Cooke’s recipe for offshore success
SCOTLAND’S rural economy minister, Fergus Ewing, learnt about advances being made in offshore salmon farming during a recent trip to Orkney.
The minister visited Cooke Aquaculture’s Kirkwall base to hear about progress at the company’s new, high energy site at East Skelwick in Westray.
Granted planning permission last summer, the farm is 2.5km offshore, and is equipped with durable technology that can withstand sustained exposure to high wind and wave loads.
The new site will consist of eight pens measuring 130m in circumference, the largest currently used in Scotland.
There will also be a wave measurement buoy, a weather station incorporating hydrographic sensors, and real-time environmental sensors.
They have been procured with assistance from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF), negotiated by the Scottish Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC) with Marine Scotland.
Ewing said: ‘Cooke are championing innovative approaches to sustainably growing the Scottish aquaculture industry, and are a fantastic example of what can be achieved in Scotland when there is a combination of vision and wider support.’
Colin Blair, managing director of Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, said: ‘To maximise the data gained from the new site, wind, wave and hydrographic conditions will be monitored in real-time, alongside routine farm operational observations.
‘This enables the resilience of cages and moorings, site accessibility and salmon performance to be correlated with the prevailing physical conditions, including any extreme weather events.’
The experience gained by Cooke at the East Skelwick site will be shared with the wider fish farming community.
Dr Robin Shields, senior aquaculture innovation manager at SAIC, said his organisation was ‘delighted’ with the progress at Cooke’s high energy site.
‘We will liaise with Cooke Aquaculture to help ensure that the important data from these instruments is interpreted fully, allowing a more accurate assessment of site performance.’