The pearl of Co. Louth food businesses, Carlingford Oyster Company, completes half a million euro investment, with support from BIM

When Dutchman Peter Louët Feisser sailed into Carlingford Lough on a wooden yacht with his wife Anne in the late 1960’s, the visit was intended to be a short one, part of an epic journey around the world.

But mesmerised by the Lough’s natural beauty and the rugged Co. Louth coastline, the couple fell in love with the area – and didn’t go home!

Peter had an interesting background having been incarcerated in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp when his family lived in the then Dutch colony of Indonesia during World War 11. The Japanese military had taken over the colony in 1942 and put Dutch nationals in internment facilities.

After spending a few years in Co. Louth Peter heard by chance an item on BBC Radio 4 about oyster growing. He was enthralled, and in 1974 the Carlingford Oyster Company was born.

Now aged 86 and officially retired Peter can still be found working in the Lough at low tide with his son Kian who todays runs the multiple award-winning family business with his wife Mary.

Marking its 50^th anniversary this year the company can claim to be among the pearls of County Louth’s food producers, proudly harvesting 250 tonnes – the equivalent of around 2.5 million oysters – a year.

The business has just completed a €535,000 investment with the support of a €142,000 grant under the Brexit Sustainable Aquaculture Growth Scheme recommended by the Seafood Taskforce established by Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue T.D. and implemented by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM).

The scheme is funded by the European Union under the Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

The recent investment has seen significant improvements and efficiencies at the business. “Oyster farming is very labour intensive and the investment was designed to make the company more competitive, and to secure the livelihoods of our team and my family.” said Kian. “The premises were built in 1992 and it was a big open space and we really needed to upgrade.

“The work included extending our production facility, adding equipment to help us segregate and grade oysters and improvements in the dispatch areas. Modernising our working environment has supported us meeting the evolving requirements of food safety inspectors, and the expectations of our customers when visiting our premises.”

In addition, the company added new depuration tanks with cutting edge water skimming technology to mitigate the risk of Norovius; a forklift, a pallet truck, a new water grader and floating oyster growing bags.

Said Kian: “All of these machines have helped us not only improve efficiency and working conditions, but they have also helped improve the quality of our oyster,rs and therefore our customer satisfaction.”

At its peak last summer the business employed 30 local people, something which Kian is very proud about. Sales to the UK represent about 60% of total sales with approximately 20% of sales in Ireland. The company is currently focusing on developing sales in mainland Europe with the assistance BIM and Bord Bia.

According to Kian it takes over three years for Carlingford Oysters to reach maturity. “They are rich in protein and low in fat with exceptionally high levels of trace elements such as iodine, iron, selenium copper and zinc. Taking advantage of the perfect growing conditions available in the Lough, Carlingford Oysters are as natural and pure as food can be.”

Carlingford Oyster Company was one of the first farms to grow gigas oysters, the frilly Pacific variety that is now well-loved across Ireland, but was rather novel at the time.

In recent years a Visitor Experience with farm tours and oyster master classes was added, all part of the plan to improve the customer experience and to give people an incentive to come and visit and taste the product. In January about 15 London-based Michelin Star chefs visited in a trip organised by Bethna Green fish Supplies and supported by Boyne Valley Flavours, Sea Louth Seafood Trail and local restaurants.

“Without the support of BIM and the Brexit funding we would not have been able to achieve all we have under this investment, and we are very grateful. The future is certainly looking bright.” said Kian.