Argyll trout get royal approval

TROUT from Loch Etive in Argyll was give a royal stamp of approval on Tuesday July 10 when the £ 3.1 million expansion of RR Spink and Sons facility in Arbroath was officially opened by the Princess Royal.

The company, which is part of Dawnfresh Seafoods, one of the UK’s largest processors of seafood, uses trout farmed on sites at Loch Etive and Loch Awe to deliver the highest quality of products for top bluechip retailers such as M&S and Sainsbury’s.

The 170-strong team in Arbroath still prepares every product by hand – from curing and smoking to slicing and finishing – producing around 170,000 packets of fish a week.

Dawnfresh employs more than 30 staff in Argyll to farm fish which is then sent for processing in Angus and Uddingston, as well as being exported abroad as whole fish.

The Princess Royal met Dawnfresh directors, including Stewart Hawthorn, before being shown around the facility by Alastair Salvesen CBE, chairman of the company, who described the different processes.

During her visit, the Princess Royal witnessed how products were made, from the arrival of the ingredients to the finished product being despatched to supermarkets and other outlets across the UK.

Mr Hawthorn said: ‘I was delighted to be able to meet the Princess Royal in my role as farming director for Dawnfresh.

‘High quality seafood is something for which Scotland is famous around the world and much of that begins right here in Argyll.’