From left-right: Andy Young, Cooke Scotland Freshwater Production Manager; Colin Blair, Cooke Scotland Managing Director; Jenni Minto MSP; Morag Goodfellow, Area Manager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise; and Owen Hutchins, Cooke Scotland Cairndow Site Manager.
Photo: Cooke Scotland.
Members of the local community, funders, Scottish Parliamentary representation, and employees gathered on March 2 to celebrate the groundbreaking of a state-of-the-art Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) facility at Cooke Scotland's salmon hatchery in Cairndow, Argyll, which, with GBP 20 million plus of investment, is its largest single-capital project.
The milestone event marked the beginning of what Cooke's subsidiary in Scotland defined as "a transformative project for Cooke's salmon production in the United Kingdom," as, designed to significantly reduce the use of freshwater while improving water control, the system will allow the hatchery staff to raise healthier and more robust smolts with a lower environmental impact.
The salmon producer added that the new RAS facility in Cairndow—a coastal small town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland—represents Cooke's significant investment in innovation, fish welfare and environmental stewardship.
"This groundbreaking event signals a major step forward for our freshwater operations to increase the supply of bigger, healthier smolts for our sites for years to come," said Colin Blair, Managing Director at Cooke Scotland. "As the largest single capital project Cooke Scotland has commissioned, this development aligns with our commitment to fish welfare as well as growing the business responsibly and sustainability," he added.
As Cooke Scotland highlights in its note on the start of work to transform its Cairndow Hatchery into a state-of-the-art RAS facility, the Recirculating Aquaculture System is a modern, intensive method of fish farming that uses a closed-loop system to maintain and recycle water.
The new system will continuously filter and reuse water within the facility, reducing water consumption compared to traditional flow-through systems, such as the one at Cairndow currently where five members of staff are employed.
When the work now underway is completed, the fully integrated system in Cairndow will exceed the size of the RAS currently operating at the Furnace Hatchery in Cooke. The company said that construction is expected to be finished next year, and therefore, the first eggs are expected to arrive at the facility in December 2027.
In its release announcing this significant investment of GBP 20 million plus, Cooke Scotland explained that it produces its own organic salmon ova. Dedicated-trained staff nurture juvenile salmon in state-of-the-art freshwater facilities and remote freshwater lochs until they are ready to go to sea.
Most of Cooke Scotland's freshwater sites are located in the Argyll and Bute council area, where the Scottish salmon industry contributes over GBP 100 million to the local economy and supports approximately 1,100 jobs.
The important role of salmon farming in the economy and employment in this Scottish council was precisely what Jenni Minto MSP for Argyll and Bute highlighted, one of the guests at the groundbreaking ceremony, which concluded with a symbolic first excavation carried out by employees and guests.
"I was delighted to attend the groundbreaking ceremony in Cairndow for this development. Aquaculture plays a significant role in our local economy, and this expansion will allow Cooke Scotland to increase their production, bringing more jobs to Cowal and giving our economy a boost. I look forward to seeing the works completed," Minto said.
To support the development of this project, Cooke Scotland received a grant from Marine Fund Scotland of GBP 567,672. The Fund had previously supported the company with a subsidy of GBP 374,000 to trial and develop a new waterborne feed delivery method for its fish farming operations in Shetland.
Likewise, the salmon producer is also working closely with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), the economic and community development agency for the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Morag Goodfellow, HIE Area Manager for Argyll and the Islands, was another guest at the opening event.
"Aquaculture is hugely important to the Argyll economy. It's a growth industry and one that provides many good quality rural employment opportunities, particularly for young people. This in turn helps to attract and retain talent and sustain community resilience in many areas," Goodfellow noted. "It's great to see this latest inward investment from Cooke Scotland, which will strengthen the sector's impact and create jobs."
Finally, the CEO of Cooke Scotland took the opportunity during the ceremony to publicly thank the financial support received for the project. "We're thankful for the grant support for this project which will double the workforce at the hatchery. It will also further sustain and create more long-term, well-paid jobs throughout the company and supply chain – presenting more opportunities for local people to work in the rural communities they live in," said Colin Blair.