Aquaculture firm still working on proposed new Fetlar salmon farm

WORK is continuing in the background on the development of a new salmon farm off the island of Fetlar which first received planning permission three years ago.

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is working on the design of the site at Wick of Gruting.

The company has permission for a 12-cage development, and initial plans suggested it could create four full-time jobs. Planning conditions are now beginning to be discharged.

A spokesperson for Cooke said the ongoing development includes the “associated environmental management planning and engineering of the appropriate equipment”.

“We are taking a coordinated, thoughtful approach to ensure the farm site is custom designed for the exposed location and able to withstand severe weather events,” they said.

The company previously said it intended to transport fish by sea via Cullivoe to its Mid Yell processing plant.

However, the poor condition of the single-track road towards the Cullivoe pier was raised as a concern by planning staff.

Since the planning approval in 2020 councillors approved upgrading this section of the B9082, although work is not yet underway.