Keltic Seafare is the only seafood supplier that can categorically say all their products are fished sustainably: hand dived or creel caught only.
Shellfish – a Scottish staple food more ancient than Scotland itself.
Provenance is more than a geographical source. It tells a story steeped in tradition, sustainability, and quality. It’s the essence of where our food originates, the meticulous care taken in its production and the commitment to preserving heritage.
When you buy Keltic Seafare lobsters, crabs, langoustines or scallops you are part of a virtuous circle, you are supporting around 50 fisher families in the highlands to continue a traditional, sustainable fishing methods so the next generation can make a living from fishing in a sustainable way. Giving your customers the very best.
Pristine Waters
Scotland lies exactly where the warm Gulfstream meets the cold waters of the North Atlantic, creating ideal conditions for growth of some of the world’s best seafood. The water quality all around the highlands of Scotland is pristine and temperatures rarely rise above 16 Deg C. This produces the best quality shellfish in the world. Slow growing, delicate and sweet, Scottish scallops are in a class of their own, native Scottish lobsters are the best as are langoustines which are in high demand all around the world.
A day in the life of Alasdair Hughson,
Scallop Diver, Skipper of MFV Keltic Pride, Family man with two girls and Managing Director of Keltic Seafare Scotland. Conservationist and Chair of the Scottish Creel Fishermen’s Federation, holder of Queen Elizabeth and now King Charles Royal Warrant for Shellfish.
he first dive of the day is underway after a 4.30am start and 4 hours drive to get down to the Isle of Mull. The weather forecast and tides already logged for the next 7 days and various apps are constantly studied. The most important factor is wind. Too strong and the wrong direction and the sea state makes it too dangerous to dive. This week looks good.
Moored up with a backdrop of the mountains of Mull, skipper at the helm, two divers kitted up one in the water. Today they are diving on a reef, only 20 meters deep. Often it may be 30 meters or more. Another diver kitted and ready for rescue if anything unexpected happens. All three divers are highly trained and commercially qualified.
These are the rules to keep divers safe in a hazardous profession. It is also the reason for a dearth of certified scallop dive boats. This is no hobby dive boat selling scallops at the back door.
The water temperature is 6 deg C but crystal clear as is normal in the pristine waters of the northwest highlands. After an hour, the divers switch. And so on, and so on all day. They may move along to another spot, or stay put. They may or may not have time for a meal break. This job is not for the fainthearted. Not many people risk their lives for someone else’s dinner.
As each diver surfaces and hands over, skipper brings up a 3D underwater seabed image so detailed that the next diver is given specific instructions for the start point and direction of search. Third rock to the left! Scallop collection by hand may be a traditional occupation but modern process is far from quaint.
Seafare driver who has driven several hours to collect the prized scallops and within a few hours they are back in seawater tanks at Keltic Seafare factory in Dingwall, ready to be packed for next day delivery to London or by courier to other parts of the UK.
With years of experience behind him as well as his late fathers’ teaching, Alasdair plans the next sites for the week. Using his own historical catch records, he makes sure that the best sites are not overworked and that they are efficiently sweeping the current area. Scallop catch size minimum is set by law and strictly observed. Nobody wants to wreck their own future. Hand diving of scallops is a sustainable practice and, as long as the big scallop dredgers don’t destroy the seabed, they will be there in abundance for the next generations.
When asked about the best of days, Alasdair replied ‘‘ A calm sunny day, steaming past the Shiant Islands in the Minch, with dolphins playing on the bow wave, then diving on maerl beds rich with so many forms of sea life in crystal clear water with plenty scallops and not far back to port for a decent supper.’’ And in times of bad weather ‘’ When we are at sea in some of the worst weather the Atlantic can throw at us, knowing that chefs are waiting for our scallops keeps us going’’.
Keltic Seafare are not just another seafood supplier. Here are some of the things that make this business the best seafood supplier in Scotland.
This business has been going for 34 years. Gone are the days when founders Lawrence and Eddie (Alasdair’s father) had a mad dash from Ullapool to catch and load scallops (always hand dived) on the night sleeper train from Inverness to London. Packing the last few boxes on the platform and cramming the guards van. Since then, Keltic Seafare has evolved into a successful 21st century company serving the very best chefs throughout the UK with outstanding and consistently high quality seafood from the pristine waters of Scotland.
NO DREDGE PROMISE
Alasdair Hughson is adamant they can stand by this promise, now and in the future. He has seen first hand the damage to the seabed that dredgers do.
If scallops are not labelled ‘hand dived’ they have been dredged. Dredging scallops and bottom trawling for langoustines destroys the seabed and all other marine life there. Hand diving and creel fishing are sustainable practices.
Loyal and reliable
Keltic buy langoustines and lobsters direct from Highland fishermen with whom they have worked for over 20 years. They guarantee to collect, giving fishermen confidence to go to sea knowing they can sell their catch. Keltic will collect 7 days per week, whenever needed. And fishermen are paid promptly. Ethical and trusted.
Extra support
They support the fishermen by supplying a choice of 5 bait fish types, salt, tubes, ties etc. The tube boxes on board means sorting when caught, meaning less handling and better welfare and high survival rates.
Reliable and fast route to market
Fishermen know that a Keltic driver will be on the quayside to meet them in the evening to take the catch straight back to Dingwall and into seawater tanks. The drivers routes read like a wonderful highland touring holiday….Kyle, Applecross, Sheildaig, Gairloch, Skye, Ullapool, Aultbea, Ullapool, Kylesku, Lochinver and that’s just the west coast.
Full traceability and best quality
Every box is tagged and tracked back to the catch boat. Quality is monitored and catch details logged and reported. All above board, legal, decent and transparent.
Softly softly
Quality and high welfare starts at the beginning. Keltic supply creel fishermen with 5 sizes of tubes so that each langoustine fits the space is safe from injury. They are handled gently and put into natural seawater tanks at 6 deg C to match sea temperatures to avoid thermal shock. Water is continuously filtered and changed completely every 10 days.
Enhanced storage facilities
Long before Vivier (live seafood) holding and transport tanks became common, Keltic pioneered their own seawater holding tanks with 24 hour filtration. The same equipment is still in use, fed by pristine seawater tankered in from Gairloch, rich in plankton.
Controlled cold chain with Keltic’s’ own vehicles
Deliveries are made from boat to kitchen in 36 hours… quite an achievement… given that Dingwall is exactly twice as far from London as Cornwall.
Seafood packaging pioneers .
Polystyrene is an outdated and very environmentally damaging material.
There is no need for it anymore as everything moves in a chill chain.
Scallops, langoustines, lobsters and crabs must arrive alive and in good health and to have been stored, handled and transported in high welfare conditions. Long before most suppliers felt pressured to avoid polystyrene, Robert and Alasdair worked with packaging manufacturers to develop bespoke recyclable polypropylene or paper based packaging specifically for live seafood. 95 % of packaging leaving the site is now recyclable and can be flattened. Gel packs are biodegradable.
Ice is not suitable for live seafood as fresh water will kill them.
Don’t just take our word that we are the best.
At Keltic Seafare we are very proud of our customer list, many of whom are Michelin starred. Plus of course, a myriad of great chefs and restaurants serving great seafood every day across the UK.
As young chefs move around and gain promotion, we are proud and grateful that they retain us as their seafood supplier. We love being on that career journey with them. Alasdair ‘’ It gives us all a great feeling of pride to see our shellfish products in demand by experienced chefs. Chefs who know their job and care about the quality of the products that they prepare for their customers’’.
Royal Warrant Keltic Seafare has had and retained a royal warrant since 2014. King Charles has added strong environmental and welfare targets and suppliers must have a process of continuous improvement to keep the warrant.
Getting from Diver to Diner & From Creel to Customer. How do they do it?
Catching seafood from the pristine waters of northern Scotland via the many small ports of the west coast and sending these live creatures out of their natural habitat, some hundreds of miles to the kitchens of the best chefs in London and throughout the UK, to arrive alive, requires an incredible daily logistical performance at the factory in Dingwall.
Alasdair ‘’ Having visited the kitchens of many of the top chefs and spent time discussing their approach, I understand the exacting standards they expect. Knowing that our products are being used in many of the most respected culinary establishments in the world is a strong incentive to strive towards getting it right every time.’’
Factory manager, Robert MacKinnon constantly scans the weather apps for the boat crew, predicting incoming catches, organising the highly skilled packers to pack specific orders for specific chefs and getting them off on a strict deadline. Giving the heads up for chefs if bad weather might affect supply. Weather systems affecting the NW parts of Scotland are different to those affecting the southern parts of Britain. You may be having fair and sunny weather down south whist hearing from the sales office that no boats are out. This can be frustrating for chefs, but gales happen all through the year, not just in winter. Not for nothing is the 18,000 kilometers of the NW coast known as The Frayed Atlantic Edge. The weather in Orkney and Shetland can different yet again. Their weather is more like that of Norway which is closer to Shetland than mainland Scotland.
Transport Manager, Kevin McKeowan, keeping the seawater fresh in tanks with all the precious creatures in tip top condition. Wrangling the collection and supply needs of the fishermen with his 12 trucks and many drivers. Collecting from a dozen or so small ports from around the highlands. Optimising the loads and drivers’ hours in often challenging winter weather conditions.
Lynn and her office team, juggling strong chef demand, sometimes unpredictable supply, obliging late orders and keeping all the paperwork exactly right to keep everybody happy and the fishermen paid.
Then onto the chilled trucks.
Beautifully stacked and packed with bespoke clean packaging. No need for polystyrene as the cold chain is complete and boxes are well insulated.
Bon voyage wee sea creatures…… Hello Chef
