Will turn invasive Asian carp into wholesale foods
FARMINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 6, 2015) — Blue Shore Fishery LLC today celebrated the opening of a company that will turn the invasive Asian carp in the region’s waterways into a wholesale foods business.
Blue Shore is investing more than $1.3 million into a former catfish-processing facility in Western Kentucky. The company is creating 66 jobs in Graves County to manufacture food products from Asian carp.
Blue Shore’s owners received assistance from the Kentucky Innovation Network office in Murray. The Network, which consists of 13 statewide offices that support Kentucky’s small businesses, helped the owners make connections for marketing and Web development, finding access to capital and exporting.
“It is great to celebrate an entrepreneurial success story like that of Blue Shore Fishery,” said. Gov. Steve Beshear. “An industry growing out of a fish species that is a problem in our waterways is bringing jobs to the community. This is exactly why our Kentucky Innovation Network reaches out to small businesses.”
Blue Shore’s products, including surimi, a fish paste that can be used to make crab sticks, fishcakes and other foods, contain high-quality fish and fresh local ingredients with no fillers, additives or preservatives. The company plans to sell to wholesale markets in the U.S. and overseas, particularly in Asia.
“Congratulations to Blue Shore Fishery on the opening of this facility in Graves County,” Lt. Gov. Crit Luallen said. “Not only does this mean jobs for Kentuckians, but it’s expected to add to Kentucky’s record-breaking export figures. The commonwealth exported $27.5 billion to nearly 200 countries last year, and we welcome this opportunity for growth.”
Blue Shore is located in an 11,000-s.f. facility on 53 acres off State Route 97 in Farmington. At its facility the company will process Asian carp caught by local commercial fishermen from rivers and lakes throughout western Kentucky. Blue Shore plans to add 5,000-s.f. at the facility in the future. The company also owns two other facilities in Kentucky: RCB Fish Company in Ledbetter and Fin Gourmet in Paducah, a research and development operation.
“We at Blue Shore Fishery have found Graves County to be a vibrant, resourceful and supportive partner,” said co-owner Dr. John Crilly. “We also would not be where we are today without the excellent work done by Riley Construction and all of their associated contractors and suppliers. We are excited for this former catfish processing plant to once again begin receiving fish – this time, wonderful ‘American Carp’ – and to begin production and exporting of our innovative products.”
An invasive species, Asian carp compete with native fish and are overpopulating.
To encourage the investment and job growth in the community, the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA) preliminarily approved the company for tax incentives up to $1,000,000 through the Kentucky Business Investment program. The performance-based incentive allows a company to keep a portion of its investment over the term of the agreement through corporate income tax credits and wage assessments by meeting job and investment targets.
In addition, Blue Shore Fishery is eligible to receive resources from the Kentucky Skills Network. Through the Kentucky Skills Network, companies are eligible to receive no-cost recruitment and job placement services, reduced-cost customized training and job training incentives. Last year, the Kentucky Skills Network trained more than 84,000 employees from more than 4,100 Kentucky companies.
The Kentucky Innovation Network is an initiative of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development’s Office of Entrepreneurship. The goals of the Office of Entrepreneurship are to develop an entrepreneurial climate in Kentucky, provide guidance and support to startups and assist existing small businesses with growth opportunities.
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