LOCH LONG SALMON ATTRACTS INVESTMENT

Loch Long Salmon attracts investment for sustainable semi-closed farming. Progress towards the consent of Loch Long Salmon’s first semi-closed farming site at Beinn Reithe is racing ahead with a new shareholder bringing additional investment to the project. Golden Acre, a food distribution company with operations in Glasgow and Surrey, was keen to find sustainable, low-impact food production opportunities and has invested in Loch Long Salmon.

Neale Powell-Cook, owner of Golden Acre said:

“We want to contribute to improving the environmental performance of the UK food sector.  We really appreciate Loch Long Salmon’s genuine commitment to sustainable salmon farming in Scotland and are anticipating a strong market demand for these special fish.  We have been convinced by the expertise brought to this project by the Loch Long Salmon team.”

Christoph Harwood, Director of Loch Long Salmon, said:

“Our goal with Loch Long Salmon is to establish a new salmon farming company that addresses concerns about sea lice and organic waste accumulation. Semi-closed farming systems deliver this and support rural development in Scotland. We are delighted that Neale Powell-Cook and the team at Golden Acre have joined us to ensure that this goal becomes a reality.”

Loch Long Salmon will only use semi-closed farming systems that have been proven to prevent sea lice from attaching to the farmed fish. These systems also have the capacity to capture salmon waste which can then be used as a natural fertiliser or in green energy production.  Stewart Hawthorn, a founding partner of Loch Long Salmon, explained, “Right now salmon waste is lost from the open nets and is dispersed into the environment.  We want to capture as much of this as possible and turn it into a resource.  We can capture more than 85% of this waste by adapting the currently available technologies.”

Semi-closed farming enclosures prevent sea lice from entering the farming environment with an impermeable barrier surrounding the farming space.  Clean, lice-free, deep water is pumped into the farming enclosure.  “By eliminating sea lice our fish will be healthier, grow faster and will experience less stress.  We will never need to use any sea lice treatment medicines.  This is a win for us and our farmed animals.  But it is also a win for the wider environment: no medication and zero increase in the sea lice population,” said Hawthorn.

The next step for the Beinn Reithe site development process is to apply for planning permission and a SEPA CAR licence.  Loch Long Salmon expects to have full planning permission by the end of 2021.  Site construction will commence in 2022 and first stocking is planned for early in 2023.