Food for the soul
TV personality and explorer turned ethical fishermen, Guy Grieve has found fulfilment hand-diving for scallops in the pristine waters around Mull. Mike Warner meets him.
It’s rare these days to encounter an individual whose working environment has become not only an integral part of their daily life, but their entire raison d’être. But I just have.
Guy Grieve lives and breathes the sea. King scallops (Pecten maximus) are his business, but the Atlantic is his passion. He spent a year charting her waters on a 10,000-mile sailing trip from Venezuela to the Isle of Mull, with family in tow. It was just one of a number of adventures since Guy quit his job in marketing at the age of 30, becoming first an intrepid TV personality in shows such as The Wild Gourmets, then spending a year alone in Alaska, which he recounted in his aptly named book Call of the Wild. But it was his time at sea – “mother ocean” – that really seems to have shaped him.
That “crazy year” was an experience that nurtured a profound love, and when he returned in 2008, he quickly realised he had a debt to repay. “The sea had supported us,” he says. “I saw it as my moral duty to return that support.”
And so Guy and his family began a new journey. They settled on Mull, and he and his wife Juliet set up the Ethical Shellfish Company, specialising in hand-dived scallops. “I wanted to use the skills and knowledge I had acquired to harness the bounty of these seas, while at the same time protecting this wonderful environment and ensuring its sustainability for future generations,” says Guy.
It’s tough work, though. The waters around Mull are pristine, but tales of fierce tides and maelstrom-like whirlpools abound. What’s it like? I ask. “Most of the time, you’re working on your own,” he says. “It can be dark, cold and lonely and you have to have the right mindset. A sense of humour is essential, as is absolute humility. We do this job with passion and respect; there’s no place for machismo in this very intimate form of fishing.”
Guy dives up to four times a day from his own small fishing boat, Helanda. He catches to order, ensuring that there is zero waste, and all the scallops are strictly graded. He only takes medium and large-sized shells; the small ones are put back, in areas of high tidal flow and out of reach of dredgers, thereby creating areas of high fertility where scallops can spawn and then grow and reach maturity. He also supports other artisanal producers, buying in fish and shellfish from local divers and fishermen that use sustainable techniques, such as creels and rod and line.
“I see us as marine shepherds,” says Guy. “We tend the scallop beds as a crofter would his flock. We know the intricacies of the terrain and habitat, and we manage that environment knowing that zero damage is occurring to the seabed – that’s incredibly important to me.”
Having sampled the quality of Guy’s scallops, I can heartily vouch for their flavour and succulent, firm texture, which I learn is the result of the western waters in which they grow. “The scallops we catch here are unique,” says Guy. “What really sets them apart is the Gulf Stream. We’re incredibly fortunate to have the benefit of the North Atlantic Drift: the nutritional richness of this vast, oceanic, circulatory seam sustains the marine life here throughout the food chain. It’s like the greatest and most abundant sushi belt there is – and our scallops are feeding from it.”
The quality and impeccable provenance of Guy’s scallops have made them highly sought after, and they regularly have star billing at such prominent establishments as J Sheekey and Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons. They feature too on the slabs at Booths supermarkets – and demand has begun to outstrip supply. But that doesn’t concern Guy.
“Our scallops make an incredible journey from seabed to plate, ending with the most wonderful flavour,” he says. “What we do needs to be seen as a beacon for sustainability. It’s the lowest-impact form of fishing on earth and as custodians of the ‘common grazing’ that the seas provide, we’ll only continue to grow our supply while we can honour our environmental duty. It really is as straightforward as that. I’d sooner close the business down than compromise our integrity.” Passionate words indeed, reflecting not only his love for his job, but also his deep respect for the domain in which he operates.
So how would Guy best enjoy a half-dozen extra large himself? “That’s a very easy one,” he laughs. “Just the other day at sea, I’d shucked some beauties and while busying myself on deck, I had them in a pan, lightly searing them in a little oil and seasalt. Done both sides and with minimal effort. I can think of no better way.” I couldn’t agree more.
Talking to Guy, it’s impossible not to be swept along by his energy and enthusiasm – and he clearly hasn’t lost his spirit for adventure. Just a couple of years ago, he zoomed off to Namibia to make a documentary about the San tribe, whose methods of hunting haven’t changed in thousands of years. But it’s just as clear that this once restless soul has found fulfillment in what he does in Mull –and as a parting shot, he leaves me with the perfect image. “In ancient heraldry, the scallop shell represented the fulfilment of an historical sea journey,” he says. “In essence, that’s us – my family. The scallop is undoubtedly an emblem for our own voyage.”
Guy has written about his ocean voyage in Sea Legs: One Family’s Adventure on the Ocean. To find out more about the Ethical Shellfish Company and for trade enquiries, visit: ethicalshellfishcompany.co.uk.
Mike Warner is an ardent seafood fan who blogs at A Passion for Seafood. He is based in Suffolk and finds inspiration from the diversity of life in Britain’s inshore and shallow seas. Mike is a supporter of the under-10m fishing fleet, advocate of sustainably caught fish and shellfish, and fount of maritime knowledge.
