IT was great to see Scotland’s salmon farming hitting the headlines recently with a couple of good news stories.
Scottish salmon continues to be Britain’s most popular food export, and not only that — export sales rose a huge 45 per cent last year, equating to £844million.
This was attributed to a rise in demand from Asian markets.
It really makes me proud that our country is a world-class producer of some of the most in-demand products, beating, for example, British beef and Cheddar cheese.
With that in mind, what better time to not only grow your salmon farming business, but combine it with another of our highest grossing industries — tourism.
Mowi, which already has 48 fish farms in Scotland and is a big employer within the sector, has bought two uninhabited Scots islands with plans to utilise them for salmon farming, while also harnessing their tourism potential.
The first island, Sanda, located in the Firth of Clyde, has been inhabited in the past and is already established as a tourist hotspot due to its resident seabirds.
‘Mystical and romantic’
Meanwhile, the second island, Fladda Chuain — the Isle of Perpetual Youth in Irish mythology — is positioned just north of Skye, which will stand it in good stead to capitalise on Skye’s Fairy Pools visitors.
The island, which was described as “mystical and romantic” when it went up for sale in July last year, offers views of Skye’s dramatic mountains and the picturesque Outer Hebrides — so it sounds like a perfect investment.
IT MAKES ME LAUGH...
CUSTOMER service should be at the heart of every consumer business, and it is often what differentiates a great business from an average one.
Hats off to Domino’s which took the meaning of “fast food” to another level when it delivered pizza to a stag party travelling on the Glasgow-Aberdeen train.
The delivery driver had just 90 seconds to deliver 15 pizzas while it stopped in Montrose.
I laughed at the stag’s brother’s account of the feat, describing it as a “military operation” after calling the Montrose branch earlier to put the order in and found them “brilliant” and “really accommodating”.
That’s money-can’t-buy publicity.
Plans for Sanda include refurbishing its existing hotel and accommodation and establishing yacht moorings.
There’s also potential for rewilding and nature enhancement projects.
When announcing the venture, Mowi said it had already established successful salmon farms on Rum, Muck and Colonsay, which have had wider benefits for the island communities through improved infrastructure, which helps to retain and attract people.
There’s a real gem of an opportunity here to combine two of Scotland’s industry giants.
And if it’s a success, is it perhaps something that could work for other uninhabited islands on our west coast?
The salmon industry isn’t without its controversies however, and as these good news stories hit Scots media, so did further calls to reform salmon farming regulation.
A report from the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee has called for urgent reform due to concerns about the industry’s long-term viability and its impact on our populations of wild fish.
Coinciding with this, we’ve also seen charity WildFish campaigning for better transparency as it says consumers can be potentially misled over the origins and welfare of salmon.
It’s calling for the immediate disclosure of salmon farm inspection records from the Soil Association, which has certified a number of salmon farms as “organic”.
IT MAKES ME CRY...
THE St Giles Centre in Elgin closed after 33 years of trading last month and an internal audit into the circumstances has taken place with Moray Council.
The closure came at short notice for retailers and shoppers, leaving most tenants looking for new premises.
Perhaps this outcome was inevitable — after all retail has had a tough time in recent years.
But it’s disappointing to see it managed so badly after the audit committee determined financial concerns should have come before the full council earlier.
It’s sad to see a community stalwart and employer shut down with just two weeks’ notice.
The charity wants clarification on why they have been deemed to be organic, as WildFish believes Scottish salmon farming does not follow the founding organic principles of the Soil Association.
With these things in mind, it’s fair to say that the industry is under intense scrutiny and pressure.
But I’m sure many people will agree that the industries we champion shouldn’t just be profitable, but should be sustainable and ethical, too.
Therefore, it’s important practices are examined.
Scottish salmon is such vital produce for our economy, the Holyrood Government must ensure its future by implementing the regulation reforms to help protect our wild fish and coastal eco-systems, while putting fair parameters in place to ensure we don’t scare away potential investment.
Perhaps Mowi’s islands will help shape the direction in which the industry flows, by looking at the bigger picture of helping not just the salmon farming industry to thrive, but also our island communities and their ecosystems, and opening up more areas of our beautiful country to visitors.
Is this fish farming utopia achievable, or are there too many opposing agendas for it to work?
Let’s watch this space.
I may even pay a little visit to Sanda and Fladda Chuain myself once they’re up and running as our latest tourist spots.
WE ARE A HOTSPOT FOR NEW BUSINESS
IN my last column of 2024, I reflected on a year of uncertainty and change for business, particularly with the General Election and UK Government changing.
But this didn’t dampen the spirits of Scots business with the number of companies reaching a record high.
An amazing 299,235 firms are now registered here, which just shows that Scotland is fast becoming a true hotspot for entrepreneurs — a fact I’m always happy to hear and read.
It takes a lot of dedication and resilience to start your own business.
It’s your opportunity to help shape the business landscape, to fill a gap in a market or do it better than what is out there.
The increase equates to an additional 38,273 companies established in Scotland.
It’s exciting to think that more than 38,000 ideas have sparked a new business opportunity.
While it’s not unexpected that the highest number of new businesses have been registered in Glasgow and Edinburgh, it was great to see North Lanarkshire rank third.
Reflecting on 2024, I wrote: “There has been a lot of uncertainty and change but that’s not always within our control. What matters is how we respond and remain agile.”
And haven’t we just.
These stats are proof that the Scots business community has done just that, even in a year of uncertainty where it would have perhaps been easier to doubt ourselves, play it safe and ignore that potentially great idea.
