A new fish farm on Orkney has become home to over 480,000 salmon smolts and created five jobs.
Scottish Sea Farms said it has invested £2.6million to develop the site at Wyre, Orkney. The first harvests from the site are anticipated at the end of 2016.
The firm, which is owned by two Norwegian companies, said the farm will “significantly increase” production of the salmon in Orkney waters. It added that this would benefit other local companies including Fusion Marine, Knox Nets, Leask Marine and Northwards.
Jim Gallagher, managing director, Scottish Sea Farms, said: “This is good news for both Scottish Sea Farms and the local community. This site at Wyre, made up of 12 x 100m cages, will help to secure the long-term future of our Eday site and increased Orkney salmon sales could now potentially reach £26million in both the UK and international markets.
“We want to continue to build relationships locally and are bringing skilled employment with training packages to Orkney. Over the past nine months the five new employees have been supported with extensive training on our sites in Orkney and working with the local college.”
Wyre site manager Kristjan Ingimarsson has relocated with his family from Iceland and said: “I was attracted to Scottish Sea Farms as the company has a good reputation and I had visited Scotland as a tourist and liked the people and the country.
“The company has invested heavily in this new site and we have the latest equipment and technology to ensure that we farm the fish in the best way possible, for a great tasting product and for the environment.”
Scottish Sea Farms arrived in Orkney in 2007 and has invested £6.1million in infrastructure and currently employs 35 people across five sites in the region.
Scottish Sea Farms is a joint venture of Norway-based Salmar and Leroy Seafood Group.