BUYING – WHAT WE DO
Simpson Fish are specialists in sourcing whole, fresh whitefish to order.
Our business is buying whole fresh fish, on a daily basis, for our discerning customers across the UK, Ireland and near continent.
We have three buyers on the market floors. Each morning they assess fish quality to inform our buying decisions. While remote online buying has its place, our eyes on the ground and informed buying takes account of current market intelligence and economies of scale, so that we get best possible value.
The catalogue is usually made available about 06:30 and we begin our calls soon after receipt of this all-important document.
The auction commences at 08:00. Fish is sold boat by boat. As it is a mixed fishery, it can take some time to work through and sell the various species caught by each vessel. The auction is ‘Dutch’ style with the price starting at a given point and gradually coming down. The first buyer to press the button can select his or her desired share of the fish. The auction is highly competitive – almost every major seafood company will have a representative in Shetland looking for fish.
With the sale underway we begin to arrange palletisation, icing and packing of the fish to ensure product arrives with the customer in the best possible condition. This is vitally important, so we have an in-house packing and shipping team to maintain tight control. We do not out-source any part of our activity or pack/ship for anyone else.
We can send fish to the UK, Ireland and most Western European destinations. Please call to enquire.
After the auction has finished and packing complete, fish is loaded into refrigerated containers ready for the ferry journey to Aberdeen on the UK mainland. The ferry operates nightly and takes 12 hours to reach Aberdeen. From there the fish is directed into the nationwide and continental delivery network. The cold storage chain is unbroken from ship to final destination.
Despite our remote location, excellent distribution links means our fish reaches mainland Scotland the next day, England, Ireland and Boulogne Sur Mer in 2 days and Brittany in 3 days. The Netherlands are also 3 days while Spain is reached in 3-4 days. Our continental linkage is through DFDS Logistics. We are adept at handling all aspects of ‘Brexit’ paperwork for the Eurozone and the specific arrangements for Ireland.
Like you, our passion is in fish.
We hope you can see from our pages and philosophy that we are passionate about what we do and take great care in how we do it.