North Atlantic Shellfish to expand

Published: April 9, 2008

Source : Fish Update

Shetland-based North Atlantic Shellfish announced today it has acquired Shetland Mussels, a mussel farm located on the Westside of Shetland.

The deal was announced by brothers Michael and Richard Tait.

On concluding the deal, managing director, Richard Tait said: "We are very pleased to have acquired this successful and well run company and hope to build on our experience in the sector to make good use of these sites, which are located at Bixter, Weisdale Voe and Clift Sound.

“We will continue running Shetland Mussels Ltd as a separate company but hope to make use of our harvesting and processing resources at North Atlantic Shellfish Ltd to prepare the mussels ready for shipment. This strategic move will help strengthen our overall position but will not see any dramatic changes in the way that we operate. However, having three new areas to harvest from will mean that we are in a better position to offer a year round supply, which is good news for our customers and also for our employees.”

A family-run business, North Atlantic Shellfish Ltd currently operates another 13 mussel farms on the Westside of Shetland. The brothers began farming mussels in 1997 with their father, Lollie Tait, and employ 17 people in the farming, harvesting and processing operations, and this year they aim to harvest around 700 tonnes of mussels.

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