A former nightclub worker has opened the first independent fishmonger's in Eastbourne town centre for 30 years.

Chloe Lewin is the owner of Fish 'n' Go in the Enterprise Centre, next to the station in Terminus Road.

She obtains fresh fish daily from a local supplier and buys lobsters and crabs from a fisherman at Sovereign Harbour.

Chloe has shrugged off stereotypes by entering a job which has traditionally been seen as a male preserve.

But her mother worked in a commercial fish shop and she has always loved fishing so it seemed an obvious career choice.

Chloe began learning her trade shortly after leaving school when she got a job in the caf at Eastbourne's Asda supermarket.

She eventually landed a job on the store's fish counter before leaving to work at a fish shop on the resort's seafront.

In a departure from the world of plaice, monkfish and tiger prawns, Chloe went to work in a nightclub but soon hankered after her old job.

She said: "Many customers comment on how unusual it is to see a woman working as a fishmonger but female ones say how much they like it. Sometimes buying fish can be intimidating if you don't know a lot about them. I can help them with recipe suggestions and do all the fiddly jobs like filleting.

"I worked in a nightclub for three years, doing everything from reception to bar work. I enjoyed it but was getting in at 3am and eventually decided I wanted to go back to fish.

"I have always loved fish and remember watching my mum at work when I was little. In my spare time I used to go off fishing in the local pond and now I often go down and fish off Eastbourne Pier at weekends."

Chloe runs the wet fish counter with business partner Andrea Ryan and is now teaching her all there is to know about the fish trade.

She said: "We are going to start delivering to customers and if people want something special we can order it in for them.

"We will introduce more unusual fish, such as the Jamaican fish tilapia, which is ideal for summer barbecues."

Enterprise Centre director Nigel Mackenzie said: "Years ago there were several independent fishmongers in Eastbourne but they all closed when the town centre was redeveloped. Chloe's business is a real asset to the Enterprise Centre and local shoppers."

Wednesday April 14, 2004