The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification gained by Stornoway Western Isles Langoustine Fishery in April this year has directly resulted in a hat-trick of good news for the fishermen - with exports up 50 per cent, a new product launch and a deal with a major supermarket.
Young's Premium Whole Isle of Lewis scampi - the UK's first certified sustainable scampi - will be launched in Sainsbury's stores throughout the UK from November. Made from whole langoustine tails landed by the Stornoway fleet and peeled at Young's Stornoway processing facility at Goat Island, the scampi will be coated and packed in Grimsby. A deal has also been struck with Sainsbury's to serve Stornoway scampi in 220 of its cafes from this autumn.
The Western Isles Langoustine Fishery became the first trawl-caught langoustine fishery in the world to achieve MSC certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. Certification was achieved after a rigorous, independent assessment process which took 12 months to complete, supported and financially sponsored by Young's Seafood, which has invested around £1 million in the fishery to date.
Young's, who invented scampi over 60 years ago, buys around £2.5 million of langoustine from The Stornoway Western Isles Langoustine Fishery per annum.
