POLAND
Gadus Fishing and Processing is still a family business
Modern, diverse and growing Gadus, a fishing and processing company based in Gdynia, has grown from a small, local company to the the biggest Baltic fish producer in Poland and a leading processor of whitefish selling its products on the domestic and export markets.
Gadus has a fleet of 17 vessels catching cod, flounder, sprat and herring in the Baltic Sea.
G
adus was founded in the small seaside Karwia, a town located several kilometres to the west of Władysławowo, by 19-yearold David Sztormowski. The beginning was really hard, says Mr Sztormowski. Visiting fishing ports, together with his brother, the two were buying the raw material directly from the fishermen. After two years the brothers earned enough to buy their first fishing boat and started to hire 50
their first employees, many of whom are still working with them.
The Baltic Sea is an important source of raw material Over time the brothers began to serve a wider group of customers, delivering fish to processing plants and individual clients. Their goal from the beginning, however, was to build a company whose structure would
www.eurofishmagazine.com
include both fishing and delivery of the final product to the customer. In 2001, this goal began to take shape with the founding of the fishing and processing company, Gadus Ltd., in the industrial district of Gdynia, near the container and ferry terminals. The company specialises in catches from the Baltic Sea, cod, flounder, sprat and herring. In addition, two production sites in Gdynia process every year over 18,000 tons
of different types of fish (mainly Atlantic cod, Baltic cod, saithe, salmon, flounder, trout). Sprat and herring are currently sold directly to Polish processors dealing with these species. But that will change soon, when the company moves to a new processing plant with an area of over 16,000 square meters, which is being constructed at the moment. It must be remembered, says Mr Sztormowski, that the fish