Grassholm is one of the largest gannet colonies in the UK, outnumbered only by the huge populations at St Kilda and other parts of Scotland. The gannet, also known as the Solan goose, was a food source in olden days, and the fishermen of Marloes and Dale used to collect them and their eggs for food, a practice which still goes on at Ness in Scotland to this day. Its feathers were also prized as down for stuffing mattresses and eiderdowns years ago. The gannet’s voracious appetite for fish has caused its name to become an uncomplimentary label for human gluttons.
