Native strain leads British hopes at Brussels
A unique strain of distinctively Scottish salmon is leading the country’s hopes in the inaugural Seafood Excellence Global awards at Seafood Expo Global.
The strain, which has been developed by the Scottish Salmon Company, has been selectively bred for its robustness and muscle density, from wild stock captured on the island of North Uist.
Billed as Native Hebridean Salmon, the new strain is on the 42-strong shortlist for the awards, which recognize the best seafood products represented at the exposition. The winners will be announced at a ceremony and reception at the Brussels showcase, on 26 April, in Auditorium 2000, from 18:15 until 20:00.
Two grand prizes will be awarded for the Best Retail Product and the Best Hotel/Restaurant/Catering (HORECA) Product. Five special awards will be presented for innovation, convenience, health & nutrition, retail packaging and seafood product line.
Alan Dykes, SSC’s Head of Freshwater and Broodstock, is the man behind the project and is very excited about the new strain.
“We’re looking at traits that others have not been selecting for and are looking to grow fish that are tough, tasty and survive,” he explains. “Robustness is one of the key traits that we’re looking to develop although it’s already there in abundance – we’ve seen that Native Hebridean fish don’t react so badly to parasites and it is this inherent toughness that we want to keep.”
The Native Hebridean strain is also blessed with inherently dense muscle fibres, with 20% above the average muscle fibre density (MFD) in the industry, and Alan is keen to retain, and perhaps enhance, this feature.
“Salmon contain anywhere from 400,000 to 1.2 million muscle fibres at the first dorsal fin ray and cannot make any more after they reach about 2kg. Those that have more fibres can be grown faster without losing the texture quality of the fillet,” he says.
Fish with high MFD also have a better fillet colour and Alan ventures that this might possibly be a result of the denser filets having less room for intra-muscular fat.
The other four contenders from the UK and Ireland are:
- Seafood Umami Pearls from Keohanes/Atlantic Seafood Company Ireland Ltd. – Ireland.
- Big & Tasty Cromer Crab Soufflés from The Big Prawn Company Ltd. – United Kingdom.
- Big Prawn Bistro Seafood Doughnuts from The Big Prawn Company Ltd. – United Kingdom.
- Big Prawn Bistro Quick & Easy Seafood Bisque from The Big Prawn Company Ltd. – United Kingdom.
