Liam McArthur MSP, the Liberal Democrat Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney, today visited Cooke Aquaculture Scotland’s Orkney operations.
The MSP toured our Cava and Fara organic Scottish salmon farms in Scapa Flow and our visited our packing station in Kirkwall, hosted by Orkney Area Manager Robert Peterson and Orkney Packing Station Manager Michael Lewington.
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland is the largest producer of organic-certified Scottish salmon, which is farm-raised exclusively in Orkney.
Liam McArthur MSP said:
“It was great to be able to see first-hand Cooke Aquaculture’s operations in Orkney. The aquaculture sector has been key to our local island economy and the sustainable production of high-quality salmon will continue to be important in the years ahead.
“I was particularly encouraged to hear about the creation of more jobs in Orkney and it was good to have the chance to speak to local staff about what they feel the future holds.”
Colin Blair, Managing Director of Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, said:
“We were pleased to welcome Liam McArthur to our seawater sites in Scapa Flow.
“Liam got his feet wet and saw some beautiful organic salmon at Cava and Fara, and met with the seawater teams who explained how new developments can help to retain existing or attract new people to live and work on these islands.
“We also took the opportunity to explain our approach to supporting people in the areas we operate through our voluntary community benefit fund, which supports local organisations and events and helps to contribute to island life.
“Earlier in the day we saw Scottish salmon from one of our Kirkwall sea farms going through our packing station destined for dinner tables in more than 16 countries worldwide.”
Ahead of the May 2021 Scottish Parliament elections, the Scottish Liberal Democrats’ manifesto said:
“We support the Scottish aquaculture industry and the high value it adds to its Scottish produce. We will support the industry to make continual improvements to production standards, and do all we can to smooth its route to international markets”.