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Opening Ceremony in Whitby
The official
opening of the new Whitby Shellfish Holding Facility will take
place on Friday 24 October at 1.30pm on Pier Road in Whitby, North
Yorkshire.
Carl James, Yorkshire and
Humber Sea Food Group and Martin Hopper, Chairman of the Whitby
Shellfish Co-operative Ltd will host the opening. It will
attended by a number of special guests including: Richard
Winborn, Marine Fisheries Agency; David Marlow, Yorkshire Forward;
and Cllr Herbert Tindall, Scarborough Borough Council. Cllr
Tindall will also perform the unveiling of the plaque, which will
be situated on the wall by the main viewing window of the facility,
in the paved area off Pier Road, opposite the town’s Lifeboat
Museum.
The new facility is a
welcome edition for Whitby’s fishing industry and will enable the
industry to make the most of the well stocked shellfish grounds in
the North Sea and the East Coast’s renounced crab reputation.
This is particularly crucial in light of the town’s struggling
white fish industry. Add to that the fact that traditional
shellfish areas like the Mediterranean have been fished dry in
recent years, and Whitby can now be at the forefront of selling
shellfish to the continental markets of France and Spain as well as
in the UK.
The development of the
facility was grant funded by The Marine Fisheries Agency and
Yorkshire Forward. The building was designed and project
managed by Scarborough Borough Council, constructed by Quibells of
Hull and fit out by Aqua Logistix of Fife, Scotland, a company that
specialises in shellfish husbandry. The entire facility is
now managed by the Whitby Shellfish Co-operative Ltd, a
co-operative made up of local fishermen.
Cllr Herbert Tindall,
Scarborough Borough Council Cabinet member with responsibility for
the Harbours Portfolio said:
“This is a very welcome addition for Whitby’s
struggling fishing industry, and indeed both the town and region’s
economy. It will help to put Whitby on the map as a key
supplier of shellfish to both the Mediterranean and UK
markets. Collecting, but then holding large quantities of
lobsters, crabs etc. until the 'price is right', requires a state
of the art facility and this has been truly delivered here in
Whitby. ”
Dave Winspear, Whitby Shellfish Co-operative
Ltd added:
"This facility has been welcomed by the
local fishing community as a powerful marketing tool for the
area. Fishermen can now hold live shellfish in ideal
conditions, enabling them to generate sufficiently large quantities
to attract the attention of the largest buyers. As a
consequence of this, higher prices are achieved for the product,
which benefits both the fleet and the port as a whole."
As part of the official opening ceremony,
special guests will be taken on a tour of the facility at
1.45pm. Later on in the afternoon Cllr Tindall will give a
speech at Whitby Yacht Club on why the facility is a crucial
requirement for Whitby, and Dr Keith Todd of Aqua Logistix will
give a short presentation on the workings of the facility.