Inspiration

Frozen food: the chilly life of a scallop farmer

Sawday's Expert

2 min read

We were very happy to only be watching... Scotland has a reputation for seafood and for seafood experiences - the sort of thing where you fish a remote reach and cook your catch by the riverside. This, we're slightly relieved to say, is not one of those. We met scallop diver Dave and his son Ben in thick rain one morning on the banks of a loch on the Isle of Skye, to watch as Dave went about his business. As he waded into the loch in his wetsuit, we were not at all tempted to join him. Sometimes the eating really is the best part.

Tagged with:

Isle of Skye

Luckily, Dave had always wanted to work underwater. After years as a diver in civil engineering he decided, along with his son Ben, to indulge his other passion – farming the sea. After experimenting with various techniques, he hit upon the method that makes his the only “twice-dived” scallops in the world.

Apparently, the key lies in fishing for baby scallops in deeper water during the calmer summer months and homing them in a shallower part of the loch, where they’ll be safer from predators and stormy seas. In their sheltered location, Dave lets them grow until they’re seven years old, refusing to harvest any that weigh less than 250g. The only way to tell when they’re ready of course, is to get into the freezing water and give them a careful fondle.

As we waited for Dave to resurface, Ben explained the history and method of their unique scallop farm, Sconser Scallops. When Dave finally emerged, we almost felt warm just imagining the comparison between him and us. We asked if there’s ever a time when he just doesn’t feel like a dip in the near-glacial waters but, standing on the shore in the driving rain with a dripping collection bag full of fresh scallops he grins and replies, “I love it. I love what I’ve achieved…” then, “I can just never afford to have a hangover”.

Dave’s farming technique means that his scallop population is booming, and so is demand for his produce. It’s used by several restaurants in the area and we were lucky enough to head for one with Ben while he went to warm up. In the beautiful (and mercifully well-heated) surroundings of the Dulse & Brose restaurant at the Bosville Hotel in Portree, the head chef shucked, cooked and served us the fresh, juicy scallops along with a lesson on scallop anatomy and a good line in bivalve jokes. The taste was amazing, undoubtedly enhanced by knowing exactly how recently they’d met their flash-fried end and how much love had gone into their production.

This isn’t something that Dave routinely does for visitors, but you can sample his scallops in several of Skye’s best places to eat. Believe us, they taste just fine without spending the morning in the rain.

Meet the lives of the scallop farmers in Scotland

Browse all of our special places to stay in Scotland >

Want more travel inspiration? Get our email updates direct to your inbox >

Christopher Wilson-Elmes

Sawday's Expert

Chris is our in-house copywriter, with a flair for turning rough notes and travel tales into enticing articles. Raised in a tiny Wiltshire village, he was desperate to travel and has backpacked all over the world. Closer to home, he finds himself happiest in the most remote and rural places he can find, preferably with a host of animals to speak to, some waves to be smashed about in and the promise of a good pint somewhere in his future.

View more articles by this author

Inspiration