New fish farm brings jobs to Orkney

MORE than 480,000 salmon smolts were introduced to their new home at Wyre, Orkney, this month as Scottish Sea Farms’ latest site went live.
The 1,800 tonne farm has created six new jobs locally and will significantly increase production of the quality salmon farmed in Orkney waters.
The Scottish Sea Farms investment of £2.6 million has also stimulated earnings for numerous Scottish suppliers and Orkney based companies, including Fusion Marine, Knox Nets, Leask Marine and Northwards.
The local hotel and haulage company on the remote Island of Sanday have also benefited from workers staying on the Island as the site was developed and constructed.
New barges and landing craft have been built for the Orkney region this year at Macduff Shipyards in Aberdeenshire.
Jim Gallagher, managing director of Scottish Sea Farms, said: ‘This is good news for both Scottish Sea Farms and the local community.
‘This site at Wyre, made up of 12 x 100m cages, will help to secure the long-term future of our Eday site and increased Orkney salmon sales could now potentially reach £26 million in both the UK and international markets.
‘We want to continue to build relationships locally and are bringing skilled employment with training packages to Orkney.
‘Over the past nine months, the new employees have been supported with extensive training on our sites in Orkney and working with the local college.
‘Our Heart of the Community Trust is also there to support community initiatives that make a real difference to local people’s lives.’
Wyre site manager Kristjan Ingimarsson has relocated with his family from Iceland and said: ‘I was attracted to Scottish Sea Farms as the company has a good reputation and I had visited Scotland as a tourist and liked the people and the country.
‘The company has invested heavily in this new site and we have the latest equipment and technology to ensure that we farm the fish in the best way possible, for a great tasting product and for the environment.’
Two of the new employees live on the remote island of Rousay.
Scottish Sea Farms currently employs 35 staff in Orkney and this expansion will enable the company to supply quality Scottish salmon to key markets all year round.  The first harvests from the new Wyre site are anticipated at the end of 2016.