Former fish farming press officer adds media expertise to lifeboat station

A former press officer for Skye salmon farmer Organic Sea Harvest – which ceased trading earlier this year – is using his skills and experience to help the island’s lifeboat station.

Robert John MacInnes, who is from Kishorn but moved to the Isle of Skye three years ago, passed the assessment to become the approved Lifeboat Press Officer (LPO) for the Isle of Skye RNLI station after a year-long training programme.

MacInnes, who first joined the lifeboat station in April last year, brings 10 years of experience working between the aquaculture, marine and media industries to the volunteer role.

“My local RNLI station and the wider RNLI team have been incredibly supportive since I first started in the shore-based role,” said MacInnes, son of Organic Sea Harvest co-founder Alex MacInnes. “Coming from a family of seafarers and fish farmers, I know first-hand the vital role that the RNLI plays in our coastal communities. I jumped at the opportunity to join the crew to give something back to the charity and island that I now call home.”

He said that as the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) is a charity that relies on donations to provide its lifesaving service, “it is important to me to showcase not just the lifeboat itself, but also the wider volunteer crew roles, fundraisers, supporters and the local communities we are based within”.

MacInnes has worked at his local radio station, Radio Skye, for the last three years as the youth mentor and has been a presenter there since 2016. He also has his own media and PR small business – Mezz Deck Media – along with being a traditional musician and singer.

Essential media presence

Stuart Nicolson, coxswain at Portree RNLI, said: “It’s essential to have a good, up-to-date media presence – between social media and official news stories - and Robert brings the perfect blend of experience to the role. We’ve been able to utilise his experience as a camera drone operator to create short films about the lifeboat and station, whilst also maintaining a regular presence within local and national news platforms.”

Natasha Rushby, regional communications manager for the RNLI in Scotland, said the volunteer role of an LPO can a challenging one, but is a vital part of the RNLI as a charity to help promote its lifesaving work.

MacInnes hopes to continue to grow the lifeboat station's social media following  while also showcasing more about the work of the volunteer crews and fundraisers. He said: "We have lots of ideas for content, including crew feature interviews and more ‘come with us’ videos for social media. August is going to be a busy month, with both the Portree RNLI fishing competition on 21 August and the annual Open Day on 23 August. I’m looking forward to documenting these."