Offshore fish farm plans require staff to live at sea

Published on Tuesday 6 October 2009 22:23

PLANS for Scotland's first offshore fish farms could result in staff working out at sea on oil-rig shift patterns within the next three years.

The move is part of a 40 million expansion of salmon farming company Marine Harvest's Scottish operation, and will create up to 40 jobs.

The new system of "open sea" farming will see fish farms positioned further out to sea and crews of up to six living on residential barges off the west coast.

The company hopes to take advantage of the growing demand for farmed Scottish salmon across Europe, with consumption of fish having risen by 6-8 per cent each year.

Marine Harvest Scotland representatives travelled to the islands yesterday to outline plans to Western Isles Council and community representatives.

Alan Sutherland, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland, said: "The time is right for the next generation of fish farming. The demand for our product is there and we know the quality is there. This is the time and place for expansion.

"We have been looking at the opportunities that exist and believe the future of fish farming lies further offshore. This is possible if we use residential fish farms which we use in Norway and British Columbia where I previously worked," he added.

It is hoped to develop four new farms, each costing about 3m and around three times the size of the average current farm, producing an additional 20,000 tonnes of fish. The company is aiming to stock the new farms by September 2012.

As well as the residential fish farms located in the lee of remote islands in the Minch – in cluding Mingulay and Pabbay – the company hopes to establish a shore base in Barra.

Steve Bracken, Marine Harvest's business support manager,

said the remoteness of the sites will make them more environmentally friendly, as they will be further away from the spawning grounds of wild salmon and trout.

Wild fish bodies have said the fish farming industry is threatening the survival of wild salmon and sea trout in the west Highlands and Islands. It is claimed that farmed fish carry disease and affect the genes of wild species.

Andrew Wallace, managing director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards and the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland, said: "We are extremely interested in this initiative. Offshore production could have minimal impact on wild fisheries.

"However, we are very much aware that the industry wishes to expand to take advantage of the collapse in supply from Chile. If the additional capacity developed offshore does not actually allow the removal of many of the existing inshore salmon farms, which cause so much damage to wild fish populations, then this will not amount to progress.

"It is vital that new offshore production is closely linked to the removal or relocation of poorly sited farms away from important salmon rivers and wild salmon smolt migration routes. We look forward to Marine Harvest's confirmation that this is indeed their intention".

A spokesman for Western Isles Council gave the proposals a cautious welcome. He said there were potentially beneficial to the islands but there were issues to discuss with the authority and communities.