Green light for Loch Fyne caviar farm

A PLAN to build Scotland’s first caviar farm at Loch Fyne has been unanimously approved by Argyll and Bute councillors, following the planning officer’s recommendation.

The Fynest Caviar Co. will now start producing Osteria caviar from Russian and Siberian sturgeon in ‘a closed containment aquaculture facility’ in three buildings at Ardkinglas Sawmill, Cairndow. The Edinburgh-based company hopes to have Scottish caviar on the market by Christmas 2020. The £4m project aims to turnover £3.64m over six years and to hire seven fulltime employees, including a general manager and technical staff.

Fraser Niven, one of the company’s three directors, said: ‘We are delighted the council recognised the benefits to the area that the company’s plans represent. Not only will it bring jobs, but the board’s determination is that the company’s produce will be synonymous with quality and richness reflecting the area’s international reputation.’

The application received a 5,000-signature petition from animal rights group PETA, with names from all over the world. PETA’s director Elisa Allen said: ‘In the wild, sturgeons live in open rivers and migrate vast distances, but on commercial fish farms they’re confined to crowded tanks, where they have no option but to spend their lives swimming in endless circles. At the end of their miserable lives, they’ll be cut open so their eggs can be taken for a so-called ‘delicacy’ which most people have no appetite for. At a time when Scots and many others are moving away from animal agriculture and embracing vegan foods, this ‘first’ for Scotland is a step in the wrong direction.’