The auction commences at 08:00. Fish is sold boat by boat. With it being 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 therefore our packing & shipping team is in-house 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 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.