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Meet the Faces behind Clearwater’s Shellfish

In 2018, Clearwater embarked on a global packaging redesign, offering a fresh new look for our premium shellfish products, while still honoring our long-standing brand values. As part of Clearwater’s packaging redesign journey, we produced a short video highlighting our new packaging, while also introducing the faces behind our brand. We’re pleased to show our customers where their shellfish comes from and provide you with an opportunity to meet some of our employees who are directly related to the harvesting, procurement or management of our species.

Kevin Swimm is Captain of the Anne Risley, one of Clearwater’s three Arctic surf clam harvesting vessels. For 30 to 35 days at a time, Kevin harvests Arctic surf clams from the Grand Bank and Banquereau Bank off the coasts of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, overseeing a crew of 35 on each trip.

The son of a fishermen, Kevin began fishing at just 18 years old. With over 31 years of experience in the clam industry with Clearwater, Kevin played an integral role in developing the Canadian Arctic surf clam fishery. He was instrumental in designing and testing the processing and harvesting equipment and techniques used to process and harvest our Arctic surf clams at sea. These techniques, used to this day have contributed to the commercial success and long-term sustainability of the fishery.

Today, as a Captain of the world’s most technologically advanced shellfish harvester, Kevin and his crew are instrumental in strengthening Clearwater’s leadership in innovative and sustainable clam harvesting.

 

Sydney Newell is Clearwater’s first female fleet officer. She started fishing at just 13 years old and joined Clearwater in 2016 working onboard our scallop and clam vessels. Today, Sydney is a Navigation Officer Trainee onboard the Fundy Leader, Clearwater’s scallop and research vessel.

Clearwater continues to be one of a few harvesters committed to maintaining a survey vessel for scientific purposes. During each 16 day trip, Sydney helps gather specific information on scallops, including data on their habitat, geology and depth, allowing Clearwater’s fleet to target important fishing grounds, while leaving sensitive areas undisturbed.

Investing in the health of the oceans and its bounty provides Clearwater a reliable, long-term supply of the best shellfish available for our customers. Not only does Sydney continue to help establish Clearwater as a global leader in sustainable seafood excellence, she is also a true role model and inspiration for young women entering the fishing industry today.

Randall Scott is Captain of the Randell Dominaux, Clearwater’s only offshore lobster vessel. Together with a crew of 17, Randall harvests lobster from the offshore fishery, located south of Brown’s Bank off the coast of Nova Scotia.

Randall began his career in the groundfish industry at the age of 17 and later joined Clearwater, working in the crab and lobster fishery for the past 21 years. As a Captain, Randall is responsible for ensuring the highest standard of quality is practiced when handling each individual lobster, using Clearwater’s advanced technology and storage capabilities. From the moment the lobsters are pulled from the ocean, they are stored in a refrigerated salt water system onboard the vessel, allowing them to maintain a consistent temperature comparable to their natural habitat.

Randall and his crew have helped put Clearwater on the map as a world leader in lobster stress management. By minimizing stress throughout the distribution chain, Clearwater is able to maintain the perfection of a fresh-caught lobster and ensure it remains healthy, strong and at peak flavour from ocean-to-plate.

Fishing is part of Captain Danny Nowe’s roots, with a long family history in the Nova Scotia seafood industry. Danny began his career in the groundfish industry over 30 years ago and has been working onboard Clearwater’s sea scallop vessels, the Atlantic Guardian and the Atlantic Preserver since 2006. Today, as Captain of the Atlantic Preserver, Danny oversees a crew of 24 during 16 day trips, harvesting sea scallops primarily from George’s Bank off of Southwest Nova Scotia.

Clearwater is known for investing in sustainability, research, technology and innovative solutions that affect every aspect of the seafood industry from ocean-to-plate. This also holds true for the scallop industry, with Clearwater’s state-of-the-art, floating factory scallop vessels. From the moment the scallops are harvested, Danny and his team move them to temperature controlled ‘live tanks’ that contain chilled, fresh sea water. The scallops are then shucked and dry frozen directly onboard, with all processing taking place within just one hour of catch, with no chemicals or additives.

This fresh-frozen process not only offers the ultimate in freshness and quality, but provides a high quality, premium product with a longer shelf life and better value for end users.

 

Duncan Watt has been working with Macduff Shellfish, Clearwater’s Scottish subsidiary, for over 25 years and began a career in the fishing industry at just 15 years old. Today, Duncan is Director of Operations at Macduff’s processing factory in Mintlaw, Scotland, managing a team of 250 employees on a daily basis.

From the moment products arrive in Mintlaw, Duncan is responsible for overseeing the receipt and processing of whelk, scallops, Norway lobster and rock crab, as well as the dispatch of all customer orders. This also includes the successful implementation and management of all quality assurance and food safety programs at the plant. In fact, the diligent quality assurance efforts demonstrated by Duncan and his team significantly contributed to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) certification of this facility, the global standard for food safety, ensuring customers receive only the highest quality and food safe products.

 

With four generations of fishermen in his family, Sandy Watt began fishing at the age of 16. He dedicated his career to the seafood industry, including the past 17 years with Macduff Shellfish, Clearwater’s Scottish subsidiary. Today, Sandy is Macduff’s head Norway lobster buyer. Although Sandy has an office, he spends the majority of his time on harbour wharves, working directly with Norway lobster fishermen on a daily basis.

Sandy liaises directly with the fishermen who contact him from sea to advise on their upcoming landings, allowing him ample time to arrange product transportation. Once landed, Norway lobster are unloaded and packed on refrigerated trucks for delivery to Macduff’s Mintlaw and Stornoway processing facilities. Both facilities are located within close proximity to the Norway lobster landing grounds, ensuring a speedy delivery, as well as maximum freshness and quality.

Sandy ensures only the best Norway lobster are purchased and handled with extreme care, controlling every stage of the process, from the initial landing to final delivery to customers.

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