A new initiative at Royal Greenland’s plant in Paamiut to produce fillets from Greenland halibut provides 35 year-round jobs.
The Paamiut factory was rebuilt last autumn, when a production line for Greenland halibut fillets was installed. ‘We were pleased to be able to start filleting halibut and we started production on 13 January,’ said Paamiut plant manager Jan Jørgensen.
‘If we had not started fillet production, our staff would have been sent home for the whole of January. It’s a good initiative and we can now offer our staff permanent employment throughout the year, regardless of weather and season. We therefore hope for a higher degree of stability in relation to employee replacement, and thus have a positive impact on employment in Paamiut.’
Royal Greenland’s plant in Paamiut mainly produces crab, cod and lumpfish roe, but these are seasonal activities.
‘There are times when there is very bad weather. For example, the crab fishermen only had four fishing days in January. In addition, we depend on landing volumes. That’s why I’m glad that we can now supplement our primary production with the production of Greenland halibut fillets,’ he said.
The Paamiut factory received a delivery of MSC-labelled Greenland halibut from one of the company’s trawlers at the end of 2019, and since then the plant’s staff have been trained in fillet production at the Royal Greenland factory in Maniitsoq.
‘We have good expectations for the production of Greenland halibut here at the factory,’ Jan Jørgensen said.
‘I hope we will receive more applicants for permanent work at the factory in the near future, as we can now offer work all year round.’
The Paamiut plant employs a total of about 65 staff.
