SAT - Allover - Chris Morphet
Monday 9 December 2024
 6.4°C   SW Gentle Breeze
SCT - 2025/26 Small Grant SchemeSCT - 2025/26 Small Grant Scheme
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Marine / Salmon farm company outlines £2m investment

Scottish Sea Farms barge Ronas Voe after being refurbished. Photo: Gordon Siegel Photography

A SALMON farm company is investing nearly £2 million to upgrade and improve its infrastructure in Shetland, and to boost its plans for enhanced fish welfare and survival.

Scottish Sea Farms’ programme of works will be carried out primarily by Scottish and local suppliers, and it will include:

  • Five feed barges being upgraded at Buckie-based Macduff Shipyards, at a total cost of £750,000
  • The workboat Scapa Lass undergoing a £415,000 refit, also at Macduff, ahead of its repurposing as a treatment support vessel
  • New pens and moorings worth £675,000 being installed at the company’s Bellister farm to bring it into line with recent refurbishments across the rest of the Shetland estate
  • Associated electrical and engineering support from Agmatek, Ocean Kinetics and the Shetland branch of ScaleAQ.

The investment follows a management restructuring in Shetland last year that saw Richard Darbyshire appointed Northern Isles regional manager.

Darbyshire, who alternates his working weeks between Shetland and Orkney, said there was now a more local focus which had already brought dividends.

“Decisions are being made quicker so we get resources when they are needed,” he said.

“As a result, sea lice numbers at the end of week 50 were half the levels of the corresponding week in 2019. And the fish were significantly bigger than the previous generation at the same stage two years ago.

“This is to everyone’s immense credit, given that the year was difficult due to Covid-19 restrictions. But we can’t be complacent and have ambitious targets to reach on fish survival, fish size and costs in 2021.”

The investment also comes after fellow salmon farming company Grieg Seafood signalled its intention to sell up its Shetland operations.

Engineering manager Keith Fraser said the barge upgrades involve blasting and repainting, as well as the fitting of cameras in the feed hoppers to assist remote feeding.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

‘Health and safety standards are also being upgraded, with automatic fire-fighting equipment in the engine room, plus automatic bilge pumps and bilge alarms,” he added.

“This will enable the generator to start automatically if water enters the barge, providing 24-hour protection.”

The barges will come ashore throughout the year during fallow periods, with work on the Ronas Voe very recently completed.

In addition to the £2 million programme of works, all of the company’s Shetland’s marine pens now have SealPro anti-predator netting fitted along with sinker tubes to ensure nets are robustly tensioned.

A ban on the shooting of seals was recently introduced in Scotland.

Under previous regulations the shooting of seals by salmon farmers and other commercial fisheries interests was permitted under licence.

Scottish Sea Farms, meanwhile, aims to achieve 95 per cent fish survival and an average harvest weight of 5.5 kilos in 2021.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

Newsletters

Subscribe to a selection of different newsletters from Shetland News, varying from breaking news delivered on the minute, to a weekly round-up of the opinion posts. All delivered straight to your inbox.

Daily Briefing Newsletter Weekly Highlights Newsletter Opinion Newsletter Life in Shetland Newsletter

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Your Privacy

We use cookies on our site to improve your experience.
By using our service, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

Browser is out-of-date

Shetland News isn't fully functional with this version of .
Head over to the help page for instructions on updating your browser for more security, improved speed and the best overall experience on this site.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please consider paying for membership and get the following features and services: -

  • Remove non-local ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.