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30/06/2013

Caz Graham looks at the global trade in shellfish from the Moray Firth and finds out how Far Eastern whelk-lovers are keeping Scottish fishermen afloat.

Whelks may not be top of the shopping list in Scotland, but they are in great demand in Korea. Caz Graham spends a day with Jay Mackay, who fishes out of Inverness, watching him haul his whelk pots from the inshore waters of the Moray Firth. The whelk isn't the most glamorous of shellfish.It looks like a large barnacle-encrusted snail, lured in to the pot by the scent of rotting crab, but the market for whelks is proving more reliable this year than for other, better-known crustaceans. Recession in Spain and France, the long-established markets for Scottish lobster, means that demand there has waned, and it's the Far East with its love of whelks which is providing a consistent market for Jay and his fellow fishermen.

Presented by Caz Graham. Produced by Moira Hickey.

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22 minutes

Last on

Sun 30 Jun 2013 06:35

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  • Sun 30 Jun 2013 06:35