Our history & people

  • 2019 and still a family business

    Three generations in our family business

  • Our founder Andrew, with a whole salmon in the 1980s - an integral part of Grimsby heritage

    Our founder Andrew, with a whole wild salmon in the 1980s

  • JCS Fish is named for Jack Carlisle Smith, who taught Andrew his fish skills

    JCS Fish is named for Jack Carlisle Smith, who taught Andrew his fish skills

  • Coulbeck family pontoon

    The Coulbeck family has a long history of fish buying in Grimsby

  • Jack Smith and colleague, some forty years ago

    Jack Smith and colleague, some forty years ago

BigFish™ is produced by family firm, JCS Fish, in Grimsby.

Owned and run by the Coulbeck family, our company was founded in 2000 by husband and wife team, Andrew and Louise. Both are from fish-expert families and were born and bred in Grimsby, Britain's seafood town. 

The idea behind our business was to make farmed salmon more accessible to everyone.  This grew naturally from our family involvement in the local fish industry.  Andrew had gained a lot of experience and expertise during his early career from renowned local salmon expert, Jack Carlisle Smith.  A new company focused on farmed salmon seemed like an obvious idea - we even named it JCS in honour of Andrew's early mentor!

Our first customers were catering companies, but BigFish™ soon followed. With delicious salmon products in our distinctive black packs, the BigFish™ brand is now well established online and in farm shops and independent stores all over the country.

We're still in Grimsby where we employ around fifty people, including the next generation of the Coulbeck clan, Jack and Rosie!  Even Louise's Mum joins in to keep us supplied with tea.  And we're happy to say that BigFish™ is still growing fast, so we can share new ideas and our love of healthy fish with more people!

  • “We're a great team and still an independent family business. We are particularly pleased that our son Jack and his fiancé, Rosie, have chosen to make their careers with us too!”

    Louise Coulbeck, Director