ACCOLADES FOR SHELLFISH MANAGEMENT BODY

Accolades for shellfish management body. Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) is celebrating a series of accolades in recognition of the work it does to maintain the good name of local seafood produce.

It secured a special achievement award in the recent Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Awards.

That came after SSMO was highly commended in the Sustainability Award at the annual Fishing News Awards.

To round off the honours, representatives of SSMO have been invited to meet Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay, during his visit to the islands on Saturday 27^thJuly.

Carole Laignel, SSMO inshore co-ordinator, said: “We were honoured to receive these awards in recognition of all the work that has been done over many years to enhance Shetland’s reputation for producing high-quality, sustainable shellfish.

“I am the only employee of the organisation and report to a Board comprising shellfish fishermen, shellfish processors and members of the community council all of whom give their time voluntarily.

“Our brown crab and scallop fisheries were first certified in 2012 but we had a number of conditions which required improvement. This was achieved by re-certification time with the help of scientific advice from our local NAFC Marine Centre who carry out our stock assessments, data collection and surveys among other things.

“We were delighted when we achieved MSC re-certification for our brown crab and dredge scallop fisheries last year, both of which are the only fisheries of this kind in Europe to have MSC certification.

“We are proud of our achievements, which show the success a small organisation can accomplish through hard work and collaboration between scientists and fishermen.”