Three Scottish seafood companies – Denholm Seafoods, The Don Fishing Company, and Seafood Ecosse – have created a new fully-integrated whitefish processing business dubbed Trinity Seafoods.
Based in newly refurbished premises in Peterhead, Scotland, Trinity Seafoods will utilize modern machinery and facilities to process smaller-sized and underutilized sustainable stocks of whitefish – including haddock – the three collaborators said in a press release.
“In a highly automated process, fresh landed whitefish will be fileted by a specially-designed processing line for handling smaller sizes of whitefish species,” the release said. “The business will offer a range of fresh and frozen fish filets and portions for retail and wholesale, as well as offering products for value-added ranges across U.K., European, and other international markets.”
The new automated fish processing equipment the new processing facility will use was purchased with the help of 50 percent grant support from the Scottish government’s Marine Fund Scotland.
The three partner companies said they offer different benefits and skillsets that, when combined into the new business, will create an integrated process throughout the entire supply chain. According to the release the Don Fishing Company and Denholm Group invest in a large number of U.K. whitefish vessels, and Denholm is also an experienced processor of pelagic fish. Seafood Ecosse is also a whitefish and shellfish processor and exporter based in Peterhead and Fraserburgh.
Combining the three companies’ expertise to utilize smaller sizes of whitefish will benefit the seafood industry in Scotland, Denholm Seafoods Managing Director Richard Duthie said.
“It is great to see the Scottish seafood sector collaborating to create this new venture that will benefit fishermen and processers, and ensure best use is made out of smaller sizes of sustainably caught whitefish,” he said.
The Don Fishing Company Managing Director Bill McKenzie said the new project“provides a solution to fishermen who need a buyer for their sustainably-caught, smaller-sized whitefish.
Seafood Ecosse Managing Director David Leiper said the collaboration shows how companies can work together for “the greater good,” and develop markets for fish landing into Scotland.
“The new company and equipment offer direct benefits for the fishing and processing sectors and will boost many support businesses in the supply chain,” he said.
The three companies said the newly-formed Trinity Seafoods will become fully operational later in 2024, and the facility will be both BRC and FDA certified.
According to Scottish Government statistics, the country’s vessels landed a total 429,000 metric tons (MT) of sea fish and shellfish with a gross value of GBP 617 million (USD 768 million, EUR 722.2 million) in 2022.
