Royal opening for Bakkafrost’s Applecross facility
HRH the Princess Royal officially opened Bakkafrost Scotland’s multi-million pound Applecross facility yesterday, marking what the company says is a major step forward in sustainable Scottish salmon production.
The state-of the art development in Wester Ross is the UK’s largest freshwater recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). It will play a pivotal role in Bakkafrost Scotland’s “one summer at sea” production strategy, which allows salmon to spend longer growing in controlled freshwater conditions before transferring to sea as larger, stronger smolt. This, Bakkafrost hopes, will increase salmon survival rates at sea.
During her visit, Princess Anne toured the Applecross freshwater facility, met employees and local guests, and learned how advanced technology is being used to improve fish welfare, reduce environmental impact and support high value, skilled rural employment.
Operating 24 hours a day, the Applecross site supports around 40 skilled permanent roles, including biology, veterinary, engineering, energy and technical operations.
Using RAS technology, the Applecross facility provides precise control of water quality, temperature, and flow, enabling improved husbandry, enhanced smolt health screening, and more effective vaccination, supporting higher fish welfare standards.
The site uses significantly less water than traditional hatcheries, with water continuously recirculated through filtration, oxygenation, disinfection, and natural biofilter systems.
It also includes a multi-million pound waste to fertiliser conversion system, using pyrolysis technology to transform sludge removed from the RAS process into biochar. The system represents a first for the UK and globally
The carbon rich product from this process can be used locally to improve soil quality for forestry, supporting more circular food systems and significantly reducing waste. It also includes a multi-million-pound waste-to-fertiliser conversion system.
The facility is powered directly by renewable energy, including on-site solar and hydro generation.
‘A significant long term investment’
The Princess Royal was welcomed to Applecross by Managing Director Ian Laister, before meeting employees from across the business, including biology, veterinary, engineering, and marine operations teams.
She also met representatives from The Applecross Trust before unveiling a plaque to mark the official opening.
Pupils from Lochcarron Primary School also took part in the ceremony, presenting flowers and a gift of Bakkafrost’s Native Hebridean salmon.
Ian Laister, managing director of Bakkafrost Scotland, said: “Applecross represents a significant long-term investment in the future of sustainable salmon farming in Scotland.
“It reflects our determination to become the most sustainable Scottish salmon producer, it demonstrates how innovation, animal welfare, engineering, renewable energy, and skilled local employment can come together in modern food production.
“The ‘one summer at sea’ model has the potential to be a real gamechanger for the sector, improving survival, reducing biological challenges and making better use of natural resources.
Not everyone welcomed the visit, however. Prior to the event, businessman Dale Vince OBE founder of the Green Britain Foundation and a longstanding campaigner against fish farming, said: “Princess Anne would not be seen dead in a factory farm for chickens, I assume - with its routine animal cruelty and total lack of space and light and any semblance of a natural existence - where death and suffering are traded happily for lower costs.
“Salmon farming is no different, in fact rates of mortality are far higher. Factory farming is animal cruelty and environment degradation - why on earth should that have a royal endorsement?”
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