Although they were declared extinct in 1957, there are reports that wild oysters have been discovered growing in the Firth of Forth. Over-fishing and pollution were thought to have killed them all off but there is much speculation that one day Forth oysters could be back on the menu in the capital’s restaurants. Don’t, however, hold your breath. All the headlines and hullabaloo have come about on the back of a meagre two oysters which are said to be a hundred metres apart, a distance that will prevent them from breeding.
On a related theme, there are calls for Lorne sausage to be given Protected Geographical Indicator status, the same protected status as Arbroath Smokies or Melton Mowbray pies.
According to the Beeb, Douglas Scott, chief executive of Scotland’s Craft Butchers, said: ‘The Lorne Sausage is as Scottish a product as you get and it would seem a threat in this global era if we weren’t to apply for a PGI.’
Maybe I’m being naive but I can’t imagine that Lorne sausage is high on the to do list of meat product counterfeiters.