News Desk
September 2010: Consultants to Icelandic Nephops industry
At the invitation of an Icelandic Fisheries consortium, Amaya Albalat (pictured below with Heather Philp and the Director of the Research Institute in the Westman Islands) and Douglas Neil attended a Nephrops industry workshop in the Westman Islands, Iceland, to share their knowledge about the good practices needed to maintain live and fresh Nephrops products in the best quality condition.
May 2010: Marine Biology Conference in Glasgow
In May 2010 two members of the Langoustine Lab took on leading roles in organising the Marine Biological Association of the UK Postgraduate Student Conference in Glasgow, which was attended 45 delegates over three days. Andrew Watts (Chair) and Chonchanok Theethakaew-Mod (deputy chair) along with 6 other students from the University of Glasgow arranged a selection of talks, and Workshops on aspects of Marine Biology and posters sessions in the Hunterian Zoology Museum (pictured below). Social activities included a pub quiz, a meal at the Hilton Hotel and a traditional Scottish Ceilidh!
January 2010: Successful testing of new formulations of 'Prawnfresh' from Xyrex Ltd
With a grant from a Science-Industry 'First Steps' award scheme from Scottish Enterprise, the Langoustine Lab has worked in conjunction with Xyrex Ltd to test the effectivenes of various formulations of their antimelanotic treatment 'Prawnfresh'. As a result, the company has now launched 'Prawnfresh Plus' which is effective at preventing the formation of blackspot (melanosis) in langoustines and other crustacean shellfish (pictured below).
Archive of previous news items
May 2009: The Langoustine Lab helps to achieve a World First
A fishery in Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland has become the first trawl-caught langoustine fishery in the world to achieve Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery. Langoustine Lab researchers worked closely with the Stornoway fishermen and the main processor, Young's Seafood Ltd., to assess the levels of bycatch (non-target) organisms captured by a typical commercial trawler from the Stornoway fleet over a period of several months, and to devise an effective method for recording the bycatch levels on board the vessels.
The award was presented by the Scottish Fisheries Minister, Richard Lochhead MSP to Iain Murray, skipper of the Comrade, who together with Murdo Macdonald of the Sharon Rose, played a key role in working with the Langoustine Lab scientists to secure the the MSC certification. ( MSC Accreditation press release )
April 2009: European Fisheries Fund (EFF) grant to the Langoustine Lab
An EFF grant has been won by the Langoustine Lab, which will help to improve sustainable fishing for langoustines. Working with the Stornoway fleet and with Young's Seafood Ltd., who are providing additional funding, procedures will be developed to record bycatch and discards from the trawl catches, and to record these onto an electronic traceability system fitted to the commercial vessels. This will provide essential knowledge for managing fishing practices, and to minimise the take of sensitive species such as cod and spurdog.
March 2008: Investigating the 'Skyrhumar' condition in Icelandic Langoustines
The Langoustine Lab has recently joined forces with an Icelandic Consortium, MATIS, to investigate the cause of a condition that is increasingly being encountered in langoustines caught off the coast of Iceland. This condition affects the quality of the tail meat, and a screening programme is being undertaken in Glasgow to determine if it is stress-related, or due to an infection.
November 2007: Heston Blumenthal seeks assistance from the Langoustine Lab in his 'Search for Perfection' in seafood
For his latest BBC TV series on 'Seeking Perfection...' celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal enlisted the help of Douglas Neil and Nick Beevers to demonstrate the best way to obtain non-stressed langoustines. Filmed on the AV Aora from UMBSM Millport, it highlighted the measures being taken to assess the condition of trawl-caught animals, and the recommendations being made by the Langoustine Lab to maintain live animals in a healthy condition.
