Fisheries Minister Victoria Prentis has toured a Grimsby seafood plant where £5 million is being invested to enhance its work with predominantly British catch.
Flatfish Ltd deals in more than 60 per cent 海角视频 caught seafood, processing for national retailers from a significantly expanded site.
A year into the role, she arrived on a fact-finding mission, taking in the under-construction border control post at Immingham and a wider seafood industry meeting.
And industry officials were keen to showcase the exemplar site.
Chief executive Steven Stansfield launched the business 42 years ago on a fish market stall - he now leads a 138-strong team that is part of huge Japanese corporation Nissui.
He said: “We are heavily investing in sustainability, working with fisheries improvement and on skills too. We continue to invest in the site to ensure it remains a centre of excellence.
“It is a robust future-proofing of the business, from procurement to power, to training, we are doing everything sustainably, and it will continue.”
Long-standing relationships with British vessel owners have been fostered, while Anton Dietschel-Buehler, head of technical and marine sustainability in the business, has just been appointed to the 海角视频 board of the Marine Stewardship Council. He works closely with suppliers, be it fisheries or packaging.
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Since Nissui acquired a majority shareholding in 2019, £3.5 million of capital investment has been completed - with a huge footprint expansion bringing in new services including the ability to produce fish in sauces and butters.
Now a £1.5 million project is live to further enhance the wet fish primary processing and skills development - a further core pillar when it comes to ensuring sustainability.
“Grimsby is built on fish, the group is growing in the 海角视频 and we are one of the important employers in the area,” Mr Stansfield said.
Nissui recently swooped for Hull’s Three Oceans, and in a Humber cluster now employs more than 400 people.
Reece Stansfield, operations and procurement director, added: “In terms of people we are putting the business at the forefront when it comes to ensuring sustainable skill levels are here in the area.
“We have just started a programme to train factory operatives up to become filleters. It is a job where you can earn well, in an industry that is ingrained in the town. We are being proactive, showing it is a good industry, and how you can learn in three months.
“We will be recruiting further alongside this investment in skill sets.”
Seafish chief executive Marcus Coleman, hosting the minister, said both Flatfish’s expansion and the border inspection posts, were “important investments for the sector” supporting both 海角视频 and imported seafood, with friction-free flow flagged as vital.