Mowi gets green light for Loch Erisort farm move
Switch to deeper site with better water flow will benefit fish and the environment, says consultancy
Mowi Scotland is to transfer salmon production from two farms in inner Loch Erisort on Lewis to a new, deeper site approximately 2-2.5kms to the east, the company reported in its staff newsletter, The Scoop.
The proposed new Tabhaigh East farm, in outer Loch Erisort, has recently secured planning consent from Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council) and a permit from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).
The farm will comprise eight pens of 160m circumference in a 2 x 4 grid configuration, with a maximum biomass of 2,075 tonnes.
Closing existing site
Mowi said Tabhaigh East forms part of a wider site rationalisation plan for Loch Erisort that was developed in partnership with local stakeholders. This will involve the transfer of existing biomass from the current inner Loch Erisort farms including, as an initial step, the closure and relinquishing of farming permissions for its North Shore West site, which has a biomass limit of 1,650 tonnes. Its neighbouring North Shore East site has a limitof 2,400 tonnes.
“The overall objective of the rationalisation plan is to relocate biomass from the inner, less flushed area of the loch to the outer area of the complex,” Mowi said in The Scoop. “The more open sea location and the improved dispersive characteristics of the new farming environment provides a more suitable location for the rearing of healthy farm reared salmon and will result in a net reduction in our environmental footprint.
“A key aim of the plan and relocation of biomass from within Loch Erisort to the mouth of the loch was to reduce potential interactions with wild salmonids transiting through the Erisort complex from the River Laxay system.”
A non-technical summary of an environmental impact report for the Tabhaigh East prepared by Stornoway-based environmental consultancy Atlantic58 said Mowi’s plan to relinquish the North Shore West site and carry out a phased reduction of stock at North Shore East would allow seabed recovery and restoration of marine habitat at the older, less-flushed location.
“The relocation aligns with policy direction to promote fish farming in more exposed, high-energy sites with strong tidal dispersion to improve fish health and minimise benthic impacts,” wrote Atlantic58.
It said the chosen location offers greater water depth (34 m to 68 m) and increased water flow, “which are essential for diluting and carrying away fish waste and residues more quickly and effectively than the previous inner loch sites”.
The new site is positioned approximately 350 metres to the east of the existing Tabhaigh fish farm, which has a biomass limit of 2,500 tonnes. A single feed barge with a capacity of 600 tonnes will service both farms.
