Algal bloom hits Loch Fyne farm

THOUSANDS of fish have died following an algae outbreak at the Scottish Salmon Company’s Quarry Point farm on Loch Fyne, the BBC reported. The company said it believed recent warm weather was to blame for the mortalities, which were removed yesterday by lorries. ‘Following the warmer water temperatures in recent weeks, a suspected algae bloom…

Read More

Working on a supply chain gang

PLANS to create an organisation representing Scotland’s aquaculture supply chain were mooted during a workshop in Edinburgh yesterday. The meeting, opened by Rural Economy minister Fergus Ewing and bringing together around 90 people from across the industry, looked at how businesses could accelerate growth. The event, at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, emerged from the…

Read More

Shetland welfare course goes global

AQUACULTURE students from around the world have enrolled on a fish welfare course run from Shetland, thanks to online learning. More than 200 students – from Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal and Canada – have signed up to the course since it was launched, by the NAFC Marine Centre UHI. The course was developed by…

Read More

Mowi buys Anglesey lumpfish farm

THE Welsh lumpfish farmer, Ocean Matters, has been bought by Mowi Scotland, effective from April 15, the company confirmed today. The facility, in Penmon, Anglesey, North Wales, has the capacity to produce two million of the cleaner fish, which it has been supplying to the salmon farming industry in Scotland to control sea lice. Its…

Read More

Loch Duart up for export prize

SCOTTISH salmon farmer Loch Duart has been shortlisted as Exporter of the Year in the 2019 Insider Made in Scotland Awards. The independent Scottish business, which farms in Sutherland and the Uists, has seen export sales increase by 68 per cent over the last two financial years to an all-time high for the business. Loch…

Read More

Prize line-up goes global

THE shortlist for the 2019 Aquaculture Awards has been announced, with a strong focus on international high fliers. Taking place in Dynamic Earth, Edinburgh, on May 29, the awards have eight, mostly new, categories this year and highlight the range of talent involved in the global aquaculture sector. Event organiser Susan Tinch said: ‘We were…

Read More

‘Lice under control’ Mowi tells wild sector

SCOTLAND’S leading salmon farmer, Mowi, has ‘full control’ of sea lice on its farms, the company’s farming operations director, Gideon Pringle, told wild fisheries managers today. Speaking at the annual Fisheries Management Scotland conference in Edinburgh, Pringle explained how a change in strategy, a new team, new thinking, new methods and new resources had reduced…

Read More

Rafferty to head up Cermaq Chile

AQUACULTURE veteran Steven Rafferty has been appointed the new managing director of Cermaq Chile, it was announced yesterday. He joins the company – which he last worked for as chief financial officer and chief operating officer farming between 2008 and 2010 – from London based Global Maritime, where he is aquaculture director. The Scot was…

Read More

Ewing upbeat on post-Brexit market

THERE are opportunities post-Brexit for Scotland’s seafood industry to grab a bigger share of the world market, once the practical challenges are overcome. This was the message from Rural Economy minister Fergus Ewing to delegates at the Seafood Summit in Aberdeen this morning. Highlighting the importance of the sector to the Scottish, and UK, economy,…

Read More

Farmers slash medicine spend in lice fight

SCOTTISH salmon farmers have dramatically reduced their use of medicines to treat sea lice, with spending dropping 47 per cent, from £18.4 million to £9.7 million, over the past three years. The news comes as the industry reported its lowest average sea lice levels for six years, down to 0.46 adult females in 2018, according…

Read More