Scottish Sea Farms achieves first ASC certification for Orkney Islands site

Having recently secured Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) accreditation for its operations on the west coast of Scotland, Scottish Sea Farms has now secured the first certification for a salmon farm in Orkney.

The Lober Rock site, at the southeast corner of Scapa Flow, underwent a series of audits to meet the criteria for ASC certification. The farm, which became operational three years ago, has had a very strong start, with 91 percent superior grade fish and a survival rate of 88 percent for its first generation, according to the company.

Scottish Sea Farms Orkney Regional Manager Duane Coetzer said other farms in the islands are now being considered for accreditation.

“For Lober Rock to be the second farm to be ASC-accredited, and do it quite flawlessly, is a fantastic achievement for the farm team,” he said. “It also fuels appetite across the region to see more Orkney farms work towards, and achieve, certification.”

Scottish Sea Farms Aquaculture Technical Lead for ASC Anna Price said having produced a strong first generation of fish, Lober Rock was an obvious contender to be put forward for ASC certification. 

“The farm team are passionate about what they do, ambitious to do even better, and understood from the word go that the certification process could only help push them on further," she said. "The aim is now to have at least another two farms in the region accredited within the next 12 months – along with our wider farming estate, because the more we go through the certification process, the more we learn and the greater the opportunities for real and positive change across the company.”

Lober Rock Farm Manager Andrew Park said the prospect of becoming the first Orkney salmon farm to gain ASC accreditation appealed to his team.

“The audits were even more detailed than we’d anticipated but the team got stuck in and coped ably, successfully demonstrating that our processes and practices rank up there with salmon-farming elite, not just in Scotland but internationally," he said.

Photo courtesy of Scottish Sea Farms