To Build a Surimi Plant for Gloucester Fish Inc.

Surimi is processed fish. Traditionally obtained from whitefish, now it can also be derived from herring and mackerel (pelagics). With additives, it can be made to taste like crab meat or lobster.

This is a schematic presentation of (a) finances, (b) the Hultin-Kelleher (H-K) processing model for the production of surimi from pelagics, (c) description of the H-K model, and (d) social profile of the proposal. More details on this proposal can be gathered from a document of the Gloucester Community Development Corporation entitled “Final Report - Pelagic Fish Economic Development Project, July 2001.”

Very Rough and Preliminary Financial Estimates

Cost of plant $2,600,000

Cost of fish $3,300,000 (for 300,000 mt of raw product)

Cost of labor $2,400,000 (for 10 managerial and 50 non-managerial jobs)

Other costs $3,000,000 (water, electricity, taxes, etc.)

Sale of surimi $12,000,000 (10,000 mt of surimi)

It is proposed that profits be used to repay loans, to rejuvenate the fleet, and to engage in further value-added processing for other fish as well as for pelagics and surimi.

Schematic Description of Processing Technology

The technology is covered by a series of patents. For details you may contact Dr. Herbert Hultin or Dr. Stephen Kelleher at the University of Massachusetts Marine Station in Gloucester (978) 281-1930. The essential elements of the H-K model for processing surimi from pelagics are as follows. The model

* uses cold technology (as against old "cooking" methods)

* uses pelagics (as against traditional whitefish)

* can use whole fish

* uses nine parts of water to one part of fish (the water can be reused three times)

* uses high-speed centrifuges

* uses only such natural additives as citric acid and sugar

* in addition to surimi, it produces oils that can be transformed into pharmaceuticals and hard sediments that can be transformed into fertilizers

* can transform the surimi into powder for a longer shelf life.

Social Profile of the Proposal

The surimi plant is designed to be owned and controlled, not by the Gloucester CDC, but by Gloucester Fish Inc., namely by local fishermen, processors, and marketers.

In the course of the study (March 13, 2001 and June 30, 2001), the Gloucester CDC has presented this project to

* 87 civic and political leaders

* 32 boat owners or fishing captain, and

* 15 seafood processors and waterfront property owners.

The project was discussed at a meeting of the Gloucester Fisheries Commission. This discussion became an implicit presentation of the project to the public at large. The project was reported in an article by Barbara Taormina in the Gloucester Daily Times of May 21, 2001.

The response has been most encouraging. The feedback from the persons consulted about the project can be characterized as follows. The degree of enthusiasm has varied and the number and the degree of concerns are varied. The consensus has been that it is worthwhile to explore all the details required to establish the physical and financial feasibility of a surimi plant in Gloucester.

It also appears that the idea of a surimi plant becomes more acceptable if it is seen as the fulcrum to transform Gloucester into a leading-edge seafood-processing center.

The domestic and international market for surimi is a growing market. Abroad it has increased 20 percent over the last few years. Consumption in France has more than doubled in the last five years.

The project would give Gloucester and its fishermen a great boost. A model surimi plant is currently being built in Iceland on the basis of the H-K technology. If this high tech plant is duplicated in Gloucester, the oldest fishing port in the nation, our city can become once again a major fish-processing center rather than serving as a pass-through haven. The plant would be owned by fishermen, processors, and marketers jointly, enabling them to add value to the raw product. This is an operation that in turn would bring more revenues back to Gloucester. Now that the stocks of traditional species are returning to sustainable levels of harvest, it is important to establish economic systems that support sound management of our natural resources. If fishermen are integrated into the processing and marketing of their fish, they will get more money for each fish they bring in, they will more readily be part of a balanced, multi-species management of the natural resources, and be more directly connected to the end consumer.

To foster economic, community, and urban development within the city of Gloucester, MA.