In a Seafish-sponsored trip, fish merchants from Humberside travelled to Iceland to see firsthand the issues facing the start of the supply chain.
The group of merchants visited fishermen and transporters in a bid to better understand the problems involved in ensuring consistency and quality throughout the supply chain.
The first link in the supply chain was viewed with visits to fishing vessels practicing catching techniques such as longlining and trawling. The next stage in the chain was then observed with meetings with principal transport operators Eimskip and Samskip. HB Grandi, one of the largest fishing companies in Iceland, also hosted a full tour of one of their factories.
Mike Woods, from Albert Darnell Ltd, commented: “It was encouraging to make contact with the fishermen and the Icelandic part of the supply chain. I believe we can make significant improvements in the way we all operate, which should improve consistency and quality onto the Humber.”
The group met with staff from Matis, an Icelandic research and development company which focuses on fish processing, to review the first stage results of a temperature monitoring project sponsored by the Yorkshire & Humber Seafood Group and Seafish. Over the summer, further temperature monitoring work will be conducted to establish if further measures are needed to maintain the chill chain.
A forward work programme, funded by Seafish and the Yorkshire & Humber Seafood Group, was agreed aimed at improving the quality of product received into the Humber. The programme would include fish being monitored upon receipt to the markets and information provided to buyers about method of catch, date of catch and vessel name. Quality assessments could then be made and fed back through Atlantic Fresh and Matis to the skipper of the vessel that caught the fish.
David Latus, Chairman of Hull Fish Merchants Association and representing GW Latus Fish Merchants said: “This new work programme is vital, as we need to provide feedback on the fish being landed in to the Humber, so that the skippers can help us make improvements in quality and optimise prices.”
The Yorkshire & Humber Seafood Group will work with Atlantic Fresh and other Humber suppliers to establish if they can produce a Humber supply bulletin, which will give details of vessels, quantities being delivered and dates of catch.
Steve Norton, Chief Executive of Grimsby Fish Merchants Association stated: “This has been a useful trip and highlights the challenges we have in the supply chain to ensure consistency and quality. The fact that we had to modify our itinerary three times due to the weather shows you the difficulty we face in getting regular supply into the Humber.”
