"Incredible fish for exceptional dishes"

At home at sea

The physiological change that allows a salmon to move from a freshwater to a saltwater environment - from smolt to maturity - is one of nature’s magical moments.

And the marine environments that meet our Scottish salmon are the most beneficial they could encounter.

Our farm sites located on the west coast of Scotland and the northern isles of Shetland and Orkney provide the turbulent, clashing currents that help keep the water clear and the seabed clean.

Especially around Orkney and Shetland, our fish swim against some of the strongest, most extreme sea currents in the UK, sweeping through at 22cm per second.

To do that they must fight hard. And in accepting this natural challenge, they grow fit and strong, developing the muscle and the flesh that clearly define a Scottish Sea Farms salmon.

Sea farm sites – working with nature

The first salmon farm in Shetland was actually a wooden cage with 1,500 smolts. Now a large site can have 14 cages with 600,000 fish.

And as these are often exposed to the tempers and torments of the sea, the health and safety of our people is a prime concern.

Steel cages provide more secure working platforms, although they do need to be regularly repaired and replaced due to the battering they receive.

That’s why the majority of our marine farms are now three-ring, fully decked plastic circles, roughly 18 metres in circumference, which keep our people safe and allow them to work in conditions not possible on other structures.

Of course, the evolution of our sites has always reflected our responsibility to our fish.

The investment in cage infrastructure provides excellent containment and supports our industry-leading record in preventing marine escapes.

Heavy investment in Idema net cleaning technology reduces the need for net changes and chemical anti-foulant usage.

Across a number of sites we continuously monitor cage-specific oxygen levels, allowing objective measurement of net hygiene and feeding to optimal physiological and environmental conditions.

We operate Storvic Quattro feeding systems which match feeding rate to salmon appetite. There’s no waste of our top quality feed, and it frees our hands to further develop our husbandry skills.