A fishery in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland has become the first trawl-caught langoustine fishery in the world to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery.
Certification of the Stornoway Western Isles Langoustine Fishery took 12 months to achieve, supported and financially sponsored by Young’s Seafood. This is the first time that a European seafood processor has sponsored an individual fishery in the MSC process.
Yvonne Adam, marketing director of Young’s Seafood, said: “The Stornoway fleet has worked tirelessly with us to achieve this highly important certification and I’m delighted that the fruits of our joint labour have been rewarded. Langoustine is already the UK’s most valuable fishery catch and key fisheries like Stornoway need to demonstrate their sustainability not just because it is the right thing to do but in order to properly compete in today’s market.”
Langoustine is a member of the lobster family. The tails are either breaded and turned into scampi or sold whole for the export or restaurant trade.
Ms Adam added: “Young’s invented scampi over 60 years ago, we are still the UK’s biggest langoustine buyer and our investment of over £1m in the Stornoway fishery to date has included pioneering traceability technology which contributed significantly to the achievement of MSC status. This certification is another bonus in terms of our marketing for Stornoway langoustine, both at home and abroad.”
Young’s buys around £2.5m of langoustine from The Stornoway Western Isles Langoustine Fishery per annum.
