Drone footage of the vessel during a survey at Mowi's Isle of Rum farm.
Photo by BH Wildlife Consultancy.
Mowi Scotland has announced a partnership with its frequent provider of technical inspection, mapping, and environmental monitoring services, Benthic Solutions Ltd, to operate a vessel dedicated to environmental surveying.
The Benthic Surveyor vessel is equipped with specialized lifting equipment, positioning systems, seabed imaging and mapping capabilities, and an onboard wet laboratory. Its main base will be in Barra, and it will be commanded by Donald MacLeod, former coxswain of the rescue lifeboat.
"Ensuring that we comply with our regulatory thresholds is essential. This not only demonstrates the sustainability of our farming operations in compliance with a wide range of aquaculture standards that we are certified against, but also provides clear provenance to our food for both suppliers and consumers," explained Mowi's Chief Operating Officer of Farming in Scotland, Ireland, The Faroes and Canada East, Ben Hadfield.
For marine surveys, Mowi uses various techniques, such as acquiring underwater imagery through specialized underwater camera surveys or utilizing innovative, developing technologies like environmental DNA.
Mowi's marine surveying scientific team is led by Dave Young, who has been monitoring the environment around its fish farms for 25 years. During this time, Young has conducted 425 seabed compliance surveys, resulting in 6,500 environmental samples and producing over 1,000 boxes of samples sent for laboratory analysis.
"The introduction of the Benthic Surveyor as a dedicated survey vessel will significantly simplify these logistics and provide increased efficiency and safety for all field staff on future operations," Ian Wilson from Benthic Solutions added.
