News 
Scotland's only halibut farmer wins UK Food Champion Award
20 September 2009
Alistair Barge, Scotland's only halibut farmer
A halibut farmer from the Hebridean island of Gigha has been named Food Champion of the Year in the 2009 Waitrose and Country Living Made in Britain Awards.
Alistair Barge credits the success of his company to the location of his halibut farm: it is one of only two in the UK and the only one in Scotland.
Having come to the attention of the Waitrose buying team through the awards, he’s also secured a major contract to supply the supermarket, with his Isle of Gigha halibut fillets now available in 75 Waitrose branches across the UK.
Alistair Barge, owner of Isle of Gigha Halibut, was named Champion of the Year at the Awards presentation held this weekend. Founded by Waitrose and Country Living and now in their second year, the Made in Britain Awards promote and celebrate British producers, farmers and growers making the heritage foods of tomorrow.
Thanks to the award title, Alistair has won £10,000 and plans to use some of the money to promote the link between tourism and food production, encouraging more people to visit Gigha and enjoy his fish.
He has been sustainably farming the endangered species of Atlantic halibut for the last four years on community-owned Gigha.
The sea water around Gigha offers ideal conditions for growing halibut. Although the farm is land-based, sea water enters the tanks through sluices and the farm is powered by a community-owned wind farm.
Isle of Gigha Halibut now accounts for 80% of all the halibut produced in Scotland. Its main market is the UK, with the US also accounting for 30% of the company’s sales.
However, halibut farming is not for the impatient: the fish take four years to reach maturity, before they can be harvested.
Alistair’s halibut is on sale now in 75 Waitrose stores across the UK, labelled “Isle of Gigha Halibut Fillets”. The new Waitrose store in Glasgow, due to open in November, will be the 76th branch to stock the range.
The halibut will be
- Counter served and only available Friday/Saturday/Sunday
- Will come in 250g or 750g as skin on fillets
- It will cost around £22.99 per kilo
Congratulating Alistair on his win, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead, said:
“This is another recognition of the trailblazers who truly make Scotland a land of food and drink.
“It’s innovators like Alistair Barge who have prompted sales of Scottish produce to increased by 21% across Scotland, England and Wales.
“The Scottish Government is committed to sustainable production and consumption and the halibut farm is an remarkable method of cultivating this species while supporting the rural community of Gigha.”
Jeremy Ryland-Langley, Waitrose Fish Buyer said:
“The quality and enthusiasm of this year’s finalists has been incredible, and the competition fierce.
“The great thing about these awards is that they give small producers the chance to get recognition for all the hard work they put into their innovative and extraordinary products. However, one small producer really shone through, and that was Gigha Halibut.
“A family business that is firmly rooted in its community, Gigha Halibut is testament to what is great about our British food. His impeccable farming standards and dedication to sustainability is to be applauded.
“I’m delighted that Alistair has won, and I’m sure our customers throughout the UK will be hooked on his halibut.”
Isle of Gigha Halibut was actually one of three Scottish companies that made it through to the shortlist of 12 for the 2009 Made in Britain Awards.
The shortlist also included Highland Smoked Trout Pate – a pate of roast brown trout and crowdie - from the Cairngorm Smokehouse in Kingussie and Lanarkshire-based Simple Simon’s Perfect pies, shortlisted for their Heather Honey Venison pies, made entirely by hand.
Cairngorm Smokehouse was among the five finalists – Food Producers of the Year - who each received £5000. The five winners were selected on strict criteria including the quality of their products, innovation and their use of traditional skills.
Alistair Barge: Isle of Gigha Halibut
Background
Born in Rhu on the Firth of Clyde, Alistair Barge has lived on the shores of Lochfyne for the past 30 years, farming fish as part of the family business. Initially salmon farmers, the family switched to halibut when it became difficult to compete with larger producers. Now they have a halibut farm on Gigha, the only one in Scotland.
Each week Alistair travels between Lochfyne and Gigha, an 8-hour round trip involving three ferries and a car journey.
“Lochfyne is where the marine hatchery is based: it’s where the halibut start their four year journey to maturity. The eggs are hatched and the fish reared in our marine hatchery at Otter Ferry. We then move them to Gigha where we have the extra space to rear them to maturity,” Alistair explains.
“It takes around three and a half or four years for the halibut to reach maturity. They spend a year and a half at the marine hatchery and two and a half years in Gigha, until they are ready to harvest.” adds Alistair.
Alistair’s halibut farm is the only one in Scotland and one of only two in the UK.
“It’s not easy farming halibut especially during the early stages of the rearing process and that’s why there are only two farms in the UK. It takes a long time when you are trying to rear tiny little larvae, even up to six months before you have something that resembles a baby halibut. Four years to harvest is a long term project that requires a lot of working capital so you need patient shareholders and understanding banks,” he said, explaining why halibut farming is not for people looking for quick results or an immediate return on their investment.
Asked why halibut is so sought after by top chefs, Alistair said:
“Halibut has a firm texture and melts in your mouth; it is beautifully fresh and white. It’s known as a meat eater’s fish so anyone looking for a healthy alternative to fillet steak, should opt for Halibut. My personal favourite is seared halibut with a creamy mushroom and tarragon sauce served on a bed of crunchy green vegetables or, for a treat, well seasoned and barbecued,” continues Alistair.
“Our long term plans are to keep specialising in Halibut farming and improving what we are currently doing. But I’m also keen to promote the island of Gigha and to strengthen the connection between the halibut and the island, which is community owned. We’d like to work closer with our customers to promote the fish as Gigha Halibut not just Halibut,” he says
Asked what he’d do if he was chosen as the overall Food Champion of the Year, Alistair said:
“I’d use the money on marketing and raising awareness and getting the message about where our halibut comes from through to the end customer. More and more now, people want to know exactly where their fish comes from and be reassured that it is produced in a sustainable way - and our fish fits that bill perfectly,” adds Alistair.
Isle of Gigha Halibut already has customers all over the UK and also supplies customers across the USA including in Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Boston and New York.
“As a family business we’re extremely proud of how far we have come. Starting up back in the 1960s farming Salmon, we moved to halibut farming in the 1990s because as a small independent company it became impossible for us to compete with the large Salmon producers, so we decided to look for new species to farm.
“As a species Halibut seemed ideal, it was premium fish with a declining wild fishery; it grew well in ambient temperatures in the West of Scotland. We thought Gigha, being surrounded by the Atlantic, would be a good place for growing Halibut. I think we made the right decision and hit a niche in the market,” concludes Alistair.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
1. The announcement of Food Champion of the Year 2009 in the Waitrose and Country Living Made in Britain Awards, was made at the Royal County of Berkshire Show held at the Newbury Showground on September 19 2009.
2. Now in its second year, The Made in Britain Awards promotes and celebrates British producers, farmers and growers making the heritage foods of tomorrow. For more information visit www.waitrose.com/madeinbritain
3. The five Made in Britain Food Producers of the Year each won £5,000 from Waitrose. Subject to technical approval, winners have the opportunity to have products stocked at Waitrose. The overall Made in Britain Food Champion of the Year was chosen from these five.
4. Waitrose has 214 branches across Britain. The retailer and its sister company, John Lewis, are co-owned entirely by the 69,000 'Partners' who work for the John Partnership.
5. Isle of Gigha Halibut will be stocked in 75 Waitrose branches across the UK, including the two Edinburgh stores in Comely Bank and Morningside and in the new Glasgow store – making the total 76 - when this opens on 12th November 2009.
