The new company is doing fine
was doing fi ne.
‘Although it’s a new company, it’s the same people that were working here before and peo- ple tend to stay for a long time,’ he observed. ‘There are plans to expand the Kirkwall processing plant, adding a new processing line. There are also plans to develop processing at Morpol’s newly acquired site at Rosyth near Edinburgh so, together with expansion on the farming side, these are exciting times for the company.
‘We had a visit from Jerzy Malek (Morpol’s founder and CEO) last week and it’s clear that he has great plans ahead.’
Future prospects
‘Of course Orkney itself has a very strong brand,’ Robert continued: ‘Especially for food and farm products, but people just don’t realise yet how important salmon farming has become as a source of employment to the islands, not just in terms of direct employment but also for contractors, for hauliers, for processors and so on.’
As a fi rst-time visitor to Orkney I must say I was highly impressed by the potential for aquaculture development and development of marine industries in general. The islands have a massive coastline swept by formidable currents. The onshore wind industry is boom- ing, while Orkney is also becoming a hub for offshore tidal and wave energy developments. According to Robert, shellfi sh farming has not yet found a foothold in Orkney. Despite many attempts, and the fact that wild mussels seem
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com 33 Fish Farmer September/October 2011
to grow well, prospective mussel farmers have not met with any success. Robert speculated that it may be because the water is so clear or it may be the strong currents. The only other aquaculture on Orkney is a small charr farm at Rackwick, which is owned by John Eccles. However, consolidation of the Orkney salmon farming sector into two large operators, Merid- ian and Scottish Sea Farms, should provide a strong platform for future expansion. So far, Meridian have taken a relatively cautious ap- proach to growing their business but, with the resources of Morpol behind them, the future of their Orkney salmon farming business is in good hands.
Many thanks to Robert Peterson and his colleagues for kindly hosting my visit and to Willie Young for setting it up.
Above: Hoy provides a dramatic backdrop to the Scapa Flow sites. Below: Robert Peterson
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