Fish processing firm fined after worker suffers life-threatening injuries
A FISH processing company in Lerwick has been fined more than £450,000 after one of its employees suffered life-threatening injuries on the job.
Pelagia Shetland had pleaded guilty to health and safety failings after supervisor Curtis New became entangled in a palletiser machine on 10 October 2024.
New suffered broken ribs, two collapsed lungs, and a fractured clavicle and scapula.
His pelvis was also broken in five places.
He had to be airlifted to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary due to the severity of his injuries, where he remained in intensive care for 10 days before being transferred to the high dependency unit for another 10 days.
New was “extremely fortunate to have survived” the accident, Sheriff Robert Frazer said at Lerwick Sheriff Court today (Wednesday).
New had removed a panel from a perimeter safety fence to clear a blockage from the machine, which he then accidentally triggered when standing on its conveyer belt.
The court heard that Pelagia did not know that an interlocking metal safety gate could be bypassed by removing a fencing panel, with New and another supervisor aware of how to remove the panel to get into the machine.
The safety gate was supposed to prevent staff from reaching the machine without the power being switched off first, but had become damaged and difficult to open after being struck by a forklift.
Employees were supposed to enter through the gate, which would then isolate the machine and switch it off.
However another senior staff member had told New how to remove the faulty panel, with both using this to clear frequent blockages in the machine.
On the date of the incident, New was unable to get to the machine through the safety gate when a blockage was reported to him.
Instead he decided to remove the panel and stepped onto the machine’s conveyer belt, accidentally triggering one of its sensors in the process.
That started the machine and New was repeatedly struck by its pushers before another employee was able to hit an emergency stop button.
He was treated on the scene by first aid responders before paramedics could arrive.
Defence agent Gavin Anderson, representing Pelagia Shetland, said the company wanted to apologise publicly for the unfortunate accident which had occurred.
He said the company had treated it “extremely serious” and that its four directors were keen to ensure it never happened again.
Pelagia Shetland were completely unaware that two of its staff were accessing the machine by removing part of a safety fence, Anderson said, and “would never have condoned that”.
The company had immediately reported itself to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on the day of the incident, he said, which had then filed a report to the Crown prosecution service.
A general manager at the firm had told HSE he did not know the panel on the fence could be removed by staff, and was “devastated when he saw that”.
He said the company had health and safety practices in place which stated that, if there was a blockage, staff should stop the machine and report it to their supervisors.
That was then updated in the wake of the incident to say that staff should never bypass safety barriers to get access to a machine, and would be disciplined if they did so.
New was one of six staff trained to operate the palletiser machine, Anderson added.
Anderson said Pelagia’s culpability in the case should be assessed as “medium”, given there had been no deliberate breach of health and safety laws and given they were unaware that the fencing was being removed to access the machinery.
He also said that the likelihood of harm arising should be seen as being in the “medium” category as well.
While he accepted that New was seriously harmed in the incident, he said there was no harm to other employees – other than the supervisor who told New about removing the panel – as they did not know it could be done.
Pelagia Shetland were a large local company employing some 60 full-time and seasonal staff, he said.
He said the company had a turnover of £86 million in 2025, but had an average turnover of £76 million over the last three years.
Post-tax profit was £6 million for 2025, he said, but warned Pelagia Shetland expected those figures to drop significantly due to tighter fishing quotas and poor sales in Japan.
Sheriff Robert Frazer said that the company had pleaded guilty at the earliest stage and had co-operated fully with investigations in the wake of the incident.
He said that there had been an appropriate safety measure in place and no safety concerns had been ignored, as none had been raised with them.
However he said both supervisors had been placed at “significant risk of harm”, and New had been “extremely fortunate” to have survived.
Sheriff Frazer said he felt the accident could have been avoided if the fault had been properly reported and corrected.
Pelagia Shetland was fined a total of £420,000 – which was discounted by 30 per cent from an initial fine of £600,000 to reflect their “positive engagement” in the process.
A victim surcharge of £31,500 was added, for a total overall fine of £451,500.
Pelagia has been contacted for comment.
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