Passionate about seafood? Seafood in Schools is looking for four home-based, part-time regional coordinators to help deliver a new in-school programme!

Seafood in Schools works with primary and secondary schools to promote seafood as a context for learning. The project aims to teach children where seafood comes from, how it gets to our plates, and why it is good to eat as part of a balanced diet. It encourages them to become familiar with seafood and to enjoy eating it.

Following completion of a successful 1-year pilot project, we are rolling out nationally, and are seeking four dynamic coordinators to recruit schools, help deliver workshops and monitor ongoing classroom projects.

If you are passionate about seafood, enthusiastic, have the ability to work with children and adults, can work on your own with support but without close supervision, and are able to meet targets, then please apply!

Desirable although not essential assets are education experience, knowledge of Curriculum for Excellence, food handling experience, knowledge of nutrition, and knowledge of the seafood industry.

A two-day seafood industry familiarisation workshop will be held in Peterhead the project commences.

Further details of the project and a full job description can be found at www.seafoodinschools.org or by clicking here

Interested? Please write to me with your ideas for using seafood as a context for interdisciplinary learning in the classroom and attach a short CV.

Nicki Holmyard, Seafood Scotland, 18 Logie Mill, Logie Green Road, Edinburgh, EH7 4HS.

If you would like to talk over the project before applying, please feel free to phone me on 07711 272637.

JOHN Goodlad toasted Scottish pelagic fishermen for cleaning up their act.

And the Shetland-based Scottish Pelagic Sustainability Group (SPSG) boss declared: "Our industry is now a world leader in environmental responsibility."

Mr Goodlad, the SPSG chairman, was speaking in Brussels after being presented with an Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certificate for West of Scotland herring on (25.4.2012). It was handed over at the busy Scotland Seafood pavilion by Maria Damanaki, European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Mr Goodlad said: "It is an absolute pleasure to accept this certificate from Commissioner Damanaki. The Scottish pelagic industry appreciates you taking time out of your busy schedule to help celebrate this proud day for the Scottish pelagic industry.

While getting the MSC certificate for West of Scotland herring is in itself hugely important, it is especially significant for two reasons. This is the fourth and final fishery to be certified, the last piece in the sustainability jigsaw is now in place. The entire 220,000 tons catch of the Scottish pelagic industry has now passed the exacting MSC criteria for sustainability and environmental responsibility. They have our 220,000 ton catch independently audited as sustainably managed and responsibly harvested is a huge achievement considering where the pelagic industry has come from in the last seven years. Our industry used to be blighted by poor management and bad practice. In total and utter contrast, our industry is now a world leader in environment responsibility and sustainable management – what an incredible journey."

And the delighted chairman added: "SPSG is a unique organisation representing, as it does, all pelagic fishing companies and fish processing plants in Scotland and Shetland. It was established with a vision of making the Scottish pelagic industry truly sustainable. I am sure you will agree with me that we can claim to have achieved that vision."   

DAWNFRESH

Alastair Salvesen was devastated when fire gutted his Uddingston premises.

Press the forward button 13 years and Dawnfresh Seafoods are opening new markets for their large trout around the globe.

The company, based at Bothwellpark Industrial Estate, Lanarkshire, report encouraging returns from their new export market in South Africa. Bosses are now talking to business contacts throughout Europe but, further afield, they are also in discussions with representatives in Thailand.

And, possibly six months down the line, they intend to be knocking on doors in China and Russia. Domestically, things are booming. The company supply major supermarkets including Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Sainsbury's. And they are looking to provide trout to some of Britain's top hotels.

Butressing the company's message are the returns from recent blind tastings. A cross-section of the population tested claim, according to company chairman, Alastair Salvesen, that "trout is king".

This is all a far cry from 1999 and that devastating fire. Mr Salvesen, who lives in Pathhead, Midlothian, has rebuilt the factory and now has 450 employes. He said: "We opened again in 2001 after the fire and we are developing the company rapidly. Trout has a tiddly penetration into the world market as against salmon. We believe it is around five per cent against the market share of salmon of 95 per cent. However, our tasting results are really positive. We've done a cross-section of the population, from children to middle-class to professional people and those over 45. People will always go for trout. Trout is king."

The company have recently launched a range of easy-to-cook trout with flavours including cream cheese and butter sauce. They have proved really popular and Mr Salvesen added: "People have the wrong impression of trout. They think it is a small fish with a lot of bones. It is not. It is find tasting fish oily fish packed with Omega 3 and it has a lot of health benefits."

Dawnfresh farm trout in Loch Awe and Loch Etive and their HQ is in Uddingston. Why?

Mr Salvesen again: "It is a good location on the chilled lorry route, it is easy for our customers to visit, it is on the motorway network and it is near Glasgow and Edinburgh airports." Case closed.

FRESH CATCH

CHRIS ANDERSON was told by his school headmaster that he was a waster and would make nothing out of his life.

Four decades on the trail-blazing Scot is president of an Aberdeenshire-based seafood firm projecting a turnover of around £42.

And the former trawlerman is one of a growing band of tartan exporters making the most of Eastern promise. Yesterday (TUES) in Brussels, the Scottish Government confirmed a £240,000 grant to support Scots firms market in the Far East.

Mr Anderson, a former pupil at Peterhead Academy, is collaborating with Seafood Scotland as the organisation aims to open doors in China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Korea. It is perceived as a massive market by Scottish fish bosses who plan a number of initiatives to drive the initiative forward in the next 12 months.

Mr Anderson can help open doors as he has been trading in Japan since 1984 and currently has an office with two staff in Qingdao (cor) in central China. His current company, Peterhead-based Fresh Catch, exports up to 97 per cent of turnover and has 120 full-time staff and over 200 in high season (June to February). And he buys mackerel, herring, white fish, capelin, blue whiting and a new product, brown crab, at markets at home and in Norway.

The canny Scot admitted: "It's been a lot of hard work cracking the markets in the Far East. I first started exporting there in 1984, and we've worked hard at it. It's the same as in Britain, you have to network and speak to people. Word-of-mouth is important. It helps if you speak the language."

Mr Anderson doesn't but his son Colin, the company's IT consultant, does. Colin is also married to a Chinese lady and his marketing development manager, Lisa Gao (cor), in Qingado is Chinese. He added: "Our turnover last year was around £50m but we project it to be between £40m and £42m this year. We always looking at new products and we started marketing brown crab last year and we did 200 tons in the first month. It is growing all the time. That's good news for the shellfish guys and we hope to develop that product further. Not bad for a guy who was told by the headmaster at Peterhead Academy that I was a waster and would do nothing with my life."

Ironically, Mr Anderson currently lives in the hamlet of Inverugie (cor) near Peterhead, opposite the house in which his old headmaster lived, but that's another story, far removed from the emerging markets in China.

Libby Woodhatch (cor), chief executive for Edinburgh-based Seafood Scotland, believes there is huge untapped potential in the Far East. She is aiming at the high-end of the food service sector, basically the importers in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Honk Kong, Tokyo and Singapore. And she admitted that key people in the Far East may know about whisky and salmon – and possibly golf - but don't know where Scotland is. They also don't realise the variety of product that Scotland can provide. And Scots producers are batting against the huge promotional budgets of countries like Norway.

She said: "Norway are well organised. Their budgets are in telephone numbers. However, we see a huge untapped market potential in the Far East region. Many buyers are, however, unaware of what or where Scotland is, let alone what it has to offer in terms of seafood. The money we're receiving is a drop in the ocean but it will help raise awareness of both Scotland and our top quality fish and shellfish. We are aiming specifically at the high end food service sector where our products are more likely to be valued. We've done our homework and we'll be piggy-backing  on major events like the Chinese Seafood Show in November. Everybody who is anybody is there. We'll also be looking at doing sampling and tasting in the countries. We have to manage resources well. We also have to be clever, well-targeted and flexible."

FRAMGORD

A SHETLAND-BASED salmon company are forecasting growth in the next year despite the recession.

Framgord from Lerwick are continuing to develop markets in Europe and Asia. The 26-year-old company have ten staff and supply chilled and frozen salmon worldwide. Their produce range includes whole fish, fillets, portions to customer specification and by-products.

And Frank Johnson, the company's managing director, is leading his team this week at Europe's biggest seafish exhibition in Brussels. Mr Johnson said: "Our exports in Western Europe, including the UK, are around 30 per cent of our turnover currently. We export around 70 per cent of our products to Eastern Europe and Asia and we're developing the business by our strong customer service. We've survived for 26 years and we work very hard at it and we see our turnover increasing by between ten and 15 per cent in the next year."