
Norwegian firm planning for first UK deep-sea salmon farm
Offshore salmon farming involves raising fish at sea in submerged cages, several miles away from coastal areas. Modelled on oil platforms, these super-sized farms are bigger than inshore sites and more robust for deeper waters.
The new technology is viewed by supporters as a more sustainable form of fish production. But critics have described offshore farming as 'factory farming of the sea' and super farms off Norway have suffered problems such as fish escapes which can impact the marine ecosystem.
The finding comes from government documents released under freedom of information law to The Ferret, along with plans leaked from Norwegian aquaculture giant SalMar. They show that the Shetland site, if sanctioned, would see three huge farms spread across an area several times the size of Lerwick – rearing more than five million fish.
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Proposals for the project are already developed enough for Crown Estate Scotland to be considering specific co-ordinates for the farms. The plans have also been shared with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Shetland Islands Council and the Scottish Government.
MSPs were told last month that while firms operating in Norway with links to Scotland are looking at offshore opportunities, no companies currently operating in Scotland are considering this.
Campaign group Animal Equality criticised what it described as a 'veil of secrecy' over SalMar's plans, while environmental charity Green Britain Foundation (GBF) said the aquaculture industry was demonstrating it 'can't be trusted'.
'They're apparently planning massive offshore operations in Shetland waters,' said GBF's founder Dale Vince. 'We don't need another experiment in factory farming, in a pristine environment, from an industry in pursuit of profit at any cost.'
SalMar did not respond to our request for a comment. Salmon Scotland – which represents salmon farmers – said it had no knowledge of any company plans to move immediately into offshore locations.
SalMar in Shetland
DURING a visit to Shetland in January, SalMar presented a plan to locals for three separate farms, each five kilometres apart and rearing 1.6 million fish apiece. The site's total footprint would cover more than 25 square kilometres.
The plans said the super farm could bring dozens of jobs to Shetland. The scale of the project, however, has concerned local fishers.
'It will mean spatial squeeze inshore and offshore for us,' said Sheila Keith, of Shetland Fishermen's Association. 'I'm not convinced growth is always the best thing for industries in Shetland when we have finite space and parameters to work with. Is expansion the best thing for Shetland?'
SalMar presented its plans to a number of local stakeholders, including Yell community council at a public meeting. The community council declined to share the presentation with The Ferret but did volunteer emails from SalMar in which the company said: 'We have chosen not to share any written material such as the presentation shared with you and would not like this to be shared with externals such as the media, please do not share it.'
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The firm raised similar concerns with government officials. In emails discussing freedom of information requests, SalMar urged officials to withhold details and they agreed. 'We will redact the specifics on [redacted] proposed and the more specific area of interest first identified, as well as the reference to [redacted] as previously discussed,' an official wrote to SalMar in March.
Shetland Islands Council rejected a similar freedom of information request for emails exchanged with SalMar – citing commercial sensitivities and intellectual property rights.
The council told The Ferret that it held 'initial pre-application discussions on this matter', but declined to comment further.
Holyrood vote this month
HOLYROOD will vote on whether to extend marine planning zones into offshore waters later this month, effectively opening up areas to applications for the new technology, as proposed by SalMar for Shetland.
At a meeting of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (RAIC) last month at Holyrood, Salmon Scotland reassured ministers that regulators would have ample time to develop the expertise to keep offshore farms in check, because companies would move 'incrementally' into deeper waters.
'Companies at the moment have no direct, to my knowledge, plans to move immediately into [offshore] location[s],' said Iain Berrill,
Salmon Scotland's head of technical. 'We're not going to rush straight to that area.'
Government documents show that SalMar has been discussing plans for a farm in Scotland with government officials for at least 18 months. As early as July 2024, Crown Estate Scotland asked SalMar's holding company, Kverva, to provide co-ordinates to check for existing infrastructure like subsea cables in the area, or other developers who have expressed an interest.
Most of these documents – a heavily redacted combination of meeting agendas, minutes and emails – were omitted from the Government's initial freedom of information response to The Ferret, but later released on review.
At last month's RAIC Holyrood meeting, ministers were told the Government's marine directorate did not have detailed information about the plans. When asked the next day about those plans, a government spokesperson said some of its communications with SalMar are 'commercially sensitive'.
When giving his evidence to the RAIC, Salmon Scotland's Berrill did acknowledge that Norwegian companies are already farming in offshore waters abroad.
'There are companies which have facilities in other countries, specifically Norway, which are in those [offshore] locations at the moment, and they have some links to our companies,' he said. 'But at the moment those that are operating here are doing this in an incremental manner.'
Scottish Sea Farms (SSF), one of Salmon Scotland's member companies operating in Shetland, is half owned by SalMar. The Government's minutes show that SSF attended at least one of SalMar's planning meetings with officials in June. At that meeting, SalMar agreed to begin sharing co-ordinates with Crown Estate Scotland.
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Neither SalMar nor SSF responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Salmon Scotland confirmed Berrill's evidence.
They said: 'The evidence provided to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee is accurate – while some Norwegian salmon farming companies have the capability to operate in more exposed offshore locations, none of the companies currently operating in Scotland are seeking to develop such farms at this time.'
Crown Estate Scotland's director Mike Spain gave evidence alongside Berrill during last month's committee meeting but did not mention SalMar's plans. A spokesperson said: 'If asked to do so, Crown Estate Scotland occasionally completes checks of the seabed for potential development conflicts as a matter of courtesy. The check is effectively a snapshot in time and does not infer any permissions or development rights.'
Holyrood is now expected to vote on opening up Scotland's offshore waters to aquaculture applications on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. If passed, the measures would come into effect a week after on June 18.
By extending existing marine planning zones from three nautical miles out to 12, the ultimate consenting decision for offshore farms would still rest with local councils, as it currently does for inshore farms.
'There are a lot of unknowns'
OFFSHORE salmon farms – mostly in Norway – have a mixed track record.
While almost 16,000 fish escaped during SalMar's first offshore trial in 2019, the company has claimed record low fish deaths in more recent rounds of production.
During the RAIC meeting last month, various experts described the technology as untested.
From fish health to the logistics of getting staff around the massive sites, the RSPCA told ministers 'there are a lot of unknowns'.
The head of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, Elspeth Macdonald, raised concerns about the overall environmental impact of offshore farms – such as fish escapes, the impact of offshore infrastructure or the volumes of fish excrement they might generate.
SalMar has now put its offshore plans in Norway 'on hold', according to its website, 'due to regulatory uncertainty'.
If Holyrood passes the amendment later this month, SalMar is expected to begin its application for Britain's first deep-sea salmon farm this summer.
That process would involve a pre-application consultation and public events in Shetland. A final application could then be submitted with Shetland Islands Council, which is responsible for putting the plans past national regulators.

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The National
a day ago
- The National
Norwegian firm planning for first UK deep-sea salmon farm
Offshore salmon farming involves raising fish at sea in submerged cages, several miles away from coastal areas. Modelled on oil platforms, these super-sized farms are bigger than inshore sites and more robust for deeper waters. The new technology is viewed by supporters as a more sustainable form of fish production. But critics have described offshore farming as 'factory farming of the sea' and super farms off Norway have suffered problems such as fish escapes which can impact the marine ecosystem. The finding comes from government documents released under freedom of information law to The Ferret, along with plans leaked from Norwegian aquaculture giant SalMar. They show that the Shetland site, if sanctioned, would see three huge farms spread across an area several times the size of Lerwick – rearing more than five million fish. READ MORE: UK won't recognise Palestine at UN conference despite 'discussions', reports say Proposals for the project are already developed enough for Crown Estate Scotland to be considering specific co-ordinates for the farms. The plans have also been shared with the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, Shetland Islands Council and the Scottish Government. MSPs were told last month that while firms operating in Norway with links to Scotland are looking at offshore opportunities, no companies currently operating in Scotland are considering this. Campaign group Animal Equality criticised what it described as a 'veil of secrecy' over SalMar's plans, while environmental charity Green Britain Foundation (GBF) said the aquaculture industry was demonstrating it 'can't be trusted'. 'They're apparently planning massive offshore operations in Shetland waters,' said GBF's founder Dale Vince. 'We don't need another experiment in factory farming, in a pristine environment, from an industry in pursuit of profit at any cost.' SalMar did not respond to our request for a comment. Salmon Scotland – which represents salmon farmers – said it had no knowledge of any company plans to move immediately into offshore locations. SalMar in Shetland DURING a visit to Shetland in January, SalMar presented a plan to locals for three separate farms, each five kilometres apart and rearing 1.6 million fish apiece. The site's total footprint would cover more than 25 square kilometres. The plans said the super farm could bring dozens of jobs to Shetland. The scale of the project, however, has concerned local fishers. 'It will mean spatial squeeze inshore and offshore for us,' said Sheila Keith, of Shetland Fishermen's Association. 'I'm not convinced growth is always the best thing for industries in Shetland when we have finite space and parameters to work with. Is expansion the best thing for Shetland?' SalMar presented its plans to a number of local stakeholders, including Yell community council at a public meeting. The community council declined to share the presentation with The Ferret but did volunteer emails from SalMar in which the company said: 'We have chosen not to share any written material such as the presentation shared with you and would not like this to be shared with externals such as the media, please do not share it.' READ MORE: 'Joy, celebration and warmth' of Palestinian art to be showcased at Edinburgh Fringe The firm raised similar concerns with government officials. In emails discussing freedom of information requests, SalMar urged officials to withhold details and they agreed. 'We will redact the specifics on [redacted] proposed and the more specific area of interest first identified, as well as the reference to [redacted] as previously discussed,' an official wrote to SalMar in March. Shetland Islands Council rejected a similar freedom of information request for emails exchanged with SalMar – citing commercial sensitivities and intellectual property rights. The council told The Ferret that it held 'initial pre-application discussions on this matter', but declined to comment further. Holyrood vote this month HOLYROOD will vote on whether to extend marine planning zones into offshore waters later this month, effectively opening up areas to applications for the new technology, as proposed by SalMar for Shetland. At a meeting of the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (RAIC) last month at Holyrood, Salmon Scotland reassured ministers that regulators would have ample time to develop the expertise to keep offshore farms in check, because companies would move 'incrementally' into deeper waters. 'Companies at the moment have no direct, to my knowledge, plans to move immediately into [offshore] location[s],' said Iain Berrill, Salmon Scotland's head of technical. 'We're not going to rush straight to that area.' Government documents show that SalMar has been discussing plans for a farm in Scotland with government officials for at least 18 months. As early as July 2024, Crown Estate Scotland asked SalMar's holding company, Kverva, to provide co-ordinates to check for existing infrastructure like subsea cables in the area, or other developers who have expressed an interest. Most of these documents – a heavily redacted combination of meeting agendas, minutes and emails – were omitted from the Government's initial freedom of information response to The Ferret, but later released on review. At last month's RAIC Holyrood meeting, ministers were told the Government's marine directorate did not have detailed information about the plans. When asked the next day about those plans, a government spokesperson said some of its communications with SalMar are 'commercially sensitive'. When giving his evidence to the RAIC, Salmon Scotland's Berrill did acknowledge that Norwegian companies are already farming in offshore waters abroad. 'There are companies which have facilities in other countries, specifically Norway, which are in those [offshore] locations at the moment, and they have some links to our companies,' he said. 'But at the moment those that are operating here are doing this in an incremental manner.' Scottish Sea Farms (SSF), one of Salmon Scotland's member companies operating in Shetland, is half owned by SalMar. The Government's minutes show that SSF attended at least one of SalMar's planning meetings with officials in June. At that meeting, SalMar agreed to begin sharing co-ordinates with Crown Estate Scotland. READ MORE: Freedom Flotilla urges UK Government to 'protect' ship from Israel as it nears Gaza Neither SalMar nor SSF responded to requests for comment. A spokesperson for Salmon Scotland confirmed Berrill's evidence. They said: 'The evidence provided to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee is accurate – while some Norwegian salmon farming companies have the capability to operate in more exposed offshore locations, none of the companies currently operating in Scotland are seeking to develop such farms at this time.' Crown Estate Scotland's director Mike Spain gave evidence alongside Berrill during last month's committee meeting but did not mention SalMar's plans. A spokesperson said: 'If asked to do so, Crown Estate Scotland occasionally completes checks of the seabed for potential development conflicts as a matter of courtesy. The check is effectively a snapshot in time and does not infer any permissions or development rights.' Holyrood is now expected to vote on opening up Scotland's offshore waters to aquaculture applications on Wednesday, June 11, 2025. If passed, the measures would come into effect a week after on June 18. By extending existing marine planning zones from three nautical miles out to 12, the ultimate consenting decision for offshore farms would still rest with local councils, as it currently does for inshore farms. 'There are a lot of unknowns' OFFSHORE salmon farms – mostly in Norway – have a mixed track record. While almost 16,000 fish escaped during SalMar's first offshore trial in 2019, the company has claimed record low fish deaths in more recent rounds of production. During the RAIC meeting last month, various experts described the technology as untested. From fish health to the logistics of getting staff around the massive sites, the RSPCA told ministers 'there are a lot of unknowns'. The head of the Scottish Fishermen's Federation, Elspeth Macdonald, raised concerns about the overall environmental impact of offshore farms – such as fish escapes, the impact of offshore infrastructure or the volumes of fish excrement they might generate. SalMar has now put its offshore plans in Norway 'on hold', according to its website, 'due to regulatory uncertainty'. If Holyrood passes the amendment later this month, SalMar is expected to begin its application for Britain's first deep-sea salmon farm this summer. That process would involve a pre-application consultation and public events in Shetland. A final application could then be submitted with Shetland Islands Council, which is responsible for putting the plans past national regulators.


North Wales Chronicle
3 days ago
- North Wales Chronicle
Greenpeace condemns Equinor-funded computer game aimed at UK schoolchildren
EnergyTown, aimed at children aged nine to 14, encourages players to build a city that will survive until 2050 by balancing energy, economy, environment and population wellbeing demands. The game shows fossil fuels as part of a clean future energy mix, while players who start the game with a heavy reliance on renewable energy often fail to reach the mid-century milestone. It comes as part of a school education programme launched in October 2023 by Equinor called Wonderverse, with the firm saying it has reached more than 81,400 UK pupils by the following July. The deadline for schools to enter the 2025 nationwide EnergyTown competition is on Friday. The Norwegian oil major, which is seeking to develop the controversial Rosebank oil field in the UK North Sea, has previously denied that the game is part of a lobbying campaign but rather the firm's ambitions to make young people curious about science and technology. Greenpeace has fiercely criticised the game, claiming the fossil fuel company's support for the project is a 'cynical PR ploy'. The PA News Agency has contacted Equinor for comment. Mel Evans, head of Greenpeace UK's climate team, said: 'We know many young children know a lot about the climate crisis and what's driving it. 'If Equinor wants to win young hearts and minds, it should get serious about ditching fossil fuels and shifting to clean energy.' Greenpeace highlighted a Wonderverse webpage that tells players how to improve their scores if their city fails before the mid-century mark. While it says that players should think about phasing out non-renewable energy resources as the game progresses to improve its green score, they are also advised to invest in 'more reliable' fossil fuels, nuclear and hydrogen to power their cities. It notes: 'If you're relying on electricity from renewable energy resources like wind and solar power, you may have less electricity due to these energy resources being less reliable. 'Therefore, your other facilities (such as the businesses and recreational tiles) may struggle to run.' The page later adds: 'You should invest in a more reliable way to generate electricity, such as nuclear, oil, natural gas or hydrogen. 'It is important to consider that this may negatively impact your green score,' it adds. 'You should think about how you can phase out non-renewable energy resources as you progress later in the game.' Last July, the nationwide EnergyTown competition saw 160 children take part and an 11-year-old boy in Walmley Junior School, Birmingham, win the primary school level contest. In a statement at the time, Sue Falch-Lovesey, Equinor's UK Head of Social Value, said the competition 'showed a good level of understanding of the variety of energy sources our cities of the future will need'. Greenpeace highlighted how Birmingham was hit by flash floods a week after the energy firm published the press release on its website. Ms Evans said: 'Thanks to companies like Equinor, these children are living in homes with higher energy bills; living through summers of wildfires and droughts, and winters of increasingly worse flooding. 'The UK government should stop Rosebank, and should instead invest in the wind industry in the regions where workers and communities need to transition.' After the regulator granted approval for Equinor to develop Rosebank in 2023, the Scottish Court of Session ruled the decision as unlawful in January this year. Equinor is expected to reapply for its consent to drill at Rosebank once the Government's revised guidance on emissions produced by burning oil and gas is released. EnergyTown was developed for the Equinor programme by the marketing agency We Are Futures, which has worked for other high-emitting firms like BP. In a statement, Equinor said: 'The overall intention and aim for Wonderverse and EnergyTown is to provide schools and teachers with a suite of high-quality resources to help students learn more about where energy comes from, whilst building science subject affinity and the employability skills needed to successfully enter employment.' The company said the programme has been awarded a green tick by the Association for Science Education, assuring the programme's quality for use in schools, and the game used data from the International Energy Agency to ensure the scenarios are realistic and representative of the UK's current energy system. 'The path to 2050 is complex,' it said. 'The game is designed to reflect this complexity and using the real-world data the game is based on, shows the energy transition is about balance, requiring a mix of sources over time. 'The development of the game is part of Equinor's ordinary activities and programmes to stimulate the interest in science and technology (STEM) among young people, and not developed as part of any Rosebank campaign.'


South Wales Guardian
3 days ago
- South Wales Guardian
Greenpeace condemns Equinor-funded computer game aimed at UK schoolchildren
EnergyTown, aimed at children aged nine to 14, encourages players to build a city that will survive until 2050 by balancing energy, economy, environment and population wellbeing demands. The game shows fossil fuels as part of a clean future energy mix, while players who start the game with a heavy reliance on renewable energy often fail to reach the mid-century milestone. It comes as part of a school education programme launched in October 2023 by Equinor called Wonderverse, with the firm saying it has reached more than 81,400 UK pupils by the following July. The deadline for schools to enter the 2025 nationwide EnergyTown competition is on Friday. The Norwegian oil major, which is seeking to develop the controversial Rosebank oil field in the UK North Sea, has previously denied that the game is part of a lobbying campaign but rather the firm's ambitions to make young people curious about science and technology. Greenpeace has fiercely criticised the game, claiming the fossil fuel company's support for the project is a 'cynical PR ploy'. The PA News Agency has contacted Equinor for comment. Mel Evans, head of Greenpeace UK's climate team, said: 'We know many young children know a lot about the climate crisis and what's driving it. 'If Equinor wants to win young hearts and minds, it should get serious about ditching fossil fuels and shifting to clean energy.' Greenpeace highlighted a Wonderverse webpage that tells players how to improve their scores if their city fails before the mid-century mark. While it says that players should think about phasing out non-renewable energy resources as the game progresses to improve its green score, they are also advised to invest in 'more reliable' fossil fuels, nuclear and hydrogen to power their cities. It notes: 'If you're relying on electricity from renewable energy resources like wind and solar power, you may have less electricity due to these energy resources being less reliable. 'Therefore, your other facilities (such as the businesses and recreational tiles) may struggle to run.' The page later adds: 'You should invest in a more reliable way to generate electricity, such as nuclear, oil, natural gas or hydrogen. 'It is important to consider that this may negatively impact your green score,' it adds. 'You should think about how you can phase out non-renewable energy resources as you progress later in the game.' Last July, the nationwide EnergyTown competition saw 160 children take part and an 11-year-old boy in Walmley Junior School, Birmingham, win the primary school level contest. In a statement at the time, Sue Falch-Lovesey, Equinor's UK Head of Social Value, said the competition 'showed a good level of understanding of the variety of energy sources our cities of the future will need'. Greenpeace highlighted how Birmingham was hit by flash floods a week after the energy firm published the press release on its website. Ms Evans said: 'Thanks to companies like Equinor, these children are living in homes with higher energy bills; living through summers of wildfires and droughts, and winters of increasingly worse flooding. 'The UK government should stop Rosebank, and should instead invest in the wind industry in the regions where workers and communities need to transition.' After the regulator granted approval for Equinor to develop Rosebank in 2023, the Scottish Court of Session ruled the decision as unlawful in January this year. Equinor is expected to reapply for its consent to drill at Rosebank once the Government's revised guidance on emissions produced by burning oil and gas is released. EnergyTown was developed for the Equinor programme by the marketing agency We Are Futures, which has worked for other high-emitting firms like BP. In a statement, Equinor said: 'The overall intention and aim for Wonderverse and EnergyTown is to provide schools and teachers with a suite of high-quality resources to help students learn more about where energy comes from, whilst building science subject affinity and the employability skills needed to successfully enter employment.' The company said the programme has been awarded a green tick by the Association for Science Education, assuring the programme's quality for use in schools, and the game used data from the International Energy Agency to ensure the scenarios are realistic and representative of the UK's current energy system. 'The path to 2050 is complex,' it said. 'The game is designed to reflect this complexity and using the real-world data the game is based on, shows the energy transition is about balance, requiring a mix of sources over time. 'The development of the game is part of Equinor's ordinary activities and programmes to stimulate the interest in science and technology (STEM) among young people, and not developed as part of any Rosebank campaign.'