2006 was an exciting year for Fjord Seafood Scotland. They successfully gained accreditation in the following; Scottish Finfish Aquaculture Industry Code of Good Practice, BRC for fresh fish processing and EurepGAP (first fishfarming and processing company in Scotland to achieve this prestigeous accreditation). Fjord Seafood Scotland, the largest private sector employer in the Western Isles, produces a full range of fresh fillet and smoked salmon products at their factory in Stornoway.

Alan Anderson, Managing Director of Fjord Seafood Scotland told Aquaculture Today: "In 2003 when we, as well as the rest of the Aquaculture industry (globally and nationally), were making huge losses, we realised that Fjord Seafood had reservations about continuing to produce and process salmon in Scotland. We had to do something dramatic to make ourselves an interesting option to our parent company, to ensure their continued support. We had been experimenting with the concept of "pre-rigor processing" and decided to, as NIKE say, "Just do it!". We converted our operations, both at the farms and in the processing plant, to go into full "pre-rigor processing".

From point of harvest to dispatch from the island as a fully pinbone out pre-rigor salmon fillet (other companies have recently converted to pre-rigor processing but I believe we are the only company that achieves the removal of the pin-bones in the same process), takes less than 13 hours. This ensures our customers get their fillets the day after harvesting, which is around 2 days earlier than previously achieved with conventional "post-rigor fillets". Our customers now fully appreciate the other benefits of a "pre-rigor fillet", such as; little or no down-grading due to gaping or soft fillets (the pre-rigor is a much firmer and durable fillet than the conventional post-rigor fillet, even when doing further processing to add value and can be handled without damage to the flesh), a brighter shiny colour, more pronounced fresh fish flavour and extended shelf life.

Our products were further developed to give much higher quality to customers over 2005 and by 2006 it was clear that we had achieved what we had set out to do, gain respect and committed support from our parent company, which was evident when Fjord Seafood announced that they were continuing to support their operations in Scotland by making substantial investment in both the farming and processing operations on the Western Isles. Our direction in Scotland was to be a "large niche market supplier".

Our farming operations have undergone change as well during this period. We were the leading company in the "Western Isles Site Optimisation Plan" for the East and West Loch Roag area. This was a very ambitious project, involving all of the shareholders in the area, such as; the Scottish Executive, Crown Estate, SNH, SEPA, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), local fishermen through the Western Isles Fishermen's Association, local anglers through the Western Isles Fishery Trust, the other finfish farming operators in the area and shellfish farming operators in the area.

The project was designed to achieve a situation where all these stakeholders could work alongside each other harmoniously in what had been historically a rather controversial and confrontational situation between all of the stakeholders. The Scottish Executive supported the project using it as a pilot, which if successful could be implemented in other similar areas around the west coast of Scotland. Finfish and shellfish farm sites were relocated, swapped and sited in areas that allowed the CnES to have clear seaways and designated areas free from operations, finfish sites relocated away from wild salmon runs and the mouths of wild salmon rivers to locations further out the lochs and leaving clear fishing grounds for the fishing industry. 2006 saw this ambitious project nearing completion, with each of the stakeholders successful in achieving their goals."

In light of their recent nomination as Aquaculture Today Fit for the Future Finfish award finalists, Alan Anderson wishes to acknowledge the focus, hard work and dedication of each and everyone of their employees in taking the company successfully, through these changes.

Printer friendly version
Email this article to a friend

Related articles:

• Blueshell wins top shellfish award
• Top players attend conference
• Successful 2007 programme
• List of attending companies/ organisations
• Salmon comes second in consumer welfare league