Marine / Scottish Sea Farms’ move to Lerwick costs the council dear
SHETLAND Islands Council is losing out on hundreds of thousands of pounds of income after a leading salmon company moved processing facilities from Scalloway to Lerwick.
Scottish Sea Farms finished a £2.5 million revamp of its existing Lerwick facility last year, doubling the maximum daily processing capacity from 100 to 200 tonnes.
Given the extra capacity the company has ceased processing operations at its facility at Blacksness Pier in Scalloway and has focused activity in Lerwick.
The move has resulted in Shetland Islands Council (SIC) losing out on hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of salmon landing fees at Blacksness Pier.
A report which will be presented to councillors on the SIC’s harbour board next week shows that for the current 2023/24 financial year income from these landing fees has dropped by almost half a million pounds.
For the 2024/25 financial year the loss of income is estimated to be £718,000.
Scottish Sea Farms said expanding its Lerwick processing facility made sense partly because of its proximity to the ferry network, as well as the site’s larger footprint. Landing fees in the town would be paid to Lerwick Port Authority, which is separate to the council.
The Lerwick base, which has around 80 workers, also takes in salmon from Scottish Sea Farms’ Orkney sites as there is no processing facility there.
The Scalloway base will now provide a “secondary harvesting hub” during periods of peak volumes and will be supporting many of the company’s other farming activities.
Meanwhile figures included in next week’s meeting papers show that the SIC’s harbour board activity is expected to bring in a surplus of nearly £14 million this financial year.
However, this is around £4.7 million less than budgeted.
A key reason behind this are fewer tanker movements at Sullom Voe, due to maintenance work reducing oil export levels.
For 2024/25 the estimates are that the harbour board would have a reduced surplus of £11.2 million, with reduced tanker movements again a key reason as well as pay awards.
Become a supporter of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider start paying for their dose of the latest local news delivered straight to their PC, tablet or mobile phone.
Journalism comes at a price and because that price is not being paid in today’s rapidly changing media world, most publishers - national and local - struggle financially despite very healthy audience figures.
Most online publishers have started charging for access to their websites, others have chosen a different route. Shetland News currently has over 600 supporters who are all making small voluntary financial contributions. All funds go towards covering our cost and improving the service further.
Your contribution will ensure Shetland News can: -
- Bring you the headlines as they happen;
- Stay editorially independent;
- Give a voice to the community;
- Grow site traffic further;
- Research and publish more in-depth news, including more Shetland Lives features.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a supporter of Shetland News by either making a single payment or monthly subscription.
Support us from as little as £3 per month – it only takes a minute to sign up. Thank you.