It was great news for the Isle of Man’s Scallop and seafood industry this week as the Islands Manx Queenies took the top prize at the 2011 Sustainable Seafood Awards at the Billingsgate Seafood School.
The Manx Queenie entry was amongst six finalists that included the Welsh Assembly for their Spider Crab entry and the Wild Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for their Alaskan Cod, to name but a few. The standard was extremely high with each finalist presenting the case in half hours presentations. The Isle of Man Director of fisheries Andy Reid led the Manx presentation before an audience of industry experts, food journalists and supermarket seafood buyers.
The panel of judges awarded the victory to the Manx Queenies for the particular work the industry had done in conservation of the seabed through management of the scallop beds and methods used to fish the Queenie, which all help to sustain the Manx Queenie and the environment in which it lives and breeds.
On the Isle of Man the Queenie is something of a local delicacy and can be served many ways. Traditionally it is served with wild garlic and bacon. You can buy them in local fishmongers and supermarkets and they are served in many pubs and restaurants.
