The Macduff Shellfish business on which the Stornoway fishing fleet depends has been sold by its Canadian owners to an east coast of Scotland company as part of a wider deal.

Based at Goat Island, Macduff has been one of the island’s success stories in recent years, providing a secure market for more than 30 prawn vessels operating in the Minch, including 12 working out of Stornoway. Macduff also collects catches from mainland ports like Lochinver and Gairloch before trucking them to Stornoway for processing.

A high quality brand, Wild-Caught Hebridean Langoustines, has been developed successfully with exports to at least 18 countries and around 30 people are employed at Goat Island. Confirmation of the takeover, which has been rumored for some time, has been generally welcomed as it provides some certainty about the future.

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