Shetland seafood bodies were flying the ‘So Much To Sea’ banner at the A Taste of Shetland Food Festival at Clickimin this weekend (15 – 17 September), with a ‘fish shop’ selling the very best local fish and shellfish, and an industry exhibition and film.

Co-ordinating the stand, Ruth Henderson, chief executive of Seafood Shetland said: “We have had a very successful weekend showcasing Shetland’s magnificent array of seafood. Visitors to the event are really enthusiastic about Shetland food in general and are, year on year, becoming much more experimental, giving some of our more unusual species a try. We found that scallops, squid, dressed crab and mussels sold particularly well.”

Visiting chef Michelle Lepherd, formerly of the River Café in London, said: “There is a plethora of species to choose from. Shetland Seafood is so fresh and some of the best in the World. For a foody, it is heaven. You don’t need to do a lot with such great ingredients.”

The fish counter included salmon from Cooke Aquaculture’s farms in Yell, fresh Shetland Select mussels from C&A Thomason of Cullivoe, from their sites in Basta Voe, mussels in sauce from the Scottish Shellfish Marketing Group (a co-operative of which many of Shetland’s mussel farms are part), whitefish from the Alison Kay, Radiant Star, Resilient, Arcturus and Avrella, and mackerel scallops, live lobster and crab from smaller inshore boats.

Ruth concluded: “We were delighted to see so many people attend the event and visit our stand. We hope all our customers enjoyed their purchases and urge them to continue to seek out fresh Shetland seafood from our local fishmongers. As our visiting chefs always say, our seafood is some of the best in the World!”