Modern facility preserves Fleetwood's fishing heritage while securing jobs and creating a more sustainable industry

Trawler ships expanded their catchments from the Irish Sea to the North Atlantic Ocean, while steamers offered both commercial and leisure services to places including the Lake District, the Isle of Man and Belfast.

Unfortunately, the fishing industry declined in the 1960s and 70s, but fishing is synonymous with Fleetwood and a thriving fish processing industry remains in the town.

At the heart of this is an £8m modern fish park.

The 42,000 square foot Neptune Food and Fish Processing Park at Fleetwood Dock accommodates almost 300 staff.

One of the units is occupied by Midland Fish Company, who employ around 45 people. Many of them have relatives who have previously worked in the industry.

Manager Patrick Hayton said:  "We bring fish down from Scotland and have recently started working with the Isle of Man who also send fish to be auctioned and processed here.

"This keeps your name as a port.  We have the only auction house on the west coast of the UK here which keeps our identity, so it's massively important.

"A minimum of 50 tonnes of fish comes into the port each day."

The business also has its own recycling scheme that sees polystyrene boxes broken down and formed into large blocks which are exported to Portugal.  There, they are made into small bricks and transported to Japan to use in the construction of houses.

Lancashire County Council, through the former Lancashire Economic Recovery and Growth Fund (LERG) which has now become Lancashire Economic Growth & Development Investment Fund (LEGDIF), provided a £1.4m loan to Wyre Borough Council to enable them to take Project Neptune forward.

The units were created to offer a more sustainable industry with solar panels, battery banks and voltage optimisation panels installed in seven units within the fish park and two units off site.

Collectively, this will reduce carbon emissions by around 117 tonnes, which is the equivalent of 5,382 trees being planted every year. 

Lancashire County Councillor Aidy Riggott, cabinet member for Economic Development and Growth, said: 

"This project is a testament to our commitment to supporting businesses in Lancashire and helping to sustain important local jobs.

"Fleetwood is famous for its fishing history, and it's fantastic to see first-hand that fish processing is continuing to this day inside state-of-the-art facilities that are also reducing the carbon footprint in the town.

"Many of the workers told me about their parents and grandparents who also worked in this industry, and it would be fantastic to see more young people become involved in an industry that is synonymous with Fleetwood."

Cllr Peter Le Marinel, Planning Policy and Economic Development Portfolio Holder at Wyre Council, said: 

"It was great to meet with workers and witness how busy the fish processing business is in the heart of Fleetwood.

"We will continue to champion the fishing industry and other businesses across Wyre, and it was positive to see how this development has greatly improved the facilities for workers, while also helping to attract further business."