Salmon Scotland recruits nine new members

Aquaculture trade body Salmon Scotland has increased its membership to 33, with nine new sector stakeholders joining its ranks in recent months.

Having expanded its reach to cover more of the farmed salmon supply chain in the past year, Salmon Scotland’s new members include fish health experts, a wellboat operator, and hybrid energy specialists. While Scottish salmon is farm-raised in Shetland, Orkney, the northwest Highlands, the Western Isles and Argyll and Bute, the latest expansion includes Scottish, U.K., and international firms.

The new members are Elanco, Fjord Maritime, O’Toole Transport, PatoGen Ltd., Sølvtrans, STIM, Sundolitt Ltd., Vónin, and World Feeds Ltd., with Salmon Scotland said many are award-winning leaders in technological advances. This emphasizes Salmon Scotland’s commitment to a low-carbon future, while achieving key targets in fish health, welfare, and maintaining the highest food quality standards, it said.

The body announced another 12 new members in April 2022. They also recently welcomed sector leaders: Mull-based Inverlussa Marine Services Managing Director Ben Wilson, Hendrix Genetics General Manager Jarl van den Berg, and Skye's Organic Sea Harvest Director Alex MacInnes to its expanded board.

Salmon Scotland CEO Tavish Scott said the continuing expansion of its membership is a “vote of confidence” in the long-term future of Scotland’s farm-raised salmon sector.

“With the Scottish Aquaculture Council shaping the vision for sustainable growth for the next 50 years and beyond, it’s never been more important to have a strong voice speaking on behalf of the sector,” he said.

Scottish salmon is the United Kingdom’s top fresh food export, with overseas sales increasing to GBP 614 million (USD 733.1 million, EUR 725.9 million) in 2021, while sales in U.K. shops increased to GBP 1.1 billion (USD 1.3 billion, EUR 1.29 billion) last year.

According to Salmon Scotland, more than 2,500 people are directly employed in salmon farming throughout the country, with 10,000 jobs dependent on the sector.

Photo courtesy of Salmon Scotland