New freezing centre praised by Cornish fishers

Falfish Freezing Centre is the most advanced facility of its kind in the UK, bosses have said

A new freezing centre capable of processing more than 100,000 fish an hour will help secure the future of Cornish fishing, according to a seafood supplier.

Falfish, which is owned by the supermarket chain Morrisons, has opened the new £12.8m facility in Redruth.

It is claimed to be the most advanced of its kind in the UK, with bosses predicting it would allow the processing of sardines to treble in the next two years.

The company said 20 jobs would be created at the plant.

Mark Greet, from Falfish, hopes the new facility will help the firm grow their overseas exports

The facility includes a "freezing tunnel" capable of handing 112,000 fish an hour, which operators said had reduced the processing time down to 40 minutes.

Mark Greet, head of operations at Falfish, said the company was hoping to increase its global exports to countries including Spain, Portugal, France and North America.

"It's going to double our capacity as a business, enable us to grow, and support fishermen in the region," he said.

About £4m of funding for the facility came from the UK Seafood Infrastructure Fund - established in 2021 after Brexit.

'Totally sustainable'

Chris Blamey, who fishes off the coast of Mevagissey, hoped the new freezing centre would "dramatically improve" his work.

"On a typical night a year ago we might have been told to only catch eight tonnes, as that's all the factory can handle, but now they might say we can catch 15 tonnes," he said.

"The stock is totally sustainable. There's plenty of scope for us to make the most of this."

A 2021 report found fishermen brought £170m into the Cornish economy and the industry employed about 8,000 people.

George Eustice, former MP for Camborne and Redruth, said when he was environment secretary in 2021 the project was a "huge vote of confidence in the Cornish finish industry".

"It's got a world-famous brand and this investment is going to take the industry to the next level," he said.