Scottish fish farm achieves Mowi's best feed conversion ratio globally
Gorsten return is almost one-to-one after switch to remote operations centre
Mowi Scotland’s salmon farm at Gorsten on Loch Linnhe has achieved a feed conversion ratio (FCR) of 1.002, which the company says is likely the most efficient ever recorded at Mowi for full production fish, anywhere in the world. To compare, Mowi’s global FCR average last year was 1.17, according to its 2024 annual report.
Feed is the biggest single cost factor for fish farmers, and the FCR of 1.002 means a 5kg salmon grown at Gorsten consumed only 5kg and 10 grams of feed.
The Linnhe network of sites already had an impressive FCR record, regularly producing FCRs of 1.02 to 1.07 as far back as 2019, but Gorsten went further in its most recently completed cycle after feeding was linked to Mowi’s remote operations centre (ROC) at Fort William, reports Mowi's newsletter, The Scoop.
Feed's 'Holy Grail'
In a video made by Mowi, Gorsten site manager Scott Cameron said the feed conversion ratio was the “Holy Grail of FCRs” that he didn’t expect would be achieved.
“It was an unexpected surprise at the end of the cycle, very unexpected,” said Cameron, who has worked at the site for six years and has been with Mowi for 38 years.
He attributed the achievement to good feeding practices on site, good communication with the ROC, and the experience of ROC operators with good knowledge of the site, among other things.
“It’s attention to smaller details, like position of your (feed) spinner, the position of your camera, the depth of your camera, knowing the local tides and all that,” explained Cameron. “There’s so much stuff, you just can’t pick it up in a week or a month or a year, it takes years and years, and luckily we’ve got someone here who’s got 40 years’ experience of the local conditions and that helps no end.”
ROC operator Davie Horne championed the Gorsten site after it was linked to the ROC, which controls feeding at 18 Mowi sites. Horne fed Gorsten’s fish for 170 of the site’s 267 days on the remote system during the 465-day cycle in the loch.
