RAS fault kills 500,000 Inchmore smolts

MARINE Harvest’s new Inchmore hatchery in Glenmoriston, one of the most advanced recirculating aquaculture systems in the world, lost 500,000 smolts in the summer, according to reports last week.
The company said a ‘rare fault within the oxygen supply system to the farm’ caused the accident, which occurred in August.
‘We have since repaired and adapted our oxygen supply processes and equipment to ensure the farm operates smoothly and helps us continue to meet an increasing global demand for Scottish salmon,’ Marine Harvest wrote in its newly launched newsletter, The Scoop.
‘Fortunately, we have been able to compensate for this fish loss and all seawater farms will be fully stocked.’
The hatchery, which cost £26.5 million to build, was officially opened by rural economy minister Fergus Ewing in June. The first eggs arrived before Christmas 2017 and production started before construction was fully complete.
Along with its sister hatchery in Lochailort, the new facility allows the company to stock all its 49 seawater farms and five freshwater loch sites.
The fish lost were 80 grams and reportedly represented three per cent of the farm’s stock. Inchmore has the capacity to produce 800 tonnes of fish a year.
Picture: Fergus Ewing and Marine Harvest managing director Ben Hadfield at the official opening of Inchmore in June