A day in the life of: Amity Fish Company MD and Scottish Seafood Association CEO Jimmy Buchan

“It’s been a personal ambition to try and convince people of the UK that they can source good-quality seafood, and they should source good-quality seafood,” Jimmy Buchan, managing director of multi-award-wining Amity Fish Company, told Fishing News. “And we can supply quality seafood.”

Growing up in the 1960s in the village of Buchanhaven, a mile to the north of Peterhead, was a huge influencing factor on the course of Jimmy’s career.

“Any opportunity I got, I was straight on my bike and down to the harbour, which was bustling with investment and thriving businesses. One of the things that attracted me was the boatbuilding.

“I would see these skilled carpenters creating a new build – a keel laid, then a week or so later the vessel starting to take shape.

Over the course of the coming months, it was slowly turning into a state-of-the-art fishing vessel. As a young boy, it was just a fascinating world.”

Captivated, on leaving school in 1976 Jimmy joined the fishing industry, working on various vessels for a decade before investing in his own, Amity, in 1986.

Over the course of a 40-year career at sea, Jimmy overcame the challenges of a rapidly changing industry – from the introduction of quotas to pressure on traditional whitefish stocks – by diversifying and viewing each new hurdle as a potential opportunity. The lessons proved good preparation for the next stage of his career.

“In 2010, I knew I wanted to come ashore and build this seafood company. Having been a fisherman for 40 years, I knew the business background I had wouldn’t fit too well with running a shoreside business.

“I took the decision at the age of 50 to go back to college to study business management – which was a three-year course. I was doing that whilst trying to go to sea and trying to grow a business. So I’m used to being able to multitask.”

Now, as a managing director of the MSC-approved supplier Amity Fish Company, which serves the business-to-business market, as well as consumers via its e-commerce website, multitasking is an essential part of Jimmy’s day – even more so as it is a role he combines with being CEO of the Scottish Seafood Association.

Amity supplies seafood to homes and businesses across the UK. “The number one priority for me is the customer. Whatever you do, you do not let your customer down. It’s all about preparatory work and making sure there’s always a Plan B. That comes from when I was in fishing. If the first haul was empty, you always had to have a Plan B – and even a Plan C.”

“I’ve got to try and juggle the busy role I have at Amity, with being the voice, ears and lobbyist for the processing sector – but I’ve learned to adapt and make the two roles work side by side.

“I’m usually awake by 5am, and up and ready for the news at 6am to get the headlines of the day. I’ll then head into work for about 7am, and then it’s a case of seeing what’s in the inbox.

“I’m lucky that I have a great team behind me. They’ll come in and download the overnight orders – that will all take care of itself. Some days I’ll support the team, if they have any issues – and I’m always on hand to give advice.

“However, as with all small businesses, I may come in with the fullest intentions of carrying out a set of duties – but then something happens in the business, or a member of staff is off ill, or a supplier doesn’t deliver – all of a sudden, you are then firefighting.”

With Jimmy the face of Amity Fish Company, a key part of his day is to engage with customers – both current, and potential new ones.

“My typical job is to go and find new business. We’re always looking to connect with our customers, and find out what their needs are, but also look for new customers.

“Like fishing, that’s a hunt – but it’s a different type of hunt. Whereas I once hunted to catch fish and generate income, I’ve now got to go and hunt for customers – and entice them that we are the supplier that they need, and we can solve their problems.”

The business, which has grown to a team of 10, has won multiple awards in recent years. “We’ve been the recipient of success – but that success is the result of a lot of hard, enduring work to prove ourselves worthy winners in a very competitive world.”

Jimmy’s role also sees him constantly looking at ways to add value to the brand and its product range. “We’re currently working towards getting Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) for the business. That’s taken up quite a bit of my time of late. That accreditation is about bringing the business to a new level that will help us find new customers.

“Within that, there’s also changes of practice, and what we do as a business to meet these standards – and how we evidence that. That’s been an interesting journey for us.”

Jimmy prepares to leave the office at around 4pm – but that doesn’t necessarily signal an end to his working day.

“Although you stop working at your desk, your head doesn’t stop thinking. Before you go home, you’re looking at what needs to be done the next day to see what’s on the agenda, or in the diary – and the things I need to prepare for. I’m planning the next day, before I’ve even left the present one.”

He may have come ashore more than a decade ago, but for Jimmy, some familiar seagoing feelings remain.

“For me, to have the opportunity of a second career running a seafood company and bringing another crew together excites me – and when you see a significant order come in, that’s like getting a big haul.”

This story was taken from the latest issue of Fishing News. For more up-to-date and in-depth reports on the UK and Irish commercial fishing sector, subscribe to Fishing News here or buy the latest single issue for just £3.30 here.

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