Global demand for Caithness seafood

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is supporting JPL Shellfish with a grant of £60,000 which will also allow the company to increase its workforce. 

Situated at Scrabster Harbour, and established in 1992, JPL Shellfish serves customers across the UK and beyond. The company expanded its premises in 2012 and has since increased the number of staff from six to 32.

JPL Shellfish wants to develop the business further to keep up with the worldwide demand for its range of products which include live lobster and crab, mussels, langoustine and lemon sole.

The business is run by husband and wife John and Christina Logue.

Laura Gunn, Development Manager at HIE, said: “We are delighted that JPL’s growth in Scrabster over the last years has exceeded expectations and we are pleased to support the latest expansion. HIE will continue to work with the company to realise even further growth opportunities for this area. With the company breaking into new international markets, its success is showing the world the quality of the shellfish we have here in the Highlands.”

John Logue, from JPL Shellfish, said: “Although the interest in our products is increasing, we are restricted to the amount we can supply because of lack of space in our current premises. The exporting side of the business has really taken off in the last couple of years. We recently showcased our products in Asia where we received a tremendous amount of interest in our products.”

This expansion project seeks to help the company expand by providing increased storage capacity for their stock, expansion of the processing area and enhanced packaging facilities.