A Fraserburgh councillor has said he hopes a rescue plan can be formulated to save under-threat jobs at a north-east fish processors.
Charles Buchan, chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s fisheries committee, believes Young’s Seafood can bounce back from the loss of a key contract which sparked fears for hundreds of posts when it was announced on Tuesday.
Mr Buchan likened the loss of the firm’s deal to provide salmon for supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s with the devastating fire which crippled a Peterhead fish factory at the start of this year.
North Bay Pelagic was hit by the blaze in January but despite initial fears, there were no significant job losses after the council stepped in to support the business.
Last night Mr Buchan said: “Most of the work to be lost is the firm’s salmon line and that’s going to be a huge blow to the staff because that’s one of the top products Young’s produces.
“I’m sure the council will do as much as it can to help the workforce. I’m comparing this with the Peterhead factory fire when the council and the rest of the industry rallied around.
“I hope something will happen along those lines in Frasebrurgh as well.”
The Young’s Seafood announcement comes just weeks after the local authority unveiled a new 20-year strategy for north-east fish processing, declaring the region was now the centre of the entire UK industry.
Mr Buchan insisted the programme had not been undermined by this week’s developments.
“The Seafish Strategy was more based on the local product – white fish, rather than salmon,” he said.
His thoughts were echoed by Aberdeenshire Council’s head of economic development, Belinda Miller.
She said: “The fishing industry is a major part of the economy in the north-east of Scotland and as a result of the announcement we will be offering support to the company and those who work there.”
She added that the council would be working to assist Young’s “in any way we can”.
Last night a spokeswoman for Young’s said the company was not prepared to speculate on redundancies before a formal consultation with staff.
It is understood as many as 300 jobs could be lost between the firm’s sites in Fraserburgh and Grimsby.
Norwegian firm Marine Harvest, which currently farms the salmon processed by Young’s for the Sainsbury’s contract, has announced a new deal with the superstore giants.
Production at Marine Harvest’s purpose-built processing plant at Admiralty Park in Rosyth will increase five-fold when it takes over the Young’s deal in November.