1. Communities, Coasts and
Mountains
UHI Research and Post Graduate Conference
2010
Sarah De Rees
Centre for Nordic Studies , Orkney

2. Silver Darlings
Orkney’s Golden Opportunity?

3. Introduction
• PhD Orkney Food Culture
− Diet and health – historic perspective
− Significance herring in Orkney culture: past
and present
• Herring part of Orkney diet for millennia
• 19th and 20th Century - herring fishing industry –
Silver Darlings

4. Herring and herring fishing
• Staple food up to WWII – easily accessible
• Early 1800s: start UK Commercial herring fishing
• Scots domination international market
• barrel of salt herring per household
• 1970s – ban North Sea herring fishing
→ end curing industry UK
→ change food habits Orkney

5. Today
•No longer staple food
− Reputation unappealing
− too bony to prepare
• Healthy herring stocks but only minority of the
catch for human consumption
• Percentage to Orkney

6. Orkney Herring Company
• Only cured herring producer north of Dingwall
(exl. Shetland)
• North Sea/Skagerrak/North Atlantic fisheries -
ensure sustainable stocks
• cured herring
− source to table process differs from
traditional salting method

7. • Oily fish - polyunsaturated fatty acids
• Consumption promoted by Scottish Government
• reduce risk heart attack
• nervous system unborn babies
• reduce risk miscarriage
• other
Health Benefits

8. However...
• Low herring consumption in Orkney/UK
• <1% herring produced in Orkney is sold locally
Why?

9. Investigate
• Herring consumption in historic Orkney
• Cause of trend low fish consumption in Orkney
• Comparison with fish consumption habits in Shetland
• Food consumption habits Scotland/Western world

10. Future for herring in Orkney food
culture?
• Bright with right marketing and government
support on national scale (Orkney Herring Company)
• Orkney Herring Co. important in local economy
• Return herring to staple diet?

11. Are the silver darlings (i.e herring) part of Orkney’s
golden opportunity for ensuring a healthy local diet
while maintaining a healthy, thriving economy?

12. Thank you
Sarah De Rees
2010