A proposal to relocate our existing Chalmers Hope seawater site in Scapa Flow has cleared one of the final hurdles after gaining planning consent from Orkney Island Council.
The council agreed that moving this site into deeper water with faster flowing currents would be better for fish health and the marine environment in Scapa Flow.
The planning consent also enables the pen size to increase from 100m to 120m – enabling us to increase tonnage at the site.
The existing 75 tonne hexagonal feed barge will be replaced with a purpose-built 300 tonne “boat-style” feed barge which will allow for automatic feeding, and provide better conditions for the seawater site staff. It will also give us the flexibility to feed fish remotely if our site staff are not able to get on-site due to weather conditions and sea state.
Having achieved planning consent we now await regulatory approval from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Marine Scotland.
All going well the new site will be constructed and stocked with smolts in the first half of 2022.