350:22:38

'to find out.'

0:22:380:22:40

'After a bit more research, I found a perfume place

0:22:420:22:44

'called Le Labo. Packaged in a contemporary style,

0:22:440:22:48

'this shop sells 13 fragrances, which are prepared in front of the customer

0:22:480:22:52

'and personalised with a printed name tag.

0:22:520:22:55

'I've heard they might have some ambergris products,

0:22:550:22:59

'and I'm meeting lab assistant Sandy Sidhu to find out.'

0:22:590:23:02

I'm really interested in this product ambergris.

0:23:020:23:05

-Do you have it here?

-I'm afraid we don't have it here,

0:23:050:23:07

but what we do have is the synthetic musk equivalent

0:23:070:23:11

-to the ambergris...

-Oh, OK.

0:23:110:23:13

..which is actually the Ambrox, which is over here.

0:23:130:23:17

-It's actually a nice smell.

-Yes. It's very subtle,

0:23:190:23:21

but very sensual, and very long-lasting on the skin.

0:23:210:23:24

It's one you want to keep smelling.

0:23:240:23:26

Do you think I'm going to find the real thing?

0:23:260:23:29

Um, I don't think that would be possible.

0:23:290:23:32

What we use is the Ambrox, which is the synthetic musk,

0:23:320:23:35

which you usually can get. But what I can tell you

0:23:350:23:38

is that ambergris is taken from the sperm whales,

0:23:380:23:41

but it's very, very rare, as well.

0:23:410:23:43

You might want to try and go out to sea.

0:23:430:23:45

Come on, Sandy. Be a bit more encouraging.

0:23:450:23:48

THEY LAUGH

0:23:480:23:50

'Right. I've learned that ambergris is still used in perfumes,

0:23:500:23:54

'and it comes from a sperm whale.

0:23:540:23:56

'It's time to find out what it is, and why it's OK to use it.'

0:23:560:24:00

So far no real ambergris,

0:24:030:24:05

but I've been given a tip-off about a perfumier

0:24:050:24:08

called Roja Dove, and he may be able to help me.

0:24:080:24:11

He's a big noise in the nose world.

0:24:110:24:13

Roja Dove is a fragrance academic, historian and author.

0:24:150:24:20

'I've been told I'll be in the presence of the prince of perfume.'

0:24:200:24:24

"Ambergree". Have I been saying it correctly?

0:24:270:24:29

Ambergris, most people in Britain call it. Ambergris.

0:24:290:24:32

-OK.

-Grey amber.

-Grey amber.

0:24:320:24:35

I haven't actually come across the real deal,

0:24:350:24:38

the product itself. Does it still exist?

0:24:380:24:41

Ambergris itself exists, because it's a natural phenomenon.

0:24:410:24:44

It's a natural excretion from the whales.

0:24:440:24:46

Ambergris is formed when sperm whales swallow squid.

0:24:460:24:49

The squid have hard, parrot-like beaks,

0:24:490:24:52

which can't be digested, and irritate the intestine of the whale.

0:24:520:24:56

A natural defence is that the whale forms a waxy piece

0:24:560:24:59

around the beak, a little bit like a grain of sand in an oyster

0:24:590:25:03

forms a pearl. But the problem is, this waxy piece gets bigger

0:25:030:25:07

and bigger, and the whale needs to expel it,

0:25:070:25:10

a little bit like a cat honks up a furball.

0:25:100:25:13

SHE LAUGHS It's the same sort of thing.

0:25:130:25:16

And so the waxy paste floats on the oceans,

0:25:160:25:19

and in fact for ambergris to be used traditionally in perfumery,

0:25:190:25:24

we have to take it from the sea,

0:25:240:25:26

because an oxidation occurs on the ambergris,

0:25:260:25:29

and it's the reaction of the salt and the sun

0:25:290:25:33

which gives ambergris its odour.

0:25:330:25:35

Would whales ever be hunted for this product?

0:25:350:25:37

It wouldn't be extracted from inside the whale?

0:25:370:25:41

To my knowledge, I don't believe the whale has ever been hunted

0:25:410:25:45

for ambergris, because it would be useless. It would have no odour.

0:25:450:25:49

-So it has to have been honked.

-It has to have been honked. Honking is essential.

0:25:490:25:54

So there you have it.

0:25:540:25:56

Whale puke plus some salty sea air

0:25:560:25:58

equals the perfect perfume ingredient.

0:25:580:26:01

Is it still used today in the industry?

0:26:010:26:03

To my knowledge, yes.

0:26:030:26:05

If somebody is making a very luxurious scent,

0:26:050:26:07

then natural ambergris is something they might choose to still use

0:26:070:26:11

-within the formula.

-So there are a few perfumeries

0:26:110:26:14

in the world that will have a supplier of ambergris?

0:26:140:26:18

Yes.

0:26:180:26:20

So, if your budget will stretch to a luxury brand,

0:26:200:26:23

you'll find ambergris in scents made by top labels like Hermes,

0:26:230:26:27

Balmain, and what's believed to be the Beckhams' favourite, Creed.

0:26:270:26:31

And do you have any for me to look at, to touch?

0:26:310:26:34

-Funnily enough, I do.

-It looks like a huge truffle!

0:26:340:26:37

Well, yeah. It's the most unlikely looking stuff.

0:26:370:26:41

Ooh! I mean, it doesn't...

0:26:410:26:43

It doesn't smell, most likely, how you might imagine.

0:26:430:26:45

-Can we touch it?

-Do. Take it out.

0:26:450:26:48

'So this is it. I'm holding a whale by-product,

0:26:500:26:54

'and I'm feeling OK about it -

0:26:540:26:56

'well, as OK as you CAN feel, holding whale puke.'

0:26:560:26:59

Now, don't reach over and punch me, but it smells a bit sicky.

0:27:000:27:04

HE LAUGHS

0:27:040:27:05

What's its importance within the perfume structure?

0:27:050:27:08

Ambergris's structure is made up of cholesterol,

0:27:080:27:12

which is a fat, and this fattiness, or the oiliness,

0:27:120:27:15

is what helps hold all the other raw materials

0:27:150:27:18

on the skin, so it makes not only it last longer,

0:27:180:27:20

but it makes other raw materials last a long time too.

0:27:200:27:24

Man has used this raw material and known of it

0:27:240:27:26

for at least 3,000 years.

0:27:260:27:29

It's part of the magic, and it's part of what is incredible

0:27:320:27:36

about the gifts that nature gives us.

0:27:360:27:39

So there is whale in perfume,

0:27:400:27:43

but it's an excretion, not a body part,

0:27:430:27:45

and it's not something I'm angry about.

0:27:450:27:47

-I wonder what the consumers think?

-SHE SCREAMS AND LAUGHS

0:27:470:27:52

-I wouldn't wear that perfume.

-How does that smell good?

0:27:520:27:55

Well, there you go. Somehow it manages it.

0:27:550:27:57

-Difficult to believe, eh?

-Yeah! That's really odd.

0:27:570:28:00

But it still smells nice, so why not?

0:28:000:28:02

There you go. Cool! Thank you very much.

0:28:020:28:05

From ambergris to amber nectar.

0:28:080:28:11

What I'm discovering is, the more you scratch the surface

0:28:180:28:21

of the fish's anatomy, the more everyday products

0:28:210:28:24

you find fish in, including one of the nation's favourite - booze.

0:28:240:28:29

How many people know that?

0:28:290:28:31

Let me just ask you - there's a fish product that they use in beer.

0:28:330:28:37

-Do you know what it is?

-A fish product?

0:28:370:28:39

-Um...

-The oil or something? No.

0:28:390:28:43

-I wouldn't have a clue.

-Urine?

-Guts or something?

0:28:430:28:46

The scales?

0:28:460:28:48

Blood, I suppose, would be horrendous to be drinking.

0:28:480:28:51

Er, what else might be in there?

0:28:510:28:54

There's this product called isinglass which they use in beers.

0:28:550:28:59

It comes from a fish, and somehow it gives beer its golden glow.

0:28:590:29:04

I'm meeting some beer drinkers to find out more.

0:29:040:29:07

-WHISTLE BLOWS

-'Hi, I'm Temi.'

0:29:070:29:09

-'The boys call me Kev.'

-'My name's Chris.'

0:29:090:29:12

The boys call me Teddy. Our drinking team has a rugby problem.

0:29:120:29:15

SONG: "Tubthumping" by Chumbawamba

0:29:150:29:19

You come to uni and you want to join the rugby team.

0:29:210:29:24

People just expect, sort of, you will be drinking.

0:29:240:29:27

THEY SHOUT AND CHANT

0:29:290:29:31

THEY SING

0:29:340:29:35

We'd start drinking as soon as we'd finished the game, in the changing rooms.

0:29:370:29:41

'Hopefully we've had a win, and we're all in good spirits. Start drinking there.'

0:29:410:29:46

THEY SHOUT

0:29:480:29:50

There isn't much I wouldn't drink.

0:29:530:29:55

-I'd drink urine out of a pint, dog food, sick...

-Yeah!

0:29:550:29:59

THEY SHOUT

0:29:590:30:01

So, what if their beer had fish in it?

0:30:010:30:05

Would they drink that?

0:30:050:30:08

I don't think I've ever thought about what goes into beer,

0:30:100:30:13

purely because you just never consider it.

0:30:130:30:16

So, do they know what beer's made of?

0:30:160:30:18

-Water.

-Water?

0:30:190:30:22

Must be made of water to some extent. It's liquid.

0:30:230:30:26

Er... We don't know, do we?

0:30:260:30:28

OK. Do they even know what makes it alcoholic?

0:30:280:30:32

I don't know. What does make it alcoholic?

0:30:330:30:37

THEY LAUGH

0:30:380:30:39

THEY SHOUT

0:30:390:30:41

-I've no idea.

-We have no idea.

0:30:430:30:45

We drink so much without knowing what's in it. It's quite scary.

0:30:450:30:49

A night on the booze hasn't put them off a 4 AM start at Billingsgate.

0:30:520:30:56

Don't know what I'm looking at there.

0:30:560:30:58

It really is a weird place for beer to begin its journey.

0:30:580:31:03

I'm hoping the boys will be as curious as I am.

0:31:040:31:07

Is it a head? Is it an eye? Is it blood?

0:31:070:31:10

-Chris!

-Hi.

-Temi. Morning, lads. Morning. How we doing?

0:31:110:31:15

-Fantastic.

-It's early.

-It is early. What do you think we're doing

0:31:150:31:18

-at this ungodly hour?

-At a fish market,

0:31:180:31:20

-something to do with beer... Not a clue.

-Yeah.

0:31:200:31:24

There's a product in beer called isinglass, apparently.

0:31:240:31:27

-From a fish, or...

-Yeah, from a fish.

0:31:270:31:30

-All right. Cool.

-What do you think about the fact

0:31:300:31:33

that there's something fishy in your beer? Does that put you off?

0:31:330:31:36

-Not yet.

-Cos you don't know what it is.

0:31:360:31:38

Come on.

0:31:380:31:40

CJ Jackson, the director of Billingsgate Seafood Training School,

0:31:410:31:45

will enlighten us.

0:31:450:31:48

CJ, we know that there's something called isinglass in beer,

0:31:480:31:52

-but what is it?

-It actually is a dried swim bladder of a fish.

0:31:520:31:56

-What's a swim bladder?

-It's like the buoyancy aid.

0:31:560:31:59

It basically keeps round fish upright.

0:31:590:32:02

In the 18th century they used to take the swim bladder from a beluga sturgeon.

0:32:020:32:05

Today beluga sturgeons are really endangered.

0:32:050:32:09

It's also one of the most valuable caviars

0:32:090:32:11

that you get.

0:32:110:32:13

So what they're using now is a fish called Vietnamese catfish or Pangasius.

0:32:130:32:17

Most of it actually is now processed abroad,

0:32:170:32:21

and it comes in frozen.

0:32:210:32:23

Pangasius is mostly farmed in Vietnam.

0:32:230:32:26

It can grow up to three metres long.

0:32:260:32:28

As it's hard to find whole ones in the UK,

0:32:280:32:30

we're going to see the same principle on a much smaller scale.

0:32:300:32:34

'Say hello to Gary the gurnard.'

0:32:340:32:36

Look at his eyes!

0:32:360:32:39

-They're fantastic.

-He feels so rubbery!

0:32:390:32:41

-It's really cool.

-Really weird little fella.

0:32:410:32:45

See the little bits here?

0:32:450:32:47

You're going to have to get much closer than that, love.

0:32:470:32:51

-Will it jump up at me?

-It goes in your pint.

0:32:510:32:54

When you open these fish up, you often find the swim bladder in the middle.

0:32:560:33:01

I'm going to take you upstairs, show you how to prepare it,

0:33:010:33:04

and we're going to see if we can find the swim bladder.

0:33:040:33:07

'So, one of Britain's great pastimes -

0:33:070:33:10

'getting bladdered - relies on bladders.

0:33:100:33:13

'For me, dissecting this little fishy will be more fascinating

0:33:130:33:17

'than shocking. Will it be the same for the rugby lads?'

0:33:170:33:20

We're going to cut underneath that dorsal spine.

0:33:200:33:24

-Don't worry. What you need to do...

-It's so hard.

0:33:240:33:27

It's fine. Twist the knife so that it's pointing towards the head.

0:33:270:33:32

There you go. Done. How did that feel, Temi?

0:33:320:33:34

I'm struggling.

0:33:350:33:37

I'm going to insert the scissors into the back of the head of the fish.

0:33:370:33:41

OK?

0:33:410:33:43

And then just gently push... CRUNCHING

0:33:430:33:46

-Ugh!

-Not liking that?

-No, not at all. Wasn't nice.

0:33:470:33:51

You're going to bend the fish down, and as you bend...

0:33:510:33:56

-I don't want it to splat on me.

-It's not going to splat on you.

0:33:560:34:00

Then I'm going to put my finger in there and gently ease back...

0:34:000:34:03

SQUELCHING

0:34:030:34:07

This is great. The fish bladder is intact. There's still some gas in there.

0:34:070:34:10

And having pulled that back, so you can see the swim bladder...

0:34:100:34:15

-Bend it. Pull it up.

-Ooh, there you go. I've got...

0:34:150:34:18

-Look at the bladder.

-That's it. Perfect.

0:34:180:34:20

-Yeah. There's one as well.

-Yeah. There we go.

0:34:200:34:23

That's the bit you're going to use.

0:34:230:34:26

What I still don't quite understand is how it's used in beer.

0:34:260:34:30

Well, I know they dry it, but when it comes to the actual function

0:34:300:34:33

and how they actually use it, you'd need to speak to a brewer.

0:34:330:34:38

'Going to a brewery can't happen soon enough for Temi.

0:34:380:34:41

'I've managed to get beer historian Peter Haydon

0:34:410:34:44

'to show us around his specialist brewery in Greenwich, South London.'

0:34:440:34:49

-Hi, Peter. How are you?

-Hello. Welcome to Greenwich.

0:34:490:34:52

-Here are the guys, Kev and Chris and Temi.

-Hi, guys.

0:34:520:34:54

-Nice to meet you.

-Welcome to Meantime. Let's go.

0:34:540:34:58

Contain yourselves. We're going into a brewery.

0:34:580:35:01

'I get the impression the boys are in heaven.

0:35:020:35:05

'Here the four elements of water, malt...'

0:35:050:35:09

Mmm, nice smell!

0:35:090:35:11

'..hops and yeast combine

0:35:120:35:15

'to make beer.'

0:35:150:35:17

I've heard two different pronunciations,

0:35:180:35:21

-isinglass and I-singlass.

-The word originates from Dutch,

0:35:210:35:25

because when we started using it industrially in this country,

0:35:250:35:29

in around about 1730s,

0:35:290:35:32

the Dutch word "huysen" means sturgeon, and "blas" means bladder.

0:35:320:35:37

So huysen blas was a sturgeon bladder,

0:35:370:35:40

and the Anglicised version would be isinglass.

0:35:400:35:43

That makes sense.

0:35:430:35:46

-Whoa! What's that, Peter?

-This is a fish maw.

0:35:460:35:49

-Which is a swim bladder.

-Effectively.

0:35:490:35:51

Which is the raw material from which we make the isinglass.

0:35:510:35:54

What this is is pure protein. It's protein called collagen.

0:35:540:35:58

It's the same thing as some ladies like to put in their lips

0:35:580:36:02

-to make them bigger.

-Don't look at me.

0:36:020:36:04

-THEY LAUGH

-Don't look at me.

0:36:040:36:07

It's a very pure and natural form of protein.

0:36:070:36:09

-What does it smell like?

-Um, pretty plain.

0:36:090:36:12

-Yeah, nothing.

-I was hoping I'd get something crazy.

0:36:120:36:15

This must have come from a massive fish. The ones we saw earlier were tiny little things.

0:36:150:36:21

Yeah. So how does that end up as isinglass?

0:36:210:36:23

There are a couple of manufacturers in the UK who produce this

0:36:230:36:26

for the brewing industry. They will take the raw material,

0:36:260:36:29

process it firstly into a powder, which some people may wish to use,

0:36:290:36:35

and there are a number of options. It can be turned into a paste,

0:36:350:36:38

or, finally, in the format that we're going to use it...

0:36:380:36:44

-So that's like a glue.

-That is gloopy.

0:36:500:36:54

Could I drink that, or would I get ill?

0:36:540:36:56

You can drink that.

0:36:560:36:58

'Blimey, these lads really will drink anything.'

0:36:580:37:01

In one!

0:37:010:37:03

-Oh, that's horrible.

-THEY LAUGH

0:37:040:37:07

I wouldn't drink that. It looks far too gloopy, and a strange colour,

0:37:070:37:11

-and I don't think I'd fancy it.

-Can we see this in action now,

0:37:110:37:14

-how it actually works?

-Yeah, by all means.

-OK.

0:37:140:37:17

Isinglass is used in the production of many cask ales,

0:37:170:37:21

some stouts and a few lagers.

0:37:210:37:24

The yeast content of beer makes it cloudy.

0:37:240:37:27

When mixed with isinglass,

0:37:270:37:30

the yeast molecules stick to isinglass molecules

0:37:300:37:33

and fall to the bottom.

0:37:330:37:35

Normally it would take around four days for the yeast to settle

0:37:350:37:38

in this keg. Isinglass does it in just six hours,

0:37:380:37:42

making the whole process a lot quicker.

0:37:420:37:45

So, Kev, if you want to do the honours...

0:37:450:37:47

-Ta-da-dah!

-Wow!

-That's ridiculous.

0:37:470:37:50

-You can see through that beer.

-It's like glass.

0:37:500:37:53

-Can I see you? Yes, I can. Hello!

-Hello!

0:37:560:37:59

THEY LAUGH

0:37:590:38:01

So if isinglass falls to the bottom of the barrel,

0:38:010:38:04

is there any of it left in the drink?

0:38:040:38:06

This is not a part of the beer. It's not part of the mix.

0:38:060:38:10

As the clumps get bigger, gravity takes over

0:38:100:38:13

and pulls everything out of solution

0:38:130:38:16

to become a sediment at the bottom of the container.

0:38:160:38:18

Studies agree that in the majority of cases,

0:38:180:38:21

isinglass is undetectable in the finished pint,

0:38:210:38:24

but some bottle-conditioned ales and cask ales,

0:38:240:38:27

if served from too near the bottom of the barrel,

0:38:270:38:29

may still contain minute amounts.

0:38:290:38:32

To find out that something as obscure as a fish bladder

0:38:320:38:35

goes into some of our favourite beers

0:38:350:38:37

has been a real eye-opener.

0:38:370:38:39

It's time to find out if a little fishy

0:38:390:38:43

has put these rugby boys off their pint.

0:38:430:38:46

I found the whole process today really interesting and fascinating,

0:38:510:38:55

but it hasn't put me off at all,

0:38:550:38:57

because even a product like the swim bladder, the final product -

0:38:570:39:01

fish oils used in lots of food and ingredients,

0:39:010:39:04

fish products - there was nothing squeamish about it for me.

0:39:040:39:07

When you were cutting open the fish and saw the blood and guts,

0:39:070:39:12

but when you see it all dried out and then the liquid,

0:39:120:39:14

-it doesn't put me off.

-Temi, you were a bit diffident

0:39:140:39:17

-at the beginning of the day.

-I was a bit squeamish.

0:39:170:39:20

To be honest with you, it's part of my life, my lifestyle,

0:39:210:39:25

-so I won't give it up that easy.

-If you want a beer,

0:39:250:39:28

you have to cope with the fact that there's fish bladder in it.

0:39:280:39:32

-Cheers, guys.

-Cheers.

-Good day. Thank you.

0:39:320:39:34

Cheers.

0:39:340:39:37

Who would have thought a fish bladder could help brighten our booze?

0:39:380:39:41

For the next surprising discovery, I'm on the motorway heading for Manchester.

0:39:500:39:54

When I think of Manchester, I don't really think of fish.

0:39:540:39:58

I think of industrial landscapes, football teams...

0:39:580:40:02

..and, of course, music.

0:40:030:40:06

Over the decades, Britain has been rocking to the sound of Manchester bands like The Smiths,

0:40:120:40:18

Oasis, the Stone Roses, Take That, and even the Bee Gees.

0:40:180:40:22

The question is, what are they doing in a film about fish by-products?

0:40:240:40:28

I'm about to find out.

0:40:330:40:36

Ged Green makes and repairs guitars for rock stars.

0:40:410:40:44

His clients include Sinead O'Connor, Badly Drawn Boy,

0:40:440:40:48

the Zutons, Gary Barlow, and some others he's not allowed to reveal.

0:40:480:40:52

I'm following the fish trail to his workshop in Manchester.

0:40:540:40:58

I know nothing, except that there is a fish part,

0:40:580:41:03

or some part of the fish, that's utilised

0:41:030:41:06

in the manufacturing and creation of guitars.

0:41:060:41:09

Is it the inside of the fish or the outside of the fish?

0:41:120:41:15

-I'd say the outside.

-So the scales?

0:41:150:41:18

-No. They don't have scales.

-So we're going for shellfish.

0:41:180:41:22

-Yes, that's right.

-OK. Moving on to the guitar, then...

0:41:220:41:25

-THEY LAUGH

-Is it the string?

-No.

0:41:250:41:28

-Is it in here?

-Er, yes.

0:41:280:41:31

-So it's some sort of shell.

-It is, yeah.

0:41:310:41:34

Oyster shells?

0:41:340:41:36

-No, these are abalone and pearl.

-Ah, the wonderful abalone!

0:41:360:41:40

'Abalone is a type of sea snail

0:41:420:41:44

'found in the oceans around South Africa and New Zealand.'

0:41:440:41:48

-What is it?

-That is an abalone.

0:41:480:41:50

'It's also known as ear shell and mutton fish.

0:41:500:41:53

'It might not look like much, but it's considered a delicacy.

0:41:530:41:56

'I'd describe it as a kind of giant scallop.'

0:41:560:41:59

Argh!

0:41:590:42:00

'Once the meat is removed, the shells can be polished,

0:42:000:42:03

'revealing a beautiful array of colours.'

0:42:030:42:06

-What are you showing me that for?

-That's what it is.

0:42:060:42:09

-I didn't know, did I?

-You certainly didn't.

0:42:090:42:12

But it isn't just Ged who does this.

0:42:120:42:15

If you're thrashing away on any half-decent guitar

0:42:150:42:18

in your mum's garage, chances are it's got some of this stuff in it.

0:42:180:42:22

So, we were talking about shells - molluscs, indeed.

0:42:220:42:25

-Show me your molluscs.

-Here's one I prepared earlier!

0:42:250:42:29

-So, this is an abalone shell.

-Yeah.

0:42:290:42:31

I think this is possibly New Zealand or Tasmania,

0:42:310:42:34

which seems to be the main source.

0:42:340:42:36

When it's stuck to a rock or something,

0:42:360:42:39

there's little tentacles out the side,

0:42:390:42:41

and these are allegedly breathing holes.

0:42:410:42:44

-Do they arrive in this form for you?

-No, it doesn't come like that.

0:42:440:42:47

It comes in slices. It's bought by the ounce.

0:42:470:42:53

This is a fingerboard for a guitar.

0:42:540:42:56

'You cut a little pocket for it to sit in.'

0:42:560:42:58

-Yeah.

-That gets glued in.

0:42:580:43:01

-Is this expensive?

-Enough to do that neck

0:43:010:43:04

-would be about £40.

-So it is expensive.

-Yeah.

0:43:040:43:07

These are different tops for guitars. What's interesting here is,

0:43:090:43:13

you can see the colour changing. They're all different.

0:43:130:43:16

-You get greens, blues...

-Lots of purples going on here.

0:43:160:43:19

Absolutely fantastic.

0:43:190:43:20

I've seen guitars going back to the 1500s,

0:43:200:43:25

and all the adornment on them was this sort of work.

0:43:250:43:28

Even back then, even the early versions of the guitar.

0:43:280:43:31

I think it probably goes back to Egyptian times, and pre that.

0:43:310:43:36

Will you let me loose on one of your guitars?

0:43:370:43:39

Um...no. SHE LAUGHS

0:43:390:43:42

Um, you could try and turn this into something.

0:43:420:43:46

I like that idea. Yeah.

0:43:460:43:48

You can see that basically that would probably come out of that.

0:43:500:43:54

Right, let's give it a go. So hold it fairly tight...

0:43:540:43:57

MACHINERY GRINDS

0:43:570:43:59

'He won't let me near the guitars, but he'll let me have a go

0:43:590:44:03

'at milling some shell into a beautiful guitar decoration.'

0:44:030:44:06

You know what it smells like? When you're in the dentist.

0:44:060:44:10

Yeah. SHE LAUGHS

0:44:100:44:12

MACHINERY GRINDS

0:44:120:44:15

-Bit more?

-A lot more.

0:44:180:44:20

-They're tough beasts, these!

-Oh, gosh.

0:44:240:44:27

We're getting some of it. Agh!

0:44:290:44:31

'At this point I should say neither Ged nor I have done this before.'

0:44:310:44:34

-There must be a better method.

-Do you think so?

0:44:340:44:37

'No wonder he wouldn't let me loose on the guitars.

0:44:370:44:40

'So, shells in guitars.'

0:44:420:44:45

It's not as weird as fish bladder in beer,

0:44:460:44:50

or prawn shell in hairspray.

0:44:500:44:52

But none of these things are as weird as what I'm about to see next.

0:44:540:44:59

One part of the fish I'm surprised to find there's a use for is the skin,

0:45:030:45:06

and I don't really think about fish skin and glamour.

0:45:060:45:09

Eel skin, yes. Shark skin, come across before.

0:45:090:45:12

But fish skin and fashion? Intrigued!

0:45:120:45:15

Now, I like my fish skin crispy. Some of you may like it peeled off.

0:45:150:45:21

'But now the likes of Dior, Gucci and Prada

0:45:210:45:24

'have taken fish skin off the dinner table

0:45:240:45:26

'and put it onto the catwalk.'

0:45:260:45:29

For those of us suffering from recession immunity,

0:45:310:45:33

designer trainers and handbags made of fish leather

0:45:330:45:36

could be one way to make a noisy fashion statement.

0:45:360:45:39

In 2003, the main fish-leather supplier in Iceland

0:45:410:45:44

sold 15,000 square feet of fish leather.

0:45:440:45:47

Last year that jumped up to 106,000 square feet.

0:45:470:45:52

I'm visiting the Nordestrond fish factory

0:45:520:45:55

in the north of Iceland, to find out how fish...

0:45:550:45:58

..turns into leather.

0:46:000:46:03

Showing me around is manager Gunni Sune Jonsson.

0:46:070:46:10

-Hi, Gunni.

-Hello, Julia.

-Nice to meet you.

0:46:100:46:13

-HE GREETS HER IN ICELANDIC

-Thank you. What do you do here?

0:46:130:46:16

We are a processing plant,

0:46:160:46:18

and we process, for example, some wolffish.

0:46:180:46:21

-Wolffish?

-Wolffish. This is a wolffish.

0:46:210:46:24

What do you do with that fish? Do you use the entire fish?

0:46:240:46:28

Yeah. More or less, we use the entire fish.

0:46:280:46:30

-We use the skin to make leather.

-OK, yes.

0:46:300:46:32

-We make potion from the fish.

-So from the actual meat?

0:46:320:46:36

-And from the head and the bones, animal food.

-Pet food.

-Yes.

0:46:360:46:40

-So, how does this become leather?

-Let me show you, Julia.

0:46:400:46:43

We go in there and put some clothes on, and you try yourself.

0:46:430:46:47

All right, then. I presume I'm going to have to touch them.

0:46:470:46:50

Fish from all over Iceland arrives here on a daily basis.

0:46:500:46:54

It's mostly cod and wolffish.

0:46:540:46:57

The head and guts are removed before being filleted

0:47:010:47:04

by skilled workers who can slice through 5,000 wolffish in a shift.

0:47:040:47:09

We're almost ready.

0:47:110:47:13

'I'm about to get a master class from the fastest filleter in the fjord.'

0:47:130:47:16

Christian can fillet an amazing four fish a minute.

0:47:210:47:24

-First of all, you want to hold your knife like that.

-Yeah.

0:47:300:47:33

If you take the flap over here, and then you just cut...

0:47:330:47:38

-Under there.

-Down as close to the bone as possible.

0:47:380:47:41

-Yeah. I can feel the bone.

-Turn your knife like that,

0:47:410:47:44

and start cutting gently down,

0:47:440:47:48

and try to follow the bone. Just watch your fingers.

0:47:480:47:52

It's very, very slimy. I can feel the bones.

0:47:520:47:55

I think I might have done something wrong here.

0:47:550:47:58

-Probably.

-If you just follow that, yeah.

0:47:580:48:00

-OK?

-Yeah.

0:48:020:48:04

-OK.

-Take it off.

0:48:040:48:06

So there's my fillet, which is a bit of a bloody mess, isn't it?

0:48:060:48:10

Look. Let's see yours, Christian.

0:48:100:48:13

Just look at that. I mean, that's just perfect.

0:48:130:48:16

Beautifully done. I hope I do a better job taking the skin off.

0:48:160:48:20

-Just take a fillet.

-Yeah.

0:48:200:48:22

-Put it skin-down.

-Yes.

0:48:220:48:24

-And the tail part in first.

-Tail end that way. Right.

0:48:240:48:27

-So just pop it down on there?

-Yeah.

0:48:270:48:30

Like this.

0:48:300:48:32

-That's it?

-Yeah.

0:48:320:48:34

-This is a fantastic contraption!

-It's a lot easier than filleting.

0:48:340:48:38

-Whoa!

-Oh, you put it upside down!

0:48:380:48:41

Ugh! I got a bit of fish juice in my mouth then. Ugh!

0:48:410:48:45

Oh, dear. They've got to cut that one out.

0:48:480:48:50

How's that? Oh, look, we've still got a bit of skin to get off there.

0:48:520:48:56

-You must put it aside.

-Oh, dear.

0:48:560:48:59

'Of course I'm only imagining that's what Gunni is saying,

0:48:590:49:02

'but this could've been a nice handbag.'

0:49:020:49:04

Maybe it's the lack of daylight that's sending me potty but I soon get into the groove.

0:49:040:49:09

I'm now getting a feel for it, so it's placing the tail down,

0:49:090:49:12

and release the wolffish.

0:49:120:49:15

'Two to three tons of skins pass through this machine every week

0:49:170:49:21

'before being graded for size and quality.'

0:49:210:49:25

OK. Is that a good one or a bad one?

0:49:250:49:28

For the leather we prefer the big size.

0:49:280:49:30

-It has no holes.

-So that goes in this box full of ice?

0:49:300:49:33

Yeah.

0:49:330:49:35

-This one put here. It's too small.

-Where do those skins go?

0:49:370:49:41

They go to cat food.

0:49:410:49:43

And where am I taking this now, Gunni?

0:49:430:49:45

You are to take this to the tanning company at Saudarkrokur.

0:49:450:49:49

-Saudarkrokur?

-Saudarkrokur.

-Saudarkrokur.

0:49:490:49:52

-Yes.

-Right.

0:49:520:49:54

Right, off to Saudarkrokur I go.

0:49:560:49:59

After just a few hours in the factory, it's dark again.

0:50:010:50:04

I'm on my way to Atlantic Leather tannery.

0:50:050:50:09

This is one of only a handful of places in the world

0:50:090:50:12

that makes fish leather. I'm really curious to find out how such a fragile skin

0:50:120:50:16

becomes tough enough to make leather.

0:50:160:50:18

'My guide here will be boss Gunnsteinn.'

0:50:200:50:23

-Gunnsteinn, hello.

-Hi.

-Hi, there.

0:50:230:50:25

-There we go. There's a gift for you.

-Oh, thank you.

0:50:250:50:28

Some lovely soggy fish skins ready to be turned into leather.

0:50:280:50:32

-What do we do first?

-First we go to the fleshing machine.

0:50:320:50:35

-Fleshing?

-Fleshing.

-Lovely. That's nice.

0:50:350:50:39

So the machine is shaving off the rest of the flesh?

0:50:440:50:47

Yes. We have knives in there that remove the flesh from the skin.

0:50:470:50:51

You're just left with this.

0:50:510:50:54

-Now it goes to the drum for tanning.

-OK.

0:50:540:50:56

'Tanning involves putting skins into a drum

0:50:560:50:59

'and mixing them with chemicals like chromium.

0:50:590:51:02

'Left untreated, the skins will simply decompose.

0:51:020:51:05

'But over a week in the drum, the chemicals change the structure of the proteins in the skin...'

0:51:050:51:10

It's started to fill. Just a little bit water.

0:51:100:51:13

'..creating a durable piece of leather

0:51:130:51:16

'from which it's possible to make lots of groovy things.'

0:51:160:51:19

-Very good.

-Oh, look!

0:51:190:51:21

Fully tanned wolffish.

0:51:210:51:24

Wow! Oh, it feels all spongy now!

0:51:240:51:26

-So how long has that been spinning in the drum for?

-One week.

0:51:260:51:30

-One week?

-Yes.

0:51:300:51:31

Is it the same process with fish skin as it is with other hides?

0:51:320:51:36

No. The basic difference between fish skins

0:51:360:51:39

and other hides is that the fish is cold blood.

0:51:390:51:44

The temperature they tolerate before boiling is only 28 degrees.

0:51:440:51:48

When we started to develop this,

0:51:480:51:51

-we made thousands of gallons of fish soup.

-Right.

0:51:510:51:55

'For me, the capacity to turn fragile fish skin

0:51:550:51:57

'into durable leather...'

0:51:570:51:59

There's no way you can tear this.

0:51:590:52:01

'..is the most surprising aspect of this process.

0:52:010:52:04

'But I'm wondering what other surprises Gunnsteinn has in his Willy Wonka-esque tannery.'

0:52:040:52:09

-It's ostrich legs.

-Ostrich legs?

0:52:090:52:11

-Yes. You see?

-Yeah.

0:52:110:52:14

If you think that's weird, there's also a line of testicle purses

0:52:140:52:17

and psychedelic furs.

0:52:170:52:19

These are animals found dead in the wild

0:52:190:52:22

and collected by the tannery.

0:52:220:52:25

So what's spinning around in there?

0:52:290:52:31

-Here we have salmon.

-Salmon?

0:52:310:52:33

-Yes.

-So you can use salmon skin as well?

0:52:330:52:36

-Oh, yes.

-Can you use any fish skin?

0:52:360:52:39

Theoretically, yes.

0:52:390:52:41

So you could theoretically make a handbag out of your goldfish

0:52:410:52:45

-if you wanted to.

-Yes.

0:52:450:52:48

-Here's salmon.

-Look at that!

0:52:500:52:53

That is amazing. This is more like snakeskin, isn't it?

0:52:540:52:58

-Yeah.

-That's even more...

-You see the pockets?

0:52:580:53:01

-They are amazing.

-Yeah.

0:53:010:53:03

Feel how thin it is and how strong it is.

0:53:030:53:06

-SHE GRUNTS

-Yeah. That's brilliantly strong.

0:53:060:53:10

'I'm now on a real mission to see it become a fashion item.

0:53:100:53:13

'After being dyed...

0:53:150:53:17

'..the leather is stretched on a board and dried overnight.

0:53:180:53:22

'Then it's softened...'

0:53:220:53:24

Now it's just like nice, squidgy soft leather.

0:53:240:53:27

'..and prepared for the final finish.'

0:53:270:53:29

So you're putting Christmas wrapping paper onto some salmon skins.

0:53:290:53:32

Yes. We'll do that. This is one type of the finish we can do.

0:53:320:53:36

-OK.

-Let's see.

0:53:360:53:38

-We'll take this...

-Whoa, it's like a big pizza.

0:53:380:53:41

It's like a big pizza, yeah.

0:53:410:53:43

-Put there.

-Yeah.

0:53:430:53:45

-Do that?

-And then close this for me.

-OK.

0:53:450:53:47

-Whoa!

-Off it goes.

0:53:470:53:50

-Let's see. Now pull this little bit out.

-Yeah.

0:53:500:53:53

-Oh, it's hot.

-Yes, it is.

0:53:530:53:55

Yes, it's hot.

0:53:550:53:57

-Let's see. Peel it back from here?

-Peel.

0:53:570:54:01

-There you go.

-Whoa!

0:54:020:54:04

Look at that!

0:54:040:54:06

-Glittery, shiny disco salmon skin!

-It's like a rainbow.

0:54:060:54:12

Can you imagine the shoes?

0:54:120:54:16

I'm wearing them in my head! I'm going disco dancin'!

0:54:160:54:21

That's brilliant!

0:54:210:54:24

'Seeing a salmon turned into a designer handbag

0:54:270:54:30

'is about as weird as... well, seeing a salmon turned into a designer handbag.

0:54:300:54:34

'I wonder what the great British public will think?'

0:54:340:54:37

What do you think that's made out of?

0:54:420:54:44

Leather with a snakeskin effect on it.

0:54:440:54:47

-Snake or alligator.

-Probably, like, snake.

0:54:470:54:51

-I would say crocodile.

-Crocodile?

0:54:510:54:53

-Snake?

-Snake?

-Yeah.

0:54:530:54:55

-I wouldn't say it's an animal.

-You don't think it's an animal?

0:54:550:54:59

-No.

-No.

-Shall I show you what it is?

0:54:590:55:01

-OK.

-Yeah.

0:55:010:55:03

Oh, my God! It's a fish!

0:55:030:55:06

-Surprised?

-Wow!

0:55:060:55:09

-Wow!

-No way!

0:55:090:55:11

-Really? Oh, right!

-It's a fish skin.

0:55:110:55:14

A fish?

0:55:140:55:16

-Oh, my gosh!

-I never would've thought that!

0:55:160:55:20

-Neither would've I.

-Are you surprised?

-Definitely.

0:55:200:55:24

'And there's no need for the boys to feel left out.

0:55:240:55:26

'Not just handbags come from salmon.'

0:55:260:55:29

-You can turn it into pretty much everything.

-Yes.

0:55:290:55:31

We have shoes like these.

0:55:310:55:35

-Look at those!

-You can get in UK.

0:55:350:55:38

They're very cool. And this is salmon?

0:55:380:55:41

-This is salmon skin.

-So, salmon-skin high tops.

0:55:410:55:44

-So, who do you supply?

-We supply all the big names -

0:55:440:55:48

Dior, Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo, Donna Karan.

0:55:480:55:53

So there's a wide range of customer.

0:55:530:55:56

Next time I'm tucking into cod and chips, I might keep the skin.

0:55:560:55:59

I'm completely amazed that fish like haddock and salmon,

0:55:590:56:02

potentially even your goldfish,

0:56:020:56:04

can be turned into designer shoes and bags.

0:56:040:56:07

In this film, I wanted to find out how the products that fill our lives

0:56:070:56:11

are full of seafood.

0:56:110:56:13

Who would have thought that prawn shells make hairspray,

0:56:160:56:19

that fish bladders make beer,

0:56:190:56:22

and that whale puke can help make perfume?

0:56:220:56:24

The main thing I've noticed is that although the consumers I've met

0:56:240:56:28

were disgusted at the beginning of the process,

0:56:280:56:31

by the time we got to the end product,

0:56:310:56:33

they were OK with it.

0:56:330:56:35

How about you?

0:56:350:56:37

'Next time, I revisit my best moments from the series.'

0:56:370:56:41

These are bone-cutters.

0:56:430:56:45

That's keeping you alive.

0:56:460:56:47

-What have we got in our hand?

-Beef intestines.

0:56:470:56:50

-Ugh!

-I wouldn't associate a cow with a book.

0:56:500:56:52

It was all horrible. I didn't like it. And now I like it. It's nice.

0:56:520:56:57

# I got a fish

0:56:580:57:00

# In my dish

0:57:000:57:03

# And I'm feeling fine

0:57:050:57:08

# I got a fish

0:57:080:57:12

# In my dish

0:57:120:57:14

# And I know it's mine #

0:57:160:57:20

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd

0:57:200:57:24

E-mail [email protected]

0:57:240:57:28

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