Sable Fish Packers (1988) Limited was founded by Mr. Basil E Blades in 1943 as a small fish business. It began as a small operation with a handful of employees. Mr. Blades gradually grew the business from a small fresh fish operation to a large fish processing company employing nearly 100 full time workers and 300 seasonal workers.  

J. Gary Black, Sales and Plant Manager, was hired in 1968 after spending 9 years in the banking industry.  In 1974 Basil's sons Brian and Paul joined the company after completing university with degrees in Business Administration. Brian is currently the company Owner and President and Paul is the company Secretary.  

Sable Fish Packers (1988) Limited experienced a long period of growth through the 1960's to the late 1990's. In the 1960's and 1970's growth was spurred on by Salt Fish. Many former employees from that era recall hand-splitting and salting hundreds of thousands of pounds of groundfish year-round. During the 1980's the company expanded to include a herring processing line, headed by Brian Blades. With 13 processing machines and a high capacity plate-freezing system, frozen herring fillets became a core competency of the company.  

In 2000, the third generation of Blades, Nathan, joined the company after completing his University Education. Nathan currently works in many aspects of the daily operation of the business, including Quality Control, Safety and Security, Shipping and Receiving, Inventory Control, Sales, Advertising, Purchasing, IT, and Organizational Health and Safety.

Nathan Blades is the current President of the influential industry group, Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association. Nathan Blades is also the Chairperson of the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia, an Industry led initiative with the mandate of improving safety and thereby reducing employers premiums paid to Workers Compensation Board of Nova Scotia across the entire seafood industry in Nova Scotia. Sable Fish Packers (1988) Limited is a Founding Member of both of these organizations.

In 2003, Douglas Blades joined the company following his University degree. Douglas acts as the Production Manager for Fresh, Frozen & Marinated Herring operations. Douglas also is involved in Health and Safety, Quality Control and other roles.

Sable Fish Packers (1988) Limited currently processes a variety of seafood products including:

• Fresh, Frozen, and Salted Groundfish - Cod, Haddock, Cusk, Pollock, Hake, Catfish, Halibut, etc.

• Fresh, Frozen Pelagics - Herring, Mackerel, Shark, Dogfish, Tuna

• Marinated Herring Products

• Frozen Whole Herring for Bait

• Live Lobster

Sable Fish Packers (1988) Limited has sold product all over the world. Major export destinations include the U.S.A., Japan, Germany, South Korea, Russia, Poland, Iceland, France, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Spain, The Caribbean, Africa, Australia and South America. The Sable brand is recognized worldwide as a symbol for top quality seafood products.

 © 2010 Sable Fish Packers (1988) Limited