Box Wash
Box Wash and Steam Clean
After the boats have landed their catch it is taken by forklift and stacked in the refrigerated area until the fish can be sorted and graded, ready for the auction. Each boat owns their own individual set of fish boxes in a variety of colours with the name and number of the boat stamped on each box. Some of the larger beamers will store as many as 1000 boxes on board.
The Cleaning Process
Once the fish has been sorted and graded they are transferred to white 40kg boxes, owned by Brixham Trawler Agents, and taken to the auction floor. Before the trawler owned boxes are returned they go through the BTA box washer and are thoroughly cleaned as part of the BTA service. Although this isn’t a legal requirement the boxes are washed to maintain the whole quality process, and to ensure the fish are stored and processed in the best possible condition.
Cuttlefish
One exception to this process is when a vessel lands a catch of cuttlefish. All cuttlefish are stacked in black boxes and stored in a separate refrigerated area. They are also sold separately in a “quarantined” area within the fish market to prevent any of the other catch being spoilt by the black ink dripping from the cuttlefish boxes.
How the Process Works
The BTA steam cleaning service passes each individual box along a conveyer belt and into the pressure wash system. At the end of the process each box is manually lifted off the machine and stacked, ready to be returned to the owners in time for their next trip to sea.