Scottish Salmon Company's £49m Applecross investment will transform its fish rearing system
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A Wester Ross salmon farm is investing in new techniques that will reduce the amount of time fish need to be kept at sea.
The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) has signed a contract with technology company Nofitech that will transform the company's approach to salmon farming.
Nofitech will create a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) at Applecross as part of a £49 million investment in SSC's Wester Ross site.
RAS technology is an indoor land based aquaculture system which allows fish to be reared for longer in freshwater tanks before being moved to marine sites. Greater control of the freshwater rearing environment means that farmers can produce larger smolt (juvenile salmon), reducing the marine production cycle which in turn cuts down the biological risk of rearing in the marine environment.
Ian Laister, managing director of the Scottish Salmon Company, said: “This contract marks the first important milestone in our commitment to incorporate RAS technology across all our freshwater production, which is fundamental to our growth strategy. Nofitech’s experience in this field will ensure that SSC is at the leading edge of RAS technology not only at Applecross but at future freshwater facilities.”
Nofitech chief executive Robert Hundstad said: “I am delighted that the Scottish Salmon Company has chosen us as a partner for their comprehensive, exciting and future-oriented RAS programme. Nofitech has, from a strategic perspective, chosen to work only with the most experienced and solid players in the industry and our cooperation with the Scottish Salmon Company and Bakkafrost falls well into this direction.”
The programme at Applecross is part of a commitment by SSC’s parent company, Bakkafrost, to invest over £40 million a year in Scotland over the next five years, creating and retaining value in rural Scotland.
