The Scottish businesses making a living from the sea - from salt to seaweed

It’s the location, not just of this fast flowing sound between the fishing village of Port Wemyss and the lighthouse island of Orsay, that has shaped not just the brand’s logo, but also the salt inside.

Ms Hocks says the waters surrounding Islay are grade A, and home to top quality seafood, which is what made her realise there was potential for the salt within the water to be as good quality – and she was right.

She says: “The salinity of our tidal points set Orsay apart, as it has a higher yield than the average coastal area of Britain. On the average coast in the UK, you get 35g of salt per gallon of seawater, but here, you get 75g per gallon.”

It’s the fast flowing, wild nature of this water, which hits off the rocks, that highens the mineral content. The couple’s boat, the small, but sturdy Clifford Noel, is sailed towards what Ms Hock describes as the “optimal tidal surge” to collect water, which is then pumped into a polytunnel in a field and dried using the natural elements of sunshine and wind. This process causes the water to naturally evaporate.

This can take one to three weeks before the salt crystals are formed, depending on the weather. Ms Hock’s first harvest sold out and, before launch, she was approached by chefs and Fetcha chocolates based in Campbeltown.

Of the taste, Ms Hock describes it as having an instant sweetness when first tasted. This is followed by a creamy smooth finish. She says: “It is hugely versatile and can be used when baking or as a finishing salt. It goes very well with a Portnahaven lobster.”

Scotland has a history with sea salt. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the country was a major exporter, and the past few years have seen a rise in boutique sea salt businesses, including Blackthorn, Isle of Skye and East Neuk Salt Company.

Founder of the latter, Darren Peattie, successfully crowdfunded for his business in 2020 and is now producing salt from the picturesque namesake coast, the history of which inspired him to bring salt production back to the area.

Salt had been one of the main industries in many of the Fife villages that make up the East Neuk, which developed from 12th century salt pans to big business between the 16th and 19th centuries.

St Monans became one of the most important rural sites of the Industrial Revolution after Sir John Anstruther built a windmill to pump sea water from tidally-fed reservoirs into the salt pans. The windmill still stands today, but Scotland’s salt production was largely wiped out after a repeal of salt duty in the 1820s, with rock salt from the Continent rapidly flooding the market.

The idea for the business came to Mr Peattie when he was out exploring. “I was walking along the salt pans one day and I thought, ‘salt. That’s what we need to do – bring back the salt’,” he says. Mr Peattie has now done just that, with hand-harvested sea salt flakes available to buy from the company’s website and local stockists. They also recently partnered with Laphroaig to release a Laphroaig Peat Smoked Salt.

Further west you’ll find Blackthorn Sea Salt, with its impressive and imposing A-frame tower of blackthorns. Gregorie Marshall and his wife Whirly are the owners of this unique structure, which stands proud in the coastal landscape, looking like something out of a fairy-tale.

Mr Marshall first became aware of salt evaporation or graduation towers about 15 years ago and, after some research, headed to Germany to visit them. Fast forward a few years, and the couple have had the structure built and are supplying their salt to restaurants and stockists across Scotland.

The salt is harvested by slowly trickling Scottish West Coast seawater down through the enormous thorn tower whilst the wind evaporates excess water. The salt water is dribbled through 54 wooden taps and a series of channels, which are adjusted daily according to the weather conditions, to maximise evaporation, producing a more concentrated brine.

The final stage is to take the salty brine and add some gentle heat to create crystals of sodium chloride with natural trace elements. Although it is the same simple process as hanging up clothes outside to dry, Mr Marshall explains: "It is a dark art, which depends on how fast the wind blows, air humidity and wind direction, with the ideal being 45 degrees from the prevailing wind. However, the Scottish weather is not always predictable."

While we are starting to appreciate small batch, Scottish sea salt, a product of the sea that’s less utilised is seaweed. Mara Seaweed is the best known Scottish business striving to change attitudes to this widely available, healthy plants and algaes.

The Mara story started in 2003 when co-founders, Fiona Houston and Xa Milne, met at their children’s school. They wanted to connect children to their natural surroundings, which led to foraging expeditions and a cookbook. Since 2011 the Mara team has been pioneering developments in harvesting, sourcing and processing seaweed, which can be bought as flakes and strips and used as a ‘healthy superfood’ seasoning.

Further afield, the Isle of Mull Seaweed Company is doing something a bit different with seaweed with their range of chutneys and hot sauce. A finalist in The Scotsman’s latest Scran Awards, it was the history of seaweed with the area that sparked the idea for this business. In the early 19th century, seaweed was a big industry on Mull and the west coast of Scotland as it was used in cooking, making glass and soap and provided an income for many. Like most things, it died away with an advancement in technology, but now the Isle of Mull Seaweed company are tapping into this history with their products – a sweet chutney, spicy chutney and seaweed hot sauce.

While fish and shellfish may still be the main export from Scottish waters, the salt and seaweed which makes up the sea is being transformed into livelihoods with one eye on Scotland’s history.