Marine Harvest applies for new Scots salmon farm
Marine Harvest Scotland has applied for permission to operate a new 2,500 tonne salmon farm on the east coast of the island of Scalpay.
The company hopes to operate 12 pens with a circumference of 120 metres, within a 75m x 70m mooring matrix, at the site between the Isle of Skye and the Scottish mainland.
The application for a Controlled Activities Regulations licence also seeks permission to use Cypermethnn, Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos bath treatments, as well as the in-feed medicine Emamactin Benzoate.
AutoDepomod modelling has been performed to indicate that the development will adhere to SEPA’s Environmental Quality Standards.
Ongoing expansion
Earlier this year Marine Harvest applied for permission to increase production of salmon smolt at Glenfinnan Fish Farm in Loch Shiel by 20 per cent, from 225 tonnes to 270 tonnes.
In supporting documents the company said: “This increase would support the company’s ongoing expansion plans which are vital to allow us to continue to compete with our global competitors and thus gain further investment into Scottish fish farming. Fish farming operations have existed in the loch for over 30 years and there have been no loch chemistry issues during that entire period.”
Marine Harvest has recently applied to increase biomass at several of its sites and in November applied to open a new farm at An Camas, South Uist. It proposed 10 x 100m pens with a maximum biomass of 1,471 tonnes within a 65m x 75m mooring matrix.
