At one stage the sea-bird was commonplace on the Scottish dinner plate; from the puffin to the cormorant.
Every year, ten men from Ness on the northern tip of Lewis sail the perilous voyage to Sula Sgeir, and for a fortnight they live and hunt baby gannets on this remote rock.
Murray tells their story, revealing the connections the hunt has with other traditions and cultures in the North Atlantic. While our diets are no longer sea-bird heavy, the guga hunters return with nearly 2,000 pickled and salted birds every year – a staple in Ness.
The Guga Hunters, by Donald S. Murray, published by Birlinn, £8.99.
[review rating=”4″ align = “left”]
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