Quality Focus For Cooke's New Salmon Plant

The facility previously manufactured ground and frozen fish products whereas its new business is focused on processing fresh salmon, for the high value market.

The plant officially opened 3 January and the first fillet line went into operation the following day. A second line should be operational within the next two weeks and a further 30 people will be employed.

The plant currently employs about 84 people, but there are plans to expand, says reports in The Coaster. Cooke Aquaculture has the plant leased for one year from the Barry Group. Therefore, the company had to secure enough product supplies for that year to sustain the cost of the lease and then make a decision about the suture.

However, prospects look good. Along with adapting to new equipment and a new way working, everything seems to be moving according to plan.

"It's pretty exciting to finally be moving fish off the farms and into the plant, and to see them being processed. I've been told that the people themselves have been extremely positive and our management is very excited about the attitudes of the employees," said Nell Halse, director of communications with Cooke Aquaculture.

"As a company, what we've developed in the past couple of years is the value-added side of the business. So every time you cut fish an extra time you're dealing with value-added product. That's a new thing for that plant, as well," he added.

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