Mowi broodstock facility on course to begin operating in 2025

The construction of salmon farmer Mowi Scotland’s permanent broodstock operation at Ardessie is well under way and should be fully operational in 2025, the company has reported in its website.

Fifty million eyed eggs, enough to supply all Mowi farms in Scotland, as well as some excess that could be sold commercially, will be produced at Ardessie.

The facility is designed to allow photoperiod and water temperature control using recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) technology to advance or delay the spawning of the fish.

It will feature three different egg incubation RAS units with each one held at a different temperature to extend the period of egg supply. This will ensure that eggs can be stocked throughout the year to the production hatcheries. 

Mowi Scotland currently sources the majority of its eggs from Mowi Ireland where they are only available within the standard spawning season. Ardessie will produce exclusive Mowi genetic strain eggs for Scotland with no requirement to purchase eggs from third party suppliers.

RAS hatcheries

Speaking to Fish Farming Expert magazine earlier this year, Mowi Scotland chief operating officer Ben Hadfield explained that although fish descended from Mowi’s Irish broodstock performed much better than those hatched from bought-in ova, the Irish ova were not suitable for Mowi’s big RAS hatcheries at Lochailort and Inchmore all year round.

“What we need is out-of-season eggs for the recirculation units. Because the RAS units are warmer it’s difficult to grow eggs that have just come a natural season.”

Until Ardessie is complete, Mowi Scotland has also invested in a new hatchery at an existing site at Inverpolly. This facility is being used to spawn the mature fish this year with over 1.7 million eggs stripped so far. It is anticipated that around 21 million eggs will be produced at Inverpolly once all the fish have spawned.

The new broodstock operation at Ardessie will employ nine people, including the broodstock manager, and will retain staff from the Wester Ross seawater site which is adjacent to the facility. This seawater site is used to stock the broodstock prior to transfer into the new facility and the team there will continue to operate the sea site and look after the broodstock there.

The purpose-built facility at Ardessie will consist of three buildings: the main broodstock building; the egg incubation building; and the intake water treatment/shorebase building.

All groundworks are completed, including building foundations, general site drainage and underground process pipework. The floor slabs in all three building are also complete, as are the steel frames for the intake water building and egg incubation building. Cladding has commenced on the egg incubation and intake water buildings, while external roads and service yards for the facility are nearing completion.