Despite 2020 being just days old, Kilkeel, Northern Ireland-based Rooney Fish has received year-end holiday orders from many of its customers, including Michelin-star restaurants, five-star hotels, and supermarket chains.
Established in 1975, the second-generation family seafood business specializes in products sourced from the Irish Sea, including langostines, crabs, whelks, scampi whole tails, scallops, lobsters, and oysters. As well as operating its own boats, the business works closely with many local fishermen, and it recently opened its first oyster farm in Carlingford Lough in 2014.
Employing 67 people at its 6,000 square meter processing plant, it exports seafood to 15 countries across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and South America. These sales account for 99 percent of the company’s turnover.
Rooney Fish Managing Director Andrew Rooney said the firm had customers from Spain, France, and Italy calling to book Christmas orders in the first week of January.
By February, Christmas orders are expected from South Korea.
“There is growing demand for our products so we’re looking to take our Millbay Oysters to Japan and Singapore. We now need a license for another oyster farm which will help us employ more staff,” he said.
In 2018, Rooney’s Millbay Oysters became the first Northern Ireland winner of the Supreme Champion title in the Irish National Food Awards. These oysters have also been awarded three gold stars from the Great Taste Awards.
Last October, the U.K. government’s Department for International Trade provided financial support for Rooney Fish to attend the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo in Shanghai. It now sells 800 metric tons (MT) of crab to the Chinese market.
“I welcome news of this local seafood company’s continued growth in overseas markets and I wish them every success in their expansion across Asia,” Northern Ireland Secretary of State Julian Smith said.
