Aquaculture stars in prize shortlist

FOUR aquaculture trainees have made the shortlist for this year’s Land-based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards. They are among 24 finalists named by Lantra Scotland, the sector skills council for land-based, aquaculture and environmental conservation industries, which organises the competition. Among the aquaculture hopefuls are Harry Hamlin-Wright, a vet from Perth, who was…

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Salmon farmer helps deliver faster WiFi

A REMOTE Highlands community is enjoying a faster and more reliable broadband service thanks to Scottish Sea Farms and other local partners. The village of Drimnin, located at the end of 30 miles of a single-track road from the A861 in the West Highlands, is home to just 57 properties, a village hall, a post…

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Minister heralds hatchery investment

SCOTTISH Sea Farms is to receive £1.28 million in R&D support from Scottish Enterprise towards its work enhancing fish welfare. Announced this morning at its new recirculation hatchery in Barcaldine, Argyll, the funds will go towards a total of £18.3 million the company is investing in innovative research and development. The R&D spans five key…

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Strong Q3 results from SalMar

THE fast growing Norwegian fish farmer SalMar delivered a strong performance in the third quarter of 2018, driven by cost improvements and good prices. The operational EBIT for the quarter totalled NOK 939.1 million, up from NOK 801.3 million in the same period last year. The group harvested a total of 36,100 tonnes in the…

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Lower harvests hit Leroy Q3 profits

LERØY Seafood, the combined salmon farming and fishing group, today announced an operating profit (EBIT) of 660 million Norwegian kroners (NOK) for the third quarter of 2018, down by almost 200 million on the same period last year. The decline, said the company, which owns 50 per cent of Scottish Sea Farms, is mainly due…

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Another first for prize Cooke man

THE first student to complete the Technical Apprenticeship in Aquaculture Management was honoured with a new prize in NAFC Marine Centre UHI’s annual awards ceremony last week. John McCulloch of Cooke Aquaculture was given the inaugural Ertie Nicolson Prize in memory of the late Ertie Nicolson, who had a long association with the NAFC. McCulloch,…

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Minister vows to deal with salmon detractors

FERGUS Ewing, Scotland’s rural economy minister, vowed to continue fighting for the future of the country’s salmon farming industry, which has come under increasing attack in recent months. In a speech in Kirkwall to mark the tenth anniversary of Scottish Sea Farms’ operations in Orkney, Ewing praised the contribution the sector makes to the islands,…

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New farm gives jobs boost for Orkney

ORKNEY is to gain six new skilled jobs after Scottish Sea Farms was granted approval today for a new salmon farm off Lober Rock close to St Margaret’s Hope in Scapa Flow. The new £3 million farm, which is the culmination of several years of research and planning into identifying the best farming locations in…

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SalMar to invest £63m in new plant

SALMAR is planning to invest 675 million kroners (around £63 million) in a ground-breaking new production and processing plant in the north of Norway. The independently owned and rapidly expanding fish farming company – which owns 50 per cent of Scottish Sea Farms – said it will become one of the world’s most advanced facilities…

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Nominate top aquaculture trainees now

THE search is on for Scotland’s top rural trainees as Lantra launches its Land-based and Aquaculture Learner of the Year Awards for 2019. Nominations officially opened yesterday and rural employers, colleges and schools are being asked to put forward their best learners. The awards offer trainees of all ages a springboard to succeed in their…

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