Catch posts loss

LERWICK pelagic fish processors Shetland Catch have been hit hard by sanctions on Russia following its activities in Ukraine.

The factory, one of Europe’s largest, posted losses of £643,037 in its latest financial year ending 31 March 2015.

This compares to a £2.6 million profit for the previous financial year.

The company blamed its disappointing results on an “extremely challenging mackerel market”, combining large quotas with problems in its traditional east European markets.

“The import ban in Russia and the economic challenges in Ukraine has had a detrimental effect on mackerel sales there,” the company said.

“Also continuing delays in import quotas for Nigeria made sales in the winter period difficult.”

Shetland Catch is stepping up its efforts to access markets in the Far East with help from the government’s Scottish Development Initiative, to compensate for the loss of sales of up to 18,000 tonnes of mackerel to Russia and Ukraine.