Successes at Seaforth for Mowi. It has been a busy and successful time for the team at Loch Seaforth, celebrating a record harvest and the successful conclusion of the first part of crucial helicopter drill training.
Record harvest
Salmon from Loch Etive arrived at Loch Seaforth in February 2025. Mowi has been pioneering post smolt salmon production at Loch Etive as a sustainable alternative to land-based post smolt production which incurs intense construction costs and energy consumption. The salmon arriving at Loch Seaforth were therefore further on in their lifecycle, weighing an average of 427g.
The last pen at Seaforth was harvested in March 2026, completing a 13-month cycle. The average weight for each harvested salmon came in at just under 5kg, with the total harvest reaching over 7,000 tonnes. This is a record harvest for the team at Loch Seaforth.
Speaking about the new record, farm manager Stephen Maciver said:
“Like any seawater cycle, we faced challenges. But with a great team consisting of 13 FTE and brilliant resources at hand we absolutely rose to those challenges, and I am proud of everyone who played their part in achieving this record harvest.”
Helicopter drill training
Whilst the farm was fallow after harvest, the Seaforth team arranged a trip to Stornoway Airport to meet the helicopter team. The Mowi team had a tour of all the facilities, including the inside of the helicopter and the comms room where there was a detailed discussion of key points that the Seaforth team should cover in the case of an emergency.
Stephen commented:
“Helicopter drills are part of our own training, and we really learned a lot from listening to the team in Stornoway. It was really useful to go through different emergency scenarios, whether that involved the workboats, barges or the pens, and discuss the best approach for each scenario.”
The team hopes to conduct a part two to this training which will include having the helicopter at Loch Seaforth and practising the drill for each emergency scenario.
RNLI lifeboat
The team at Seaforth feels very fortunate to have local emergency services on the Isle of Lewis to engage with and improve their connections with this vital part of the community. Next up is a meeting with the Coxswain of the Stornoway Lifeboat.
As well as seeing the lifeboat and equipment onboard, the team will go through emergency drills such as towing, sinking, collision, loss of steering, fire onboard and grounding, and get a better understanding of how the RNLI works alongside the emergency services.
Image: Mowi