Grieg puts Loch Snizort escape loss at 21,700 fish
Grieg Seafood Shetland today said it believed it had lost more than 21,000 Atlantic salmon through a hole in a net that was discovered earlier this month at Loch Snizort on Skye.
Managing director Grant Cumming said in a statement: “Grieg Seafood takes fish containment very seriously and strives to ensure fish escapes are prevented. On the afternoon of Sunday, February 11, divers discovered a hole in a net on our farm at Loch Snizort in Uig, Isle of Skye during routine checks.
“Our priority is to prevent escape and a temporary mend to secure net was immediately applied on Sunday afternoon. Marine Scotland was informed of the incident first thing on Monday morning and the net was repaired the same day. Since then we have counted the fish in the net and regrettably estimate that we have lost 21,700 fish. The fish were in good health and had not received any medicines lately.
“We are conducting an in-depth investigation to discover the root cause of the breach in the net to ensure it does not reoccur.”
18 sites
The fish weighed an average of 2kg.
Grieg Seafood Shetland Ltd operates seven pens at Loch Snizort, and has an estimated 426,000 fish on site.
The company operates 18 salmon farming sites in Shetland and Skye, and also operates a hatchery and a harvesting plant.
Last month Grieg reported an escape of around 500 fish with an average weight of 250-300 grammes during restocking operations at its Score Holms farm at Scalloway.
