OISF Opening Lunch 2015

The harvest of the sea was to the fore in the 2015 Festival’s opening event. News of the latest research on sustaining local crab and lobster stocks was accompanied by a seafood lunch provided by Orkney Fishermen’s Society, with additional support from several sources.

There was Orkney crab claw and mini dressed crab, cold water prawns and an Orkney smoked salmon selection. The meal was put together by Liz Ashworth and her team which this year featured a group of students and staff from Orkney College UHI, the quality of whose assistance was much appreciated.

The event started with the official opening of the Festival by novelist and writer Prof. Rebecca Stott, whose books on scientists such as Newton and Darwin have been highly acclaimed.

Kate Rydzkowski and Matthew Coleman gave a picture of ongoing work on crab and lobster stocks in Orkney, and Dr Mike Bell of Heriot-Watt University at ICIT Stromness showed how sustainability strategies are being developed.

The seafood was accompanied with side salad and lemon mayonnaise dressing, oatcakes, beremeal bannocks and peedie beremeal baps, and followed by a special Orkney butter hazelnut shortbread with Orkney cream crowdie and Shapinsay chocolate

To drink was Letty’s Old Fashioned Lemonade, another new product developed specially for the Festival.