Shellfish De La Mer is Seafood Exporter of 2004
The success comes after four years of hard work and commitment from the Castletownbere company in aggressively seeking out new markets abroad. France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Belgium are Shellfish De La Mer’s main markets, where its fresh chilled and frozen seafood products have enjoyed much success.
Founded in 1987, the company has grown to be one of Ireland’s leading and most progressive seafood processors, marketing a wide range of seafood products including Irish crab, shrimp, lobster, scallops and whitefish.
Shellfish De La Mer, which employs 110 people, focused solely on the domestic market during its first 12 years of existence.
However, during the late 1990’s the company started to experience a slowdown in the domestic market and decided to concentrate on developing their European market.
With the help of BIM, the Irish Sea Fisheries Board, the company has invested heavily in marketing. It set up an export-marketing department in 2002, which has since grown from two to four personnel.
Richard Murphy, joint managing director, Shellfish de La Mer, said the company is delighted to win the award, which is presented annually by the Irish Exporters Association.
