The world is Scotland's oyster

Alive alive-oh

Scotland's seafood industry is big business, generating a massive £700 million and employing more than 17,000 people. Around fifty per cent of all Scottish food exports are fish and shellfish with crustacea-eating countries like France and Spain being huge markets.

The unique reputation of Scotland's seafood lies not only in its consistently high quality but also in the increasingly innovative attitude of its producers and processors. Look at the Shetland Smokehouse, a relatively small business producing smoked fish. Using woodchips from the spent malt whisky barrels of Speyside, the Smokehouse cures locally farmed salmon and is continually researching new marketing methods. The international arena is competitive and customers have sophisticated tastes. With a growing gift market the Shetland Smokehouse considers money spent on design and presentation a sound investment, as reflected in the striking packaging of their newest luxury salmon products launched at the European Seafood Exposition in Brussels in April.

Destination – everywhere

Trade fairs are particularly important to the Scottish seafood industry, and it's estimated that sales at the European fair in the last two years alone were worth more than £20 million. There was also a strong showing from Scotland at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Quingdoa with 14 companies taking part. Successful seafood companies, whether large or small, are capitalising on the international appetite for their wares. Take Lossie Seafoods based on the shores of the Moray Firth. Specialising in salmon for three generations, over 80% of their customer base is abroad: they trade regularly with most of western Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Japan, Hong Kong, the United States, Canada and Mexico. "We specialise in far-flung destinations," they say, "and really enjoy the challenge."

The Scottish salmon farming industry as a whole contributed £150 million to Scottish food exports in 1999 producing 127,000 tonnes of which some 30,000 tonnes were exported to France, with other export destinations including the United States, Japan and other EU countries.

Consumer demand for salmon in the UK alone has nearly trebled over the last ten years, with consumption rising by around 185% – from 31,000 to 88,500 tonnes; and worldwide demand for fish is estimated to increase by at least an extra 30 million tonnes by 2010.

However, the Scottish seafood industry isn't just about creating and selling top-of-the-range products from beautiful places for a highly successful niche market. It's also about big boats, big factories and big profits. Did you know that Peterhead hosts Europe's largest white fish landing port? It never stops, from the quayside landing of fish directly from the vessel to selling, processing, freezing, canning, packaging and transporting. Seeing the scale of operations at Peterhead, it's not surprising to learn that well over half the total catch of the UK comes from Scotland.

Precious cargo

Two reasons for the phenomenal success of the Scottish seafood export industry are a strong commitment to new technology and the belief that long-term strategies are fundamental. The renowned Loch Fyne Oysters Company leads the way in aquaculture and how to ensure 'Total Sustainability'. They believe strongly that the interests of the environment, local communities and the salmon species in particular are inextricably linked. With such measures as environmental auditing, good fish husbandry and low stock density, they and other similar operations are aiming for a healthy and profitable future. Special protection and monitoring of that most desirable and increasingly rare delicacy – wild salmon – is in place and supported by many.

Scotland is proud not only of its seafood but also those who work producing and selling it and that's something no amount of PR can buy. It's easier to convince someone in Singapore to order your mussels if your family have been farming and eating them for generations. So, take a number of diverse businesses – from tiny enterprises to substantial companies – throw in a flair for new recipes and a generous sprinkling of innovative ideas and there you have the remarkable 'bouillabaisse' that is the international Scottish seafood industry. A fish supper will never taste the same again.