Bigger smolts will come sooner
Bakkafrost changes tack at Applecross for better flexibility and improved biological outcomes
Batches of smolts ranging between 200g and 400g are to be produced at salmon farmer Bakkafrost Scotland’s flagship Applecross hatchery under a revised plan drawn up by the Faroese managers now running the facility.
Bakkafrost said the move away from producing all smolts at 200g will enhance utilisation and biological efficiency.
“This adjustment allows for greater flexibility in production planning, better utilisation of capacity, and improved biological outcomes,” the salmon farmer said in its third quarter report published today.
No external inputs
Faroes-headquartered Bakkafrost added that Applecross has also transitioned to operate as a stand-alone facility, no longer receiving inputs from external hatcheries, which marked a significant step in improving biosecurity and ensuring consistent smolt quality.
The smolt transfer system from Applecross has also undergone a major upgrade, with the farm support vessel Bakkanes rebuilt to handle smolt transfers and now operating similarly to its highly successful rebuild of the sister vessel Martin in the Faroe Islands.
The MS Bakkanes and MS Martin started life as platform support vessels for the offshore sector and were first repurposed by Bakkafrost as delousing boats before a second conversion to smolt carriers.
“The upgraded system represents a major step forward in ensuring safe and efficient smolt transfers, reducing stress and mortality, and strengthening operational reliability across the Scottish farming sites,” Bakkafrost said in its Q3 2025 report.
Average weights up
In Q3 2025, the average weight of smolts transferred to sea from Applecross was 229g, which is 161% higher than in Q3 2024. The average smolt weight for all Bakkafrost’s smolt release in Scotland in the quarter was 155g, which is 80% higher than in Q3 2024.
Bakkafrost Scotland transferred 3.6 million smolts to sea in Q3, of which 1.8 million were from Applecross, 900,000 were externally sourced, and the rest were from the company’s other Scottish hatcheries.
It has stocked 5 million smolts at sea so far this year, and plans to stock 10 million next year with an average weight of 179g. This includes internally produced smolt as well as externally sourced fish. In the longer term, Bakkafrost expects Applecross to supply 10 million large smolts annually.
112,000 tonnes next year
Bakkafrost is guiding for a harvest of around 104,000 gutted weight tonnes of salmon in 2025, of which 82,000 gwt are expected to be harvested in the Faroe Islands and 22,000 gwt in Scotland. In 2026, Bakkafrost expects to harvest around 92,000 gwt in the Faroe Islands and around 20,000 gwt in Scotland, giving at total of around 112,000 gwt.
The volume from Scotland is expected to climb to 40,000 gwt by 2028, and 50,000 gwt by 2030 as the benefits of its large smolt production take effect.
