Clearwater celebrates Grand Bank plant anniversary with $350K upgrade

It's not cod, crab or shrimp that's king in Grand Bank. It's the lowly clam.

Clearwater Seafoods celebrated 25 years in the clam business in Grand Bank this week by announcing a$350,000 upgradethat will adda new 25-person prime cut line for the European and North American markets.

Hugekudos to the people in Grand Bank.-JohnRisley, Clearwater Seafoods

"Hugekudos to the people in Grand Bank," said seafood magnateJohn Risley, who remembers how things got started for theClearwater Seafoods operation.

"We were enormously impressed by a delegation of town officials who came to see us in Halifax before the plant opened," Risleytold the St. John's Morning Show.

Risley saidthe delegation told the companyabout their community and how anxious they were to find a long-term partner.

It inspired the company to find an opportunity to process something in Grand Bank.

Wednesday's celebration recognized more than 70 workers who haveworked at the plant for the past 25 years.

'Fantastic'relationship

Risley saidthat shows the depth of partnership between the community and the company.

The customer always goes away enormously impressed.- John Risley

"It's been fantastic," he said."Whenever we bring customers from Asia to the plant, the town always sort of turns out and participates in some sort of a social occasion with the customer, and the customer always goes away enormously impressed."

Clearwater, whichprocesses capelin roe, Arctic surf clams, cockle clams and northern propellerclams, employs115 workers at the Grand Bank plant.

Another 258 fishermen are employed on Clearwater's offshore clam vessels.