MSC Tristan Lobster From the British Territory “Tristan da Cunha”: the most remote inhabited island in the world producing the most exceptional lobster in the world, seen only on the most discerning menus and fish counters

Index 3 Introduction 4 Why is the Tristan product so exceptional? 5 About Tristan da Cunha 6 Where is Tristan? 7 Fishing for the Tristan lobster 8 Fishing for the Tristan lobster cont.. 9 The Tristan Lobster 10 Defining Cold Water and Warm Water Spiny Lobsters 11 How Tristan Lobster is sold around the world 12 Product Specifications 13 The Production Process on Tristan Island 14 Shelf life 15 THE PRODUCT RANGE 16 Sashimi Grade Whole Raw Lobster 17 Conclusion 18 Contact 19 – 23 Photos

Introduction   Quality   In terms of culinary excellence Tristan Lobster is acknowledged

to stand head and shoulders above any other in the world.

  Sustainability

  The Tristan Lobster fishery represents 80% of the Island’s Economy. Safeguarding the fishery is a fundamental, and the fishery was one of the few in the world to secure unconditional MSC accreditation.

  Exclusivity

  The entire Tristan Lobster catch is distributed globally by one company – a unique situation in the lobster world – which offers absolute exclusivity for the species (Jasus tristani) to distributors in each market.

  “Duty Free” Pricing

  The prices commanded by Tristan Lobster are well above those of the lower quality clawed lobsters from North America. However, thanks to it being logistically impossible to send lobsters from Tristan to China, and the zero duty status accorded to a UK Colony, the price points are remarkably reasonable for such an exclusive and “best of breed” product.

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Why is the Tristan product so exceptional? 1) Jasus tristani is a superior cold water rock lobster growing in pristine waters off the most remote inhabited island in the world.

2) We have developed the most fastidious catching, handling, packing and freezing protocols (Japan is the largest market for the Tristan product). Blind tastings have been conducted with our product: versus other frozen, versus nitrogen frozen, and versus live lobsters, and in each case Tristan was voted the superior product.

3) High yield: the tail yield of Jasus tristani (officially set at 33.29%, but often as high as 36%) is far higher than that of other Jasus species from around the world such as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia.

4) 100% natural: Tristan Lobster is chemical-free, unlike many other frozen lobsters.

5) Long shelf life: because of their intrinsic quality and fastidious handling protocols, the refrigerated shelf life of Tristan has been tested at 8 days – superior to product from Australia , South Africa, Brazil, Maine and Bahamas.

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About Tristan da Cunha   Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory, thus EU import duties

do not apply. Tristan rock lobster, Jasus tristani, is found only in the Tristan da Cunha islands.

  Tristan da Cunha is made up of four islands: Tristan, Nightingale, Inaccessible and Gough. Inaccessible and Gough are both World Heritage Sites.

  The islands were discovered by the Portuguese Admiral Tristao da Cunha in 1506.

  In 1816 the United Kingdom took control of the island to ensure that the French would be unable to use them as a base to free Napoleon Bonaparte from his prison on St Helena. A garrison of British Marines occupied the island, and in 1817 a small community remained led by Scot Corporal William Glass.

  Today, only seven surnames survive on Tristan da Cunha with origins from Great Britain, Holland, Italy and the USA. With a tight community of only 265 people, Tristan da Cunha is known as the most remote inhabited island in the world.

  Tristan da Cunha is situated in the Southern Atlantic Ocean between South Africa, Antarctica and South America (see overleaf).

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Where is Tristan?

Comprising four independent fisheries:

1)  Tristan da Cunha (161mt)

2)  Gough (100mt)

3)  Inaccessible (73mt)

4)  Nightingale (65mt)

The TAC has grown from 331 tons in 1996 to 400 tons in 2014.

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FISHING FOR THE TRISTAN LOBSTER

1/ Shore Based Fishing

The Tristanians operate an inshore fleet of 12 two-man dinghies around the island of Tristan da Cunha, where fishing is the main source of income. The lobster caught by these fishermen are processed at the HACCP-approved factory situated on Tristan da Cunha.

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FISHING FOR THE TRISTAN LOBSTER

2/ Island Fishing

In addition to the shore based facilities on Tristan da Cunha, Ovenstone Agencies harvests lobster in the waters around the islands of Gough, Nightingale, and Inaccessible with a factory freezer vessel, using the long line multi-trap method.

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  Jasus tristani is a true cold water spiny lobster.

  This species is found on rocky substrates in kelp at a depth range of 0 - 200 m, although it is most commonly found between 20 and 40 m.

  The species is harvested using hoop nets and metal traps on lines.

  To protect the lobster stock there are strict restrictions on total allowable commercial catch for each individual island, the type of fishing gear, and minimum size.

The Tristan Lobster

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Defining Cold Water and Warm Water Spiny Lobsters The only true cold water tails are from the genera Jasus and Palinurus

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Global sales of all Tristan Lobster are coordinated by Ovenstone Agencies on behalf of the Tristan Community.

Ovenstone Agencies also runs the fishing vessels which are the only means by which islanders can travel between Tristan and South Africa (and on to the UK).

After many years of perseverance, 2014 is the first time that the Tristan Lobster Fishery has the necessary approvals from Brussels to import into the European Union. Ovenstone will ship containers of Tristan Lobster to a centralised EU cold store from which supplies will be drawn by key distributors around Europe.

How Tristan Lobster is sold around the world

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Product Specifications Ovenstone Agencies is dedicated to responsible fishing

and deeply committed to stringent quality control practices, guaranteeing a premium product in accordance with HACCP standards.

All product is prepared at below ambient temperatures.

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The Production Process on Tristan Island …

Discharge Lobster

ex Vessel Weigh Lobster

Transfer to Factory

Receive at Factory

Weigh Lobster

Sort Lobster

FROZEN TAILS

Live Storage in Seawater

SASHIIMI GRADE

RAW FROZEN COOKED FROZEN

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Shelf life Our lobster has a far superior shelf life to its peers

– testament to the underlying quality of the product and the strict quality assurance and maintenance of the cold chain during processing.

Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7

Tristan Lobster: 8 8 8 8 8 8 8

Australian Lobster: 8 8 6 5 4.5

South African Lobster: 8 8 8 8 8 6 4.5

*organoleptic evaluation testing scale based on 1-10: below 5 constitutes a fail.

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Our Flagship Product is the:

“Sashimi Grade Whole Raw Lobster”

see the production protocols for this product overleaf

THE PRODUCT RANGE:

Other Product Formats Include:

1) Cooked Whole Lobster

2) Cold Water Lobster Tails

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Lobster removed in small batches for wrapping

8 to 10 kg per tray

Lobster drips with head down for 1 hour minimum at 0 degrees Celsius

8 to 10 kg per tray

Lobster washed immediately after removal from stun tank

Batches are kept small to maintain low temperature

Lobsters submerged in 2 – 3% salinity water close to 0 degrees Celsius

Water constantly moving to ensure even temperatures

Only whole lobster selected after purging

No feelers or legs missing

Only the strongest live lobsters are selected for purging

Monitored in tanks to remove weak lobsters

Final product stored below -20 degrees Celsius in holding room until dispatched

Holding store to run between -25 and -30 Deg C

2 frozen trays placed in 5 kg carton and then 2 x 5 kg into 10 kg master

1 Trolley at a time to keep temperature low

Trays visually inspected after blast freezing before final packing

Bubble wrap used to seperate each tray

Sheet of bubble wrap placed on every 2.5 kg tray for protection

12 carton batches blast frozen together on custom built trollies

Lobster graded into 2.5 kg units on trays and blast frozen

Count to be the same in every tray

Lobsters packed with feelers back and straight tail

Reject any lobster with broken legs/feelers or carapace

Protocols for Sashimi Grade Whole Raw Lobster

Absolute Highest Grade Raw Frozen Lobster for the Discerning Chef “Fresher than Live”

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Conclusion   Quality

  MSC Tristan Lobster is the new benchmark for high end restaurants and retailers: the crème de la crème of cold water lobsters handled and frozen to the highest Japanese standards.

  Exclusivity

  Tristan Lobster is a single owner fishery so every customer can be assured that there will be no competition from another supplier. This is a key point for both our wholesale partners and chefs.

  Value

  Price points are accessible as there is no import duty.

  Ease of use

  Zero mortality, Fresher than live, Tight Gradings, High yields, Long shelf life.

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Tel: +49 6922 224 6186 / +44 207 871 0699 www.facebook.com/TristanLobster

THE END

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