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A Hartlepool fish wholesaler is looking forward to moving into new markets after it was awarded £115,500 of EU funding to extend its factory.
The money, made available through the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), will help W Hodgson Limited to expand its factory by up to 50 per cent and increase its offering of freshly caught local fish.
The grant will be used towards a £290,000 development project, part-funded by the company itself, which includes extending its processing unit, increasing storage and office space and re-organising the factory layout to make it more efficient. New freezing and chilling facilities will also be introduced, along with shellfish processing equipment and live holding facilities for crabs and lobsters.
It is hoped the project will create three new jobs in Hartlepool - two in processing and one managerial position, once work is completed in October. The local fishing industry is also likely to benefit as W Hodgson will be able to buy and process more of their catch.
Peter Hodgson, general manager, said: “My family’s business has been part of Hartlepool’s fishing industry for almost 100 years and we are proud to offer fresh locally caught fish to our North East customers. I’m looking forward to expanding our product range to meet their demand, which should also help the local fleet too as we will be able to take more fish from them.
“We’ve not really had the capacity for shellfish before and the European Fisheries Fund has made this possible. Without this support the expansion would have been very difficult.”
Catherine Murphy, programme manager for the EFF scheme in England said: “We recognised the importance of W Hodgson Ltd to Hartlepool, its fishing industry and the local economy and were pleased to learn that the funding will help to create additional jobs in an area which has a particularly high rate of unemployment.
“Around £1 million is still available through the fund to specifically help fish processing businesses. I’d encourage any others in the region to get in touch and see how we may be able to help. We can only fund work that’s not yet been started so it’s important they speak to us before going ahead with any expansion plans.”
A total of around £38 million has been made available through the EFF to help the English fishing industry to remain profitable and sustainable. Funding is available to make improvements on fishing vessels, for processing companies and for developments which will benefit groups, such as harbour improvements. More information on how to apply for the fund is available from the MMO website www.marinemanagement.org.uk/fisheries/funding.
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