Smoked Dollaghan from the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative has won its first Great Taste star, with judges praising its robust flavour, rich colour and perfectly balanced smoke and cure

Wild-caught smoked trout fillets from the Lough Neagh Fishermen’s Co-operative Society in Toomebridge, Co Antrim have earned a prestigious Great Taste Star Award from the influential Guild of Fine Foods in London.

Expert food Judges in the recent UK Great Taste Awards praised Lough Neagh smoked wild trout, sometimes known as Dollaghan, for its robust flavour, glistening amber appearance, and a perfectly balanced smoke and cure. They described it as “simply delicious”.

The experts, among them some of the most experienced and respected food writers, journalists and chefs, awarded the unique Northern Ireland fish, its first gold star as a “simply delicious” food. It was the first Great Taste ‘star’ for the rare fish. It also won the Fish category in the awards.

placeholder image — Fishing for trout on Lough Neagh. The lough is also home to pollan, bream and perch

The fishermen’s society has won gold stars in the past from Great Taste for the lough’s superb eels.

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From the largest freshwater lake in the UK, Lough Neagh wild brown trout are a unique migratory strain of Salmo trutta native to Lough Neagh and its inflowing tributaries in Northern Ireland. They migrate from the lough into local rivers to spawn, much like sea trout, and feature distinctive black spots and rich pink-orange hue.

The winning wild trout from Lough Neagh was among an impressive145 winning products from Northern Ireland in this year’s Great Taste. The award for Lough Neagh is an important boost after a difficult period for the historic fishery.

The award-winning smoked trout product has been packaged attractively by the co- operative for retailers.

This year, over 15,000 products were entered into Great Taste from 3,919 companies in 116 countries, a record number, including products from nine countries entering for the first time.

Dollaghan from Lough Neagh is a very special fish. This wild brown trout from Lough Neagh is one of the only remaining wild trout fisheries supplying the UK. Unlike farmed fish, Lough Neagh trout live and grow naturally in the vast waters of the sprawling lough, feeding on freshwater shrimp and moving freely before returning to rivers to spawn - much like wild sea trout.

Experts says it is that natural diet which gives the fish its distinctive deep pink flesh.

There are no colour additives, no antibiotics and no intervention - just a clean, natural flavour that reflects the environment the fish come from. The result, they say, is a trout that is richer, firmer and more complex than most farmed fish

The fishery is carefully managed, with a short season running from March through to mid-August. Management return larger fish to the water to protect future stocks, helping maintain a sustainable supply of wild trout. Because of this, availability is limited. Only small quantities are landed each week, making this a rare opportunity to enjoy truly wild trout, sourced responsibly and handled with the utmost care and attention – exactly what great seafood should be - seasonal, traceable and created entirely by nature.

Wild trout like Lough Neagh trout grow naturally in open water, feeding on what the local environment provides. Lough Neagh trout flourish from a diet rich in freshwater shrimp, which gives the fish its deep natural colour and fuller flavour.

Wild trout also tend to have firmer flesh and a more defined flake, while farmed trout can be softer due to lower levels of natural movement.

Lough Neagh trout is seasonal, limited in supply and caught from a carefully managed fishery rather than produced at scale. Each fish reflects the conditions it has grown and lived in, which means no two are ever exactly the same.

As a result, the trout can be pricier. What consumers are paying for is not just the fish, but the quality of its environment, its natural diet and the care taken to preserve the fishery for future generations. On the plate, that offers a deeper flavour, firmer texture and a delicious eating experience.

Lough Neagh, of course, is home to the largest wild eel fishery in Europe and is also home to several species of wild freshwater fish including dollaghan, pollan, bream and perch. Traditional, sustainable fishing methods are used on the lough, which have passed down through the generations. It’s about preserving a way of life for dozens of fishing families, protecting the fish and safeguarding a viable commercial fishery.

The co-operative is an organisation founded in 1965 and based in Toomebridge. It controls the commercial fishing rights on Lough Neagh and represents local fishermen.

Lough Neagh eels are justifiably famous. They were awarded EU Protected Name status in 2011, the first product from Northern Ireland to receive the accreditation.

The eels make their way from the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, carried over 6,000km on the Gulf Stream to the mouth of the Lower Bann, and then into Lough Neagh where they stay for 12 to 20 years before returning home to the Sargasso Sea to spawn.

Lough Neagh pollan was also awarded EU Protected Name status in 2018, setting the lough apart as home to not one, but two high quality wild-caught fish bearing these prestigious EU accreditations.