Factory trawler ‘Vesturvón’ has for many years provided frozen-at-sea fillets to the UK market, using a proven method to deliver superior product quality based on maximum freshness prior to freezing.

On the Faroe isle of Vágoy, strong ties to international trading partners including fish importers in the UK has long been a matter of tradition. During World War II, the British troops occupying the Faroes set up their headquarters on the island, leaving behind tangible traces such as the Vagar Airport and a number of personal and commercial links between the Faroes and the UK.

During the late 1950s, local businessmen established a saltfish processing facility, to which  the raw fish supplies were secured through the purchase of a longline fishing vessel. Exporting most of their produce to the UK, the business flourished and developed and became a source of employment and revenue in its home village, Sørvágur.

About ten years onwards they purchased a large, ocean-going trawler, which was named ‘Vesturvón.’ Equipped with a fish processing facility, the trawler proved a non-stop success, and remained in full swing until her successor, a new ‘Vesturvón’ was constructed in 1987.

Having fully measured up to her predecessor, the factory trawler has, since first floated, delivered a steady stream of top quality fish fillets from the arctic seas. Vesturvón carries up to 800 tonnes of packed and processed frozen-at-sea fillets per fishing trip, all caught in the icy cold waters of the Barents Sea and East of Greenland. Over the years and many thousands of tonnes in total the annual production amounts to between 1,500 and 2,000 tonnes of finished fillets of cod, haddock and black halibut.

“Vesturvón has performed extremely well,” said Ólavur Petersen, managing director of the fisheries industry group, VS Seafood. Besides owning the Vesturvón, and a stake in the ‘Vestís’ fish processing plant in Sørvágur, the group has four trawlers operating within the 200-mile fishing zone of the Faroes. The pair trawlers ‘Vesturleiki’ and ‘Vestursøki’ along with the other two, ‘Akranes’ and ‘Dragasund’ caught some 6,400 tonnes of groundfish last year.

Still a major business asset and retaining its much praised performance, the Vesturvón remains an enterprise of great importance to the people of Vágoy. With a crew of 34 to 36, depending on the season of year, her history of successful operations has earned high respect throughout the Faroes and beyond.

“Not only have we been blessed with luck,” Mr Petersen noted, “we have had the fortune of employing very skilled sailors and workers.”

As one other key factor to Vesturvón’s success, Mr Petersen identified the consistently high product quality made possible by the trawler’s catching, processing and storing systems. “The quality level of Vesturvón’s fillet products is based on the factor of retained freshness made possible by the Frozen-at-Sea concept,” he said.

Full traceability: According to VS Seafood’s Sales Manager, Árni Joensen, the highest degree of seafood freshness achievable in offshore fisheries is realized through the quick frozen-at-sea process.

“This method renders superior quality,” Mr Joensen remarked. “With the quick Frozen-at-Sea process the freshness and characteristics of the fish are maintained at the highest levels to give the best eating experience. The expression ‘fresh frozen’ refers to the speed of the whole process—from the very moment the fish is brought in, it takes just about four hours until it is cleaned, gutted, filleted and deep frozen. Now, that’s really the freshest you can get your fish, and you can’t even compare it to the conventional fresh iced concept which usually exposes the fish to quality deterioration for several days before it reaches the customer.”

The main market for Vesturvón’s products consists of UK fish importers and wholesalers, which include large retail chains, and the hotels and catering sector, which includes restaurants and fish fryers. “Our track record makes for a very open path to further developing customer relationships and broadening the customer base,” Mr Joensen added.

However, changes in consumer mindsets, often ascribed to increasing demands for accessible information, do not leave the seafood business unaffected. On the contrary, according to Mr Joensen. “We are very aware of the trend towards greater transparency when it comes to sustainable fisheries, health, food and the environment. This growing awareness requires an assurance of responsible resource management, and we do of course offer full traceability on all our products.”