Loch Duart leaps back into the black

● Salmon business puts jellyfish attacks behind it as turnover up 60%

deal with Ewos for a bespoke salmon feed helping ensure its fish eat from sustainable and ethical sources.

Denton said that salmon farming at sea was a “capitalintensive business”, and the return to profitability had enabled it to re-invest £2.9m in the business during the year and a similar level of investment was planned for 2017-18.

The business said that it was also investing heavily in its non-medicinal management and maintenance of fish health.

The latest accounts show that the group has reduced its loans and bank debts, which have fallen to £2.6m at endmarch 2017 from £7.2m a year earlier.

Group headcount increased to 109 at end-march, and has since increased to 115.

Loch Duart is the first fish farm in the world to achieve Rspcafreedomfoodapproval.

Among its other innovations are inventing a drum filter which can filter sea water down to 100 micron to collect any parasites and their eggs in the heavy water flows taken from the pens.

In 2015 it secured a source of capelin “trimmings” for all the company’s fishmeal requirements to enhance the sustainability and quality criteria of Loch Duart salmon.