Western Isles job boost as Marine Harvest plans off shore expansion

The new system of "Open Sea" farming will see crews of up to six living on residential barges at fish farms off the west coast, working a shift pattern. The Stornoway Gazette reported that Marine Harvest Scotland representatives were in the Western Isles on Tuesday to outline their plans, which will bring more than 40 jobs to the island, to the council and community representatives.  

Alan Sutherland, Managing Director of Marine Harvest Scotland said the time was right “for the next generation of Scottish salmon farming.” "We have been looking at the opportunities that exist and believe the future of fish farming lies further off-shore. This is possible if we use residential fish farms similar to the systems which we already use in Norway and British Columbia where I previously worked," he said. The company has permission from The Crown Estate to place monitoring equipment in 12 sites around the Minch, within the Western Isles, Highland and Argyll and Bute Council areas, which will gather data that will allow them to assess the best sites for expansion. Marine Harvest will then submit planning applications to the relevant local authority for their preferred sites. The company hope to develop four new farms around three times the size of the average farm, producing an additional 20,000 tonnes of fish. The company is aiming to stock the new farms by September 2012.