During the summer recess, the Minister has been visiting businesses and coastal communities across Scotland, having visited Scottish Sea Farms in Shetland earlier in the summer.
For Mowi, this visit was an opportunity to highlight the importance of salmon farming in Scotland, bringing employment and helping to sustain the future of rural coastal communities. It was also a chance to demonstrate first-hand how Mowi farms responsibly and in harmony with the marine environment. The seabed at our Cheesebay sites was recently used in Mowi’s pioneering DNA-based seabed monitoring to determine environmental compliance.
The Minister met with Dougie Hunter, Technical Director at Mowi Scotland; Duncan MacQuarrie, Area Manager; Donald MacLeod, Regional Seawater Manager; Calum MacDonald, Farm Manager; as well as apprentices Alasdair Lindsay, Amelia Morrison and Nicola Lindsay, who talked about the highlights of their apprenticeships so far.
Speaking about the visit, Dougie Hunter said: “It was our pleasure to host the Minister at our Cheesebay farm. In Uist, Mowi employs more than 50 people, and we were proud to introduce the Minister to our apprentices – the next generation of farmers. Aquaculture and the associated supply chains provide well paid jobs and security for people in island communities like this.”
Jim Fairlie MSP, Minister for Agriculture, Marine and the Islands, added: “This was my first time on a salmon farm. It’s an incredible sector, it’s a vitally important sector for a place like this, it employs so many people.
“Aquaculture is only 60 years old in this country, and there’s still things to learn. There’s always going to be things to learn, but it’s an amazing source of good quality food from here in Scotland and it’s got the potential to be a brand that is globally renowned in the same way that Scottish whisky is, and that’s something we should celebrate and everybody should get behind.
“The importance to the local economy is huge, it is one of the biggest employers in the area and the bit that I really got from my visit was the apprenticeships. That’s the next generation, it’s succession planning, it’s building resilience into communities. Our National Islands Plan is all about retention and attraction. Well, this is exactly the kind of thing we need to see, making sure we’re bringing the next generation into good industries like this. That’s what will build resilience in the islands.”
Originally posted on Mowi Scotland's news page here. (02/09/2026)
Photos: Mowi Scotland