Jack and Mark Heaven with Ace Aquatec's Humane Stunner Universal A-HSU® at the Britford Trout Farm facility.
Photo: Ace Aquatec.
Replacing outdated manual processes with the state-of-the-art stunning system supplied by Ace Aquatec has enabled Britford Trout Farm—a family-run fish farm located in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England—to fulfil its agreement to supply high-quality trout fillets to the UK supermarket retailer Waitrose.
With over 40 years of history—it was founded in 1983 by Mark Heaven—Britford quickly established itself as one of the leading suppliers of quality trout; however, its old harvesting systems were not enough to meet the growing demands for animal welfare and traceability from its high-profile retail partners.
"We've been in the trout business for a long time, but our own methods of stunning were not sufficient for future demand, so we needed a harvesting solution that reflected the high standards we set for our business and our customers," explained Jack Heaven, Business Partner at Britford Trout Farm.
Designed specifically for trout, Ace Aquatec's Humane Stunner Universal (A-HSU®) provided the ideal solution not only to meet welfare and traceability compliance, but also to significantly increase Britford's capacity.
With a processing capacity of up to 15 tons per hour, since the installation of the A-HSU® system, the trout farmer has recorded a significant improvement of 5 to 6% in fillet yield, along with notable improvements in product texture and shelf life, as well as, as mentioned, greater compliance with animal welfare and traceability requirements.
"Since installing Ace Aquatec's humane stunner, we've seen significant improvements in both efficiency and product quality. The harvesting process is smoother and more streamlined, and we've received extremely positive feedback from our processor, including reported fillet yield improvements of five to six percent, alongside excellent shelf life and firm texture," Jack Heaven stated.
The Business Partner at Britford Trout Farm added that with Ace Aquatec's humane stunning device in place, their family business has greater confidence in its operation and the product it brings to market.
Beyond the nice words between partners, this trust is important as far as Britford plans to increase its annual production from 200 to 350 tons and is holding talks about future business opportunities with other UK supermarket chains, in addition to Waitrose.
The statement issued by Ace Aquatec does not specify the total investment made by Britford Trout Farm to install the stunning system, although it does mention that the company has received additional support from the British Trout Association and a GBP 30,000 Fisheries and Seafood Scheme (FASS) grant, which helped make this "vital capital investment" viable for a small family business.
Ace Aquatec's Chief Sales and Marketing Officer (CSMO), Tara McGregor-Woodhams, also commented on what the introduction of such a technology means for a family-run fish farm like Britford and its ability to meet the requirements of its retail customers.
"Britford's story is one of a successful family business operating on a global scale," commented the CSMO of the Scottish aquaculture technology specialists.
"Our award winning humane stunning technology has already delivered significant improvements in the volumes and quality of trout fillet supplied by the farm and will help Mark and Jack to continue to grow and supply some of the UK's largest supermarkets while meeting strict welfare and traceability requirements," she added.
The arrival of the A-HSU® system at Britford's Salisbury facility also brings to the UK a technology that Ace Aquatec has already successfully introduced in Europe, Asia, North America and Africa, with examples in countries such as Spain, Japan, Canada and Lesotho.
Self-declared on a mission to accelerate global adoption of welfare-focused and sustainable aquaculture practices, Ace Aquatec is backed by blue growth fund Aqua-Spark, Chroma Ventures (who brought Minecraft to console), deeptech fund Earth Capital, Stolt Ventures and Scottish Enterprise.
