World’s first sustainable land-based prawn farm launches in Scotland
Written by News on 07/06/2019
The world’s first sustainable land-based, clean water prawn farm is launching in Scotland, that aims to deliver prawns from tank to plate within 24 hours, with no need for freezing or air miles.
Great British Prawns says its farm in the Scottish village of Balfron, Stirlingshire, will begin harvesting up to one million prawns this summer.
For the first time in the UK, specially developed aquaculture technology and sustainable energy will produce warm water king prawns in clear and clean water, the company said.
Currently, the majority of the UK’s king prawns are sourced frozen from farms in the Far East and Central America.
However the firm says its prawns will be grown in more than 300 tonnes of water capable of containing a million fresh prawns, which will grow to reach an average of 25g each.
“Most prawns have travelled 6,000 miles to reach a UK consumer, with worldwide demand continuing to grow”, chairman and commercial director James McEuen said.
“But we know that consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of seafood production and to be sustainable, the future of aquaculture really has to be land-based.”
Mr McEuen added the company aims to meet growing UK consumer demand for regional and local food production “with the reassurance of outstanding husbandry, provenance and sustainability”.
The prawns will initially be available to chefs within a two-hour radius of the farm, and will be priced similarly to other shellfish.
More farms are set to open across the UK in the future.
(c) Sky News 2019: World’s first sustainable land-based prawn farm launches in Scotland
