Sir Iain Anderson
Marine Harvest: 1977-1979
IIain Anderson was involved with Marine Harvest almost from the start, joining Unilever Research in 1965. ‘I have a background in marine science and microbiology, and at the time I was working for the US Government doing marine science work’, he explains. ‘Unilever contacted me and asked if I would consider returning to the UK to join Unilever Research.’ As Anderson explains, at the time Unilever had a big commitment to fishing, which included the largest trawler fleet in Europe. However, looking forward they were aware of diminishing wild fish stocks and had taken a strategic decision to investigate aquaculture on a broad front. ‘They experimented with marine fish and crustaceans, both at Aberdeen and further south, at Findon. In 1965 they bought the Vik brothers’ patent for the process for acclimatising rainbow trout from freshwater to sea water, with the idea of growing very big rainbow trout in sea water. ‘To this end the site at Lochailort – which gave them access to fresh and sea water – was acquired, and a separate entity, Marine Harvest, was established’, Anderson continues. ‘Alongside rainbow trout, Marine Harvest also had a few parr from the hatchery at Invergarry, run by the Scottish Hydro Board.’ Initially, Anderson was not involved with the Marine Harvest project. ‘My first remit was to conduct research and support the aquaculture programme from the point of view of fish husbandry and disease, and I was largely based in Aberdeen.
‘However, not long after Lochailort was set up, Marine Harvest ran into disease problems, and they contacted me to help. That established a working link between Marine Harvest
and Unilever Research, and by 1968 Unilever Research had pretty much taken over management responsibility for the day to day running of Lochailort and in the same year I was asked to lead the development programme there.’
It wasn’t long before it became clear that the potential for salmonid farming in Scotland far outstripped that of any other species, and that salmon farming made more commercial sense than farming rainbow trout. ‘In terms of knowledge and experience, the development of salmonid farming was far more advanced than halibut, turbot, dover sole and prawns, which were some of the high value species Unilever Research was experimenting with’, Anderson explains. ‘And the price we were getting for our salmon was a lot more than for our rainbow trout.’
What also became clear to everyone working at Lochailort was the quality of their fish. ‘I have a photograph of two of the first fully grown salmon removed from the pens at Lochailort, in 1971 – big, beautiful fish, around five kilos. And, because we were able to produce a few, the word was out that Marine Harvest, Unilever, was on to something.’
Anderson laughs when he recalls a conference paper he gave to the Salmon and Trout Association in 1973. ‘We were prepared to talk about what we were doing, and the paper discussed the usual issues regarding disease, nutrition, engineering, and that we still had a long way to go. However, I also made a forecast about the future, saying: “Nevertheless, a ten thousand tonne annual output is not in my mind out of the question.” It seems laughable now, but at the time produced audible gasps from the audience.’
Anderson has no doubt that they were pioneers, they were doing something that had never been done in Scotland before. ‘I remember visiting the salmon laboratory at Faskally’, Anderson recalls, ‘where they told me that farming salmon could not be done, that they couldn’t be kept in captivity. But I just didn’t believe them and carried on regardless. I think pio-
neers require certain disrespect for authority, to be prepared to go against the grain, against the best available advice of the day.’ However, he does concede that, whilst they were pioneers, in terms of production the Norwegians were just ahead of them, ‘although their approach was different’, he says. ‘They were farming salmon behind a concrete barrier in the head of a sealed-off fjord. However, we did pioneer the idea of moving farms around in floating pens, and we also identified early on the importance of automated feeding systems, and we tried out a number of different devices.’
As Anderson recalls, there were a number of challenges during these early days. ‘Every year brought new problems to overcome’, he explains. ‘Disease was always an issue; we didn’t have the disease understanding, vaccines, or operational capacity that we have now. Another challenge was finding the right nutrition for the ws when they were put to sea. There was nothing available, and we lacked the basic scientific knowledge, so we were constantly testing different formulations, and different types of feed.
‘Engineering was also unknown territory; we had a lot of problems with pens and moorings early on. Of course there was no peripheral industry structure; we were covering a number of disciplines without any outside experts to advise us. But what we did have was a great team – Dr Tom Little, my boss when I arrived in 1965, was an inspiring leader of our fish farming efforts. Drew Crawford, Robin Bradley, Don Marr, Max Keith, Alistair Hutchison and Angus MacPhie are just a few who made important
contributions – everyone worked day and night, we didn’t take holidays; we were running on adrenalin most of the time.’
Anderson also acknowledges that a lot of Marine Harvest’s early success was down to the role played by the Highlands and Islands Development Board (HIDB) – now the HIE. ‘They had a phenomenal charter and granted a lot of money to ventures that helped to develop the highland economy’, he explains. ‘We were creating jobs and boosting the economies of fragile, rural communities, so they gave us some money. But it was the political leverage we gained from their support that probably benefited us the most. And now look what’s happened; how many thousands of people in rural Scotland who are directly and indirectly employed by fish farming.’
In the early ‘70s Anderson was given responsibility for looking after Unilever’s entire fish R&D programme, of which aquaculture was just a part. Then, in 1977 he was asked to leave research altogether and run Marine Harvest, which at the time was still being run from a couple of offices in London by Harry Howard, Marine Harvest’s first MD, and Bill MacLeod, who was responsible for exploring marketing options for farmed fish. ‘By then it was felt that we really had something, and the company was beginning to attract wider attention; for me, it was the Duke of Edinburgh’s visit in 1974 that signalled Marine Harvest’s arrival on the map.’
Anderson made the decision to relocate the head office in Scotland, at Craigcrook Castle, in Edinburgh, where he worked alongside Angus Morgan, Peter Crook, Bruce Hillcoat and others. ‘It was a great move, for many reasons’, says Anderson. ‘Primarily, it was the establishment of Marine Harvest as a more serious company in Scotland. The second half of the Seventies was a really vibrant time, and I loved every minute of it. I had the dream job, with no residual desire to do anything else. However, in 1979, I was torn from Marine Harvest and placed in the factories of Merseyside, where I battled for Unilever against belligerent unionism.’
There is an ironic twist to Anderson’s story. In 1987 he was asked to join the Unilever Board, as Director of Strategy. ‘Around this time, the decision was made to focus on fast moving consumer goods’, explains Anderson. ‘This meant that its operations in agribusiness no longer fitted into Unilever’s vision. I was the guy that advised the Board that this meant we must sell Marine Harvest.’
Anderson is extremely proud of what he, and the other early pioneers achieved. ‘The fact is that Marine Harvest started from nothing, and even though the experts of the day said its vision for salmon farming was impossible’, it has become a world leader in a huge global industry. ‘Yes, we had setbacks, and we made some mistakes – but there is never a straight line to glory.’