Bressay fishmeal producer starts operating under new guise
Fishmeal producer Shetland Fish Products (SFP) has begun operating under the new joint ownership of Shetland Catch and Lerwick Port Authority which bought out the 50 per cent share of Irish firm Origin Enterprises two months ago.
A load delivered last week was the the first to be supplied from the new wholly-owned Shetland company, under the supervision of executive director Helge Korsager and manager Brian Pottinger. The plant in Bressay employes eight people in all.
Mr Korsager, a familiar face in the fishmeal and fish oil sector in the UK and internationally, has been brought back from semi-retirement in to the role of executive director. He has already invested much time and energy in the plant in his previous employment and is keen to help make sure that the industry in Shetland continues in a healthy and sustainable condition.
Mr Korsager said: “I’m delighted to have been invited to take up this function and am pleased to be working again with people at SFP, headed up by Brian Pottinger, and with local shareholders to strengthen our base and ensure a viable future for what is a valuable part of Shetland’s seafood industry.
“The new set up will help SFP to remain strong in the current climate and look for new ways to stabilise the industry in the face of declining blue whiting quotas. Our business will be mainly based on trimmings and we plan to work closely with Shetland Catch to complement their operations.
“The modern processing unit in Bressay has already seen considerable technical investment to ensure it is working at optimum capacity so there is no requirement for any major investments at this time. However, we will continue to monitor our efficiency and operations to keep one step ahead of our global competitors.”
Mr Korsager said the company had an important role to play in the immediate economy of Bressay and of Shetland as a whole.
“We are an integral part of the social and economic wellbeing of the islands and we take that role very seriously. Our plan is to ensure that SFP continues to be recognised as a well-established and well-respected supplier of quality fish products into the UK market with a product range that will fundamentally stay the same.”
