ESE Brussels 2012

Firstly, wed like to say a big thank you to everyone who took time to visit us at ESE Brussels, held at the Brussels Expo, Heysel, between the 24-26 April. It was great to see everyone and I hope you enjoyed our hospitality & comfortable stand.

We occupied our traditional spot in Hall 5 and Susan Deaves and her team from Frogworks did their usual exemplary job of constructing the stand and making it all spic & span for Tuesday morning.

Tuesday was far and away the busiest day and all of our team were flat out until 6pm. Discussions were held around the past mackerel season and the effects of Faroe & Icelands fishery, possible sanctions against Faroe & Iceland and the suspension of mackerels MSC accreditation.

Wednesday appeared much quieter than the day before, but this gave us a chance to have more detailed meetings with potential customers about the forthcoming herring season. We also saw John Goodlad, Chairman of Shetland Catch, receive the MSC accreditation for West of Scotland herring from Maria Damannaki, on behalf of the Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group. This means all of our herring production in 2012 will be MSC approved.

Thursday was the usual quiet day, which gave us a chance to have a look around the other halls and meet exhibitors. Thursday afternoon on our stand has become something of a tradition when we are joined by our friends, turn up the Ipod and relax!

My impression is that the Show was quieter on Wednesday & Thursday than previous years. It will be interesting to see if official visitor numbers confirm this.

We have some 300-500gms & 400-600gms mackerel remaining in Klaipeda so please contact us if you have an interest. We are also starting to take preliminary orders for North Sea & West Coast herring for July/August production so please let us know if you are interested. We will produce whole round, flaps & skinless fillets. All our flaps/fillets are vacuum packed. All production is air blast frozen in 20kg cartons.

John Angus

14th May 2012