The award follows a rigorous 18 month assessment of SSMG mussels (Photo: SSMG)

Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group Mussels Achieve MSC Award

Scottish rope grown mussels from the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (SSMG) have achieved the prestigious Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Standard in recognition of their sustainable and environmentally responsible manner of cultivation.

The award of the flagship ecolabel to SSMG member farms based on the Scottish west coast and Shetland will enable consumers to make informed choices when purchasing mussels and provide an important marketing boost by highlighting the Group’s environmental credentials and help support the market for sustainable seafood.

Mussels are grown on ropes for two to three years

The recognition follows a rigorous 18 month assessment of SSMG mussels by independent certifier Food Certification International (FCI), which examined all aspects the production cycle and the techniques employed. In Shetland, the certification was supported by a partnership arrangement between SSMG and Seafood Shetland, which means that all Shetland produced mussels are now MSC certified. The certification process for both Shetland and the West coast was also supported by a £20,000 (USD 31,210) donation from The Co-operative Group’s Sustainable Fishing Fund.

SSMG are specialists in the export market and already serve a variety of customers – both retail and wholesale – throughout Europe

Stephen Cameron, MD of SSMG, said: “We are committed to environmental responsibility and achieving this prestigious recognition demonstrates to our customers and consumers that our members are dedicated to cultivating a quality and sustainable product.”

Mussels produced by SSMG are collected naturally as free-swimming larvae, also referred to as spat, which settle on lines suspended in open water.

They then grow naturally by feeding on plankton carried by the rich tidal flows found around the Scottish west coast and Shetland, making it an enhanced fishery with no adverse environmental impact.

Stephen Cameron adds: “Our mussel producers are totally dependent upon nature, which makes this type of operation one of the most sustainable and environmentally responsible around.”

Ruth Henderson, chief executive of Seafood Shetland, said: “We are delighted at this significant development for the Shetland industry, which is worth £5.3 million (USD 8,27065 million) to the local economy. Our mussel farming industry has been built on its outstanding reputation for product quality, with 4,567 tonnes produced in 2011, representing 65 per cent of Scottish production.”

The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group Ltd has developed a range of cooked, ready-to-reheat products using only the finest quality rope-grown mussels grown in the pure, clear waters of the West Coast of Scotland

Claire Pescod, UK Fishery Outreach Manager for MSC, said: “I congratulate SSMG and Seafood Shetland on proving their sustainability credentials with the great achievement of MSC certification. These are the first enhanced fisheries in Scotland to gain the MSC ecolabel and their certification makes a significant contribution to the availability of MSC certified sustainable seafood in the UK and Europe. Mussel production is hugely important to the Scottish and Shetland economies and I look forward to seeing certified sustainable mussels on supermarket shelves soon.”

Martin Gill, chief executive of FCI commented: “We congratulate SSMG on their success and were impressed by their professionalism throughout the assessment process, which was highlighted by their commitment to employing best practice procedures at all stages of the production process.”

When the mussels are ready to harvest, they are stripped from their ropes, washed, graded and sent by chilled transport to SSMG's headquarters

About The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group

The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group is the United Kingdom's premier producer of finest quality shellfish, supplying supermarkets, wholesalers and restaurants with mussels and oysters farmed from the crystal clear waters of sheltered sea lochs located along the full length of the West coast of Scotland.

The Group's main product lines are rope-grown mussels and Pacific oysters. We can also supply a range of other shellfish.
In order to meet customers' requirements and to comply with the latest EC legislation the Group moved into a new packing and processing factory on the Motherwell Food Park at Bellshill in Lanarkshire in August 1995. The factory was completely refurbished in 2001 when a second factory was also acquired and fitted out.

The Bellshill operation, which incorporates live shellfish holding tanks, live shellfish packing and added value production lines will ensure that the Group can offer its customers, who include the UK's leading retailers, a consistent, reliable and regular supply of top quality product delivered by specialist chilled transport throughout the UK and Europe. The Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group Ltd is the premier sales organisation for farmed shellfish in the United Kingdom.

The number and geographical spread of the farms enables the Group to achieve continuity of supply as adverse weather or other conditions normally only affect a limited number of the farms

Its members produce shellfish of the highest quality along the entire Western seaboard of Scotland, from Kintyre in the South to the Shetland Isles in the North.

In 2008 further capital investment was made in upgrading the processing lines to further improve capacity and efficiency.

Source: Scottish Shellfish Management  Group Ltd.

Margaret E.L. Stacey
Editor Companies and Products
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

Address:	Unit 8, Block 22, The Motherwell Food Park
City:	Bellshill
State/ZIP:	Lanarkshire, Scotland (ML4 3NP)
Country:	United Kingdom
Phone:	+44 1698 844 221
Fax:	+44 1698 841 723
E-Mail:	info@scottishshellfish.co.uk
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