April report set out Bakkafrost strategy​

​According to Bakkafrost, the closure of Marybank and also the harvest station at Arnish is “temporary but extended” as there will be “minimal harvesting activity over the next 18 months in the North … due to stocking, timing and locations”.

Staff, many of whom are longstanding, were given no notice of closure before it became public three weeks ago. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar was not informed while HIE told the Gazette they were made aware two weeks earlier, on conditions of confidentiality.

However, it is clear from Bakkafrost’s annual report, which was published in April, that the closure is part of a well-planned strategy which will also involve construction of a completely new processing plant, presumably on the mainland.

The plan also involves smolts production being based at two large centres – Applecross and Fairlie in Ayrshire. It is believed the run-down of fish in island sites was hastened by serious start-up problems with the Applecross development which received HIE funding.

In advance of Applecross coming on stream, smolts production in the Western Isles for Bakkafrost was brought to a premature end with large numbers of young fish destroyed. The Gazette understands that failings at Applecross left production sites without fish to harvest, sooner than was intended.

The Bakkafrost annual report stated: “The strategic focus of the investment in Scotland is to emulate the successful model established by Bakkafrost in the Faroe Islands. This includes plans to construct two large, energy-efficient hatcheries in Scotland, pivotal to adopting Bakkafrost’s strategy for growing large smolts, with an envisioned annual production capacity exceeding 15 million smolts at 500g.

“In addition to hatchery expansion, Bakkafrost is set to establish a new processing plant to enhance processing capabilities and operational flexibility”.

The report stated: “For 2024, it’s anticipated that Applecross will provide 9.1 million smolts, weighing between 200-250g, accounting for 98 per cent of the total planned for the year. With the expected completion of the Applecross stage 5 and 6 expansions by the end of 2024, Applecross will have the capacity to produce all our smolts for Scotland within the 200- 300g range.

“Drawing from the experience in the Faroe Islands, we know that larger and healthier smolts are less susceptible to risks in marine conditions due to shorter sea production cycles, resulting in more resilient salmon. The emphasis on large and high-quality smolt is pivotal to the turnaround of our Scottish operations. Therefore, further preparations were done in 2023 for the next planned hatchery to be built in Scotland at Fairlie”.

The report stated: “As a result, Bakkafrost has decided to prioritise the use of large, high-quality smolt from the Applecross hatchery, moving away from reliance on external sources”. This was expected to lead to “70 per cent of the 2024 harvest being completed in the first half of the year”.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​