Faroese pelagic fishing and processing company Varðin Pelagic expects to extend its factory in Tvøroyri this year, focusing on the blue whiting fishery in Faroese waters.
The factory was built in 2012 and the company controversially departed from its base in Gøta and the expectation that the factory would be located in Fuglafjörður,the pelagic capital of the Faroe Islands, taking the decision to place it instead on the island of Suðuroy where it has become a significant employer in a region that had seen a steady stream of emigration to other parts of the Faroes and beyond. This has now stabilised and the Varðin Pelagic factory processed 30,000 tonnes in its first half year, 100,000 tonnes in each of the two subsequent years and approximately 70,000 tonnes last year, and the trickle of people leaving Suðuroy has stabilised.
Now the factory is being extended to be able to produce surimi from blue whiting and the location is key to this as Tvøroyri is only six to eight to hours from fishing grounds. According to Varðin Pelagic’s administration manager Tórhéðin Jensen, this means there can be a supply of suitable fresh blue whiting and they expect to have access to blue whiting for approximately one hundred days each year while the fish are present in Faroese waters.
