Feed plant open day held at Kyleakin

The event was held at the Kyleakin Connections premises, a former school in the village, and followed on from a drop-in session held for local residents in August in response to what it said were “understandable concerns” about noise and smell from the site.

More than 40 people opted to take a minibus trip to the plant to tour the facility on Saturday.

‘Good discussion’

Claes Jonermark, operations director, Mowi Feed, said: “We were delighted to meet so many people on Saturday. We have worked hard to implement measures to address concerns that people have experienced since we started production. It was a good opportunity for us to explain exactly what we have done and for us to find out if these measures have made a positive difference.

“There was good discussion and lots of questions were asked about everything from employment opportunities, exactly what we make at Kyleakin and the raw ingredients themselves, to broader questions about aquaculture.

“We will continue to inform the community about activity at the feed mill and we’re happy to answer any questions or concerns people have.”

Full capacity

The feed plant, which employs 55 people, has taken around a year longer to build than originally envisaged, and costs have risen from £80 million to well over £100m.

Introducing Mowi’s third-quarter report at the end of October, the company’s then chief executive, Alf-Helge Aarskog, said the plant would reach full capacity by the end of this year.

It will be able to produce 170,000 tonnes of feed annually and will supply Mowi’s farms across the western Highlands and Islands of Scotland, as well as Ireland, Norway and the Faroe Islands. Some Scottish farms have already been receiving feed from the facility.

Mowi is also looking at the possibility of building a salmon visitor centre on or near the feed plant site.