AJ's Snaptorium

By AJTaylor

Northern Gannet AKA Guga AKA Solan Goose.

Gannets are a "Protected" Species in the UK but a special dispensation written into the 1954 Wild Birds Protection Act by a Statutory Order allows the People of Ness, Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides to cull around 2000 young birds every autumn.

*The flesh of the young gannet or 'guga' is regarded as a delicacy in Ness today though, for others, it is an acquired taste. Even so, it was a popular meat in earlier times in Scotland. In the sixteenth century it was served at the tables of Scots kings and was a favourite with the wealthy as a 'whet' or appetizer before main meals. In the autumn of each year, a hardy team of Nessmen set sail for Sulasgeir to kill around 2000 young birds and bring home their catch about two weeks later, to meet an eager crowd of customers, who snap up as many of the birds as they can. The demand is often so great that the birds have to be rationed out to ensure that each person does not go without a taste of guga.

*Source

Comments
Sign in or get an account to comment.