May 30, 2012

 

Danish-based pelagic processing facility being built in Tvaeroyri

 

 

A Danish-based modern pelagic fish processing facility is under construction in Tvaeroyri, Suouroy, and will be used for processing pelagic fish such as mackerel, herring and blue whiting.

 

It will be run by a company formed by Varðin, a company from Gøta, which owns several purse seiners, and Delta Seafood, which processes fish on land.

 

"This is one of the largest pelagic fish processing plants in the world," said Arni Carlsen, project manager.

 

The plant will be mostly automatic and will have a capacity of 600 tonnes daily to begin with; a later expansion will increase capacity up to 1000 tonnes per day.

 

The port authority, the Municipal Council of Tvøroyri, promptly welcomed Varðin Pelagic's development plan and was ready to give the companies all the necessary licenses and permissions without delay.

 

"It was a pleasure to hand the people behind Varðin Pelagic the building permit for the new factory," said the mayor of Tvøroyri, Kristin Michelsen, according to reports.

 

"They have documented that with responsible management it will be possible to get a good return on their investment, and we are delighted that our central location to the fishing grounds will be used as a natural advantage. In many cases the steaming time between our port and the fishing grounds is only a few hours," Michelsen continued.

 

Carlsen added that the technical equipment used at the facility is the most advanced equipment available on the global pelagic processing market. The production line will be constructed in Iceland before being imported into the Faroes.

 

The plant will be built inside a former seafood factory building. As well, the fishing harbour will see the addition of a new 50 metres dock with depths of 10-11 metres to receive fish landings.

 

The owners of the plant first intend to establish a steady primary production of pelagic fish and to separately develop the processing of fish by-products.

 

The companies plan to finish the construction of the new plant on July 1, at the start of the summer's mackerel fishery.