10 March, 2006

THE PARENT company of Shetland's sole fishmeal processor is planning on building a new factory on the west coast of Ireland, it was announced yesterday (Thursday).

United Fish Products, which owns the Shetland Fish Products factory at Heogan, Bressay, has secured a site in Killybegs, in Donegal.

Helge Korsager, managing director of United Fish Industries, said: "We are very pleased to have obtained the site. The exact capacity of the factory has not yet been finalised, but it will be considerably larger than our existing plant at Bressay or any other proposed development of its kind in Shetland."

He said the move would be good news for Shetland, but added: "Inevitably, it will mean that there will be less fish available for Shetland, Norway and Denmark, but we are confident that our partnership with the Bressay factory and the combined strength of the UFI operations will mean that we will be in a much better position to secure raw material in the future."

Killybegs is regarded as the prime location for a fishmeal factory close to the large shoals of pelagic fish stocks west of Ireland.

Shetland is being targeted by Icelandic fishmeal firm Sildarvinnslan who want re-locate a factory in north Shetland, despite fierce local protests. UFI have argued that there is not enough raw material to keep two factories in Shetland going.

Mr Korsager said securing fish was the biggest task for processors, and Norwegian boats were sailing past Shetland to land their catch at home to keep their processing industry going.

"During the current season, we have witnessed Norwegian boats steaming past Shetland to Norway, despite the fact that we have offered these vessels a very attractive deal to land their catches at Bressay," he said.

"The reason for this is because of the difficulties facing the industry in Norway and the fact that these boats are choosing to support their local industry.

"Our new location in Killybegs is an optimal position to site a fishmeal factory and we are delighted to have been able to secure this location. The new factory will also provide a supportive role for the Bressay operation and so is very good news for the Shetland community."

The planning process for the Killybegs factory is already underway with an environmental impact assessment being drawn up.