Fish farm firm axes up to 100 jobs

UP to 100 jobs are to go at Marine Harvest Scotland as part of a restructuring plan announced today which follows a recent review of the business.

Marine Harvest announce job cuts

The news was given at a meeting with staff representatives who were told the company was making changes to its operations in order to make the business more efficient and sustainable.

Ben Hadfield, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland and global feed director, said: “We will be sorry to see staff leaving as we have a highly skilled and talented team here at Marine Harvest Scotland.

“However, the industry is moving at a fast pace and fish farming is in a very different place today from where it was ten or even five years ago. We have to ensure the business is sustainable and is fit to meet the challenges we face moving forward. By taking this action now we can be more certain of maintaining jobs in the future.”

The company has issued a 30-day notice and will now enter a period of consultation with staff representatives about which posts will be affected.

The restructuring will affect jobs in different departments across all the regions.

The company is contacting local agencies and politicians and will do everything it can to assist staff in gaining new employment.

Marine Harvest operates four hatcheries, five freshwater loch sites and 48 sea farms. Their farm operations are situated across the Highlands, Argyll and the Western Isles. Live fish are harvested at Mallaig and processed at the Blar Mhor processing plant in Fort William. The company has offices at Fort William and Rosyth.

The processing plant at Rosyth is not affected by this announcement as it is part of the Marine Harvest Consumer Products division and not Marine Harvest Scotland.

Plans to create a feed plant in Scotland will continue as part of the restructuring of the business as part of the drive to make the company more efficient and sustainable.

The company said the redundancies will not have an effect on forecasted volumes for 2016.

READ MORE: Salmon escape Argyll fish farm

Marine Harvest (Scotland) Ltd is the largest salmon farming company in Scotland, producing more than 50,000 tonnes in 2015.

It was the first company in Scotland to farm Atlantic salmon and celebrated its 50th anniversary last year.

Marine Harvest holds the Royal Warrant for the supply of fresh farmed salmon to Her Majesty the Queen.

Te company has held the prestigious Label Rouge quality accreditation in France since 1992.

The main markets for Marine Harvest fresh salmon are the UK, France, USA, Poland and China.

All Marine Harvest Farms, their harvest station and processing plant are audited and approved under the RSPCA Assured animal welfare scheme.

In 2015, Marine Harvest’s Loch Leven salmon farm became the first in the UK to be accredited by the ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council).