Hello and welcome to Crofting Matters, hosted by Osla Jamwal Fraser where we discuss topics that matter in crofting.

Over the next few episodes, we will be bringing you Crofting Matters from Shetland. Today we are joined by David Brown, Crofter, Shetlander, and Area Manager for Cooke Aquaculture Scotland. In this episode we look at the intersection between our crofting communities and the blue economy. Across the Crofting Counties - agriculture, and the seafood sector have always been closely intertwined – It is still true today that the lion’s share of the £5.6 billion generated annually by Scotland’s Marine Economy comes to us through the crofting counties in one way or another. There are few places in the country where that interdependence between crofting and fisheries is as clear perhaps as Shetland.

If you enjoyed this episode of Crofting Matters please do subscribe to hear the next episode when we’ll be joined by a crofter who is working to preserve traditional crofting producing Shetland Kale, Shetland Sheep and Shetland Kye as well as a local development company who are now the licensed seed merchants for Shetland Kale, Scotland’s oldest local vegetable variety.

If you would like to find out more about anything we discussed today, you’ll find links in the show notes. This episode was produced by Kerry Hammond, and Edited by Keiron Sim, in association with the Scottish Government.

Resources:

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland | Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is one of the leading producers of Scottish salmon, and the largest producer of organic Scottish salmon.

Shetland Islands Regional Marine Plan - gov.scot

For more information, visit www.FAS.scot

Twitter: @FASScot

Facebook: @FASScot

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Phone: 0300 323 0161

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