Local seafood industry boosted by Scrabster company - 19/12/2003

A new factory development for a Scrabster seafood company is set to transform the way the company manages its business – and bring jobs to the local area.

Scrabster Seafoods - run by William Calder (52) and his son, also called William (24) - will open their new fish grading and packaging factory in the New Year. The new factory will enable the company, based in the most northerly harbour in mainland UK, to process around 5,000 tons per week of fresh, whole fish sourced from ports across the UK.

Scrabster Seafoods currently supplies fishmongers and supermarkets throughout the UK, and the new factory will enable them to expand their export market - enabling them to provide a more specialist and flexible service to the French and Spanish retail sector.

The Calder family has been involved in the seafood industry for more than 30 years, buying and trading more than 40 varieties of UK seafood. William Calder junior said: "My family has been in this business for three generations. Times have changed but we’re moving with them and we’re confident that our new factory and equipment is going to help us increase our customer base in the UK and abroad, and offer an even better service to our customers than we provide already."

Scrabster Seafoods is the latest local company to sign up to the Pride in Seafood Campaign, joining more than 200 industry representatives and organisations from across the UK.

The campaign, backed by the Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish) aims to promote the pride that exists in the industry by highlighting best practice, innovation and investment of seafood companies across the UK.

John Rutherford, Seafish Chief Executive and member of the Pride in Seafood campaign team says: "The seafood industry has been one of the mainstays of the UK economy for more than two thousand years, and it is now going through an unprecedented period of change.

"Locally, the success of companies like Scrabster Seafoods proves that we’ve a great many people devoting their time, energy and ingenuity to deliver the best quality product to the seafood-loving UK public.

"These forward looking companies are changing the way the industry operates, for the better. Our industry is becoming more dynamic and forward looking, using the very latest technology to continually improve the quality of its catch and product whilst respecting its marine environment – headlines that you very rarely see."

Seafish is now calling on all sectors of the industry to promote the pride there is amongst those working in the industry. If you have got a good news story to tell, demonstrating your pride in your industry, call the Pride in Seafood Campaign freephone hotline number on 0800 3893471.

Issued on behalf of the Pride in Seafood Campaign by Weber Shandwick. For more information contact Anna Reid or Richard Bright at the Pride in Seafood Media Centre on 0131 556 6649.

The Pride in Seafood media centre managed by Weber Shandwick (0131 556 6649) has been set up to provide up-to-date information about the UK seafood industry. It can provide background information, statements and spokespeople from across the UK showing good practice within the industry.

• The total seafood market is worth around £3 billion per year.
• The UK seafood industry employing 136,000 people making it critical to the well being of the wider UK economy.

• Seafood retail sales are higher than ever before. The UK seafood market is at its most buoyant with chilled seafood sales up 10% to just over £1 billion on last year (Volume up 5% to 135,143 tonnes). Total seafood retail sales have risen by 8% to £1.7 billion (3% rise in volume to 278,529 tonnes).