Her Royal Highness Princess Anne was in charge of officially opening Bakkafrost Scotland's Applecross hatchery.
Photo: Bakkafrost Scotland.
Yesterday, May 13, Her Royal Highness Princess Anne officially opened Bakkafrost Scotland's multi-million-pound Applecross hatchery. Previously described by the company as a "purpose-built, state-of-the-art RAS facility," the new development is central to its ambition to become the most sustainable Scottish salmon producer.
The establishment of this flagship hatchery, in Wester Ross, has been one of the key points in Bakkafrost's large smolt strategy to achieve better survivability and higher production in Scotland, and also a central point of the heavy investment the Faroese salmon company has been making in its Scottish operations since acquiring The Scottish Salmon Company in 2019.
"Applecross represents a significant long-term investment in the future of sustainable salmon farming in Scotland," said Ian Laister, Bakkafrost Scotland's Managing Director. "It reflects our determination to become the most sustainable Scottish salmon producer, it demonstrates how innovation, animal welfare, engineering, renewable energy, and skilled local employment can come together in modern food production."
When Bakkafrost unveiled its plans for "transformative investment" in its Scottish operations at its 2023 Capital Markets Day, the Faroese salmon producer already announced its intention to move all of its smolt production to the Applecross site, targeting a hatchery capacity of 15 million smolt at 500g weight in 2027.
Now that the hatchery in Wester Ross is a reality, the state-of-the-art plant has also become the UK's largest freshwater recirculating aquaculture system (RAS). With this technology, the Applecross facility provides precise control of water quality, temperature, and flow, enabling improved husbandry, enhanced smolt health screening, and more effective vaccination, supporting higher fish welfare standards.
The facility, officially opened yesterday, also plays a key role in Bakkafrost Scotland's 'one summer at sea' production strategy, which allows salmon to spend more time growing in ideal, controlled freshwater conditions before being transferred to the sea as larger, stronger smolt.
According to the company, this approach is a game-changer for salmon farming in Scotland, significantly reducing the time fish spend at sea and therefore reducing exposure to the natural challenges. An idea that Ian Laister also highlighted.
"The 'one summer at sea' model has the potential to be a real game-changer for the sector, improving survival, reducing biological challenges and making better use of natural resources," Bakkafrost Scotland's Managing Director stated.
Aerial view of Bakkafrost's Applecross facility in Wester Ross.
Photo: Euan Myles / Bakkafrost.
However, its benefits for the health, welfare and survival of the fish are not the only advantage of the new Applecross state-of-the-art RAS facility, which also marks an important step forward in terms of sustainability, or more specifically, in the sustainable production of Scottish salmon.
As Bakkafrost Scotland has reported, the site—which is powered directly by renewable energy, including on-site solar and hydro generation—uses significantly less water than traditional hatcheries, with water continuously recirculated through filtration, oxygenation, disinfection, and natural biofilter systems.
Likewise, it also includes a multi-million-pound waste-to-fertilizer conversion system, which uses UK-first pyrolysis technology to transform sludge removed from the RAS process into biochar, and which will significantly boost sustainability and contribute to a circular economy. Even more, this will be the first globally for use in aquaculture.
The carbon-rich product can be used locally to improve soil quality for forestry—the carbon-rich material improves soil structure and water retention—supporting more circular food systems and significantly reducing waste.
Along its development, employees at the hatchery in Wester Ross worked closely with local and international specialists to design, build, and now operate the facility, developing new skills in RAS management, renewable energy integration, and advanced fish health monitoring.
The Princess Royal toured the Applecross facility with Ian Laister, Managing Director of Bakkafrost Scotland.
Photo: Bakkafrost Scotland.
As mentioned above, HRH Princess Anne was in charge yesterday of officially opening the Applecross freshwater facility. According to Bakkafrost Scotland's release, during her visit, The Princess Royal toured the site, met employees and local guests, and learned how advanced technology is being used to improve fish welfare, reduce environmental impact and support high-value, skilled rural employment.
Operating 24 hours a day, the hatchery supports around 40 skilled permanent roles, including biology, veterinary, engineering, energy and technical operations. These jobs are in addition to those generated during construction, when the salmon company worked extensively with local and regional suppliers, contractors, and hauliers, supporting jobs across the Highlands and Islands and embedding local knowledge into the project.
Bakkafrost Scotland highlighted that collaboration with Scottish engineering, civil construction, and energy firms was crucial to carrying out this complex project in a remote rural location, which has also provided lasting infrastructure benefits for the wider community as the company simultaneously invested in improvements to local roads, increasing safety and accessibility.
Thus, commenting on Princess Anne's visit, Ian Laister expressed his pride in being able to show her how this facility, and salmon farming in general, contribute to the community, as salmon is Scotland's and the UK's largest food export and a key employer in many coastal and island communities.
"We were honoured to welcome Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal and proud to showcase the people, technology, and community partnerships behind this facility," Bakkafrost Scotland's Managing Director concluded.
