Cooke plans large new farm at high-energy Shetland site

Salmon farmer Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is today holding the second of two public consultation events to inform people about plans for a new site to the north of the island of Vementry, in St Magnus Bay, Shetland.

Cooke wants to use its experience gained at high energy sites in Orkney to site 12 x 120-metre pens and a feed barge in the Bay.

“The proposed site is a high energy environment which will have optimal conditions for rearing strong and healthy fish whilst minimising potential effects on the local environment,” said Cooke in a page on its website about the planned farm.

Cooke held two public consultation sessions at Muckle Roe Hall, Muckle Roe, yesterday and will hold two at Eid Hall, Aith, today, from 2-4pm and 6-8pm.

Volume not yet set

The company has not yet put a figure on the volume of fish that might be grown at the site.

“As we are in the pre-application period regarding the proposed development of a new Atlantic salmon farm to the north of the island of Vementry, St Magnus Bay, Shetland, we are inviting feedback from stakeholders. We will finalise scope after carefully considering all consultation responses which we receive,” a spokesperson told Fish Farming Expert.

The maximum allowed biomass of a site is determined by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and is subject to several factors, such as the capacity of the water body and currents to safely absorb and disperse fish faeces and uneaten feed.

The depth of a site also determines volume, with deeper pens allowing space for more fish.

Big potential

Depending on the factors above, among others, a site with 12 x 120 metre circumference pens could be substantial. Although not as big as the 160-metre circumference pens recently introduced over the last few years by Mowi Scotland, Scottish Sea Farms, and by Cooke in Orkney, 120m pens are a siginifcant step up from those used in the past.

Cooke’s East Moclett site, in Orkney, has 6 x 160 metre pens and a maximum allowed biomass of 3,850 tonnes. A 120m pen has a much smaller surface area – approximately 1,146 square metres – than the 2,040m² of a 160m pen, but 12 of the smaller pens adds up to a larger surface area of around 13,750m², compared to 12,240m² for six pens of 160m. This means that if there's adequate depth and other conditions allow it, the maximum allowed biomass could be around 4,000 tonnes.

Cooke and other salmon farmers such as Scottish Sea Farms and Mowi Scotland are moving towards larger pens to give fish more room and make farming operations more efficient. Larger pens are also more stable in the high energy environments now favoured by farmers.

Impact assessment

Canadian-owned Cooke points out on its website that any new fish farm will require an accompanying Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) to be conducted, and that the site would require a Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) licence from SEPA.

“The Vementry site is located within the potential influence of Papa Stour Special Protected Area (SPA) designated for important breeding colonies of sea birds. This will be assessed in the comprehensive EIA proposed to ensure that all potential effects are accounted for,” writes Cooke.

It adds that there are two designated seal haul-out sites within the vicinity of the proposed development, and that tensioned, steel-cored cage nets that have proved to be effective against seal attacks would be used.

The farm would be serviced on a daily basis from Cooke’s existing shorebase at Aith and would lead to the creation of five skilled full-time jobs.