Located to the west of South Whiteness and Weisdale Voe, the £7.5 million development is Scotland’s largest salmon farm. It has created eight full-time roles and brings together new technology and larger infrastructure to support fish health and welfare, as well as staff safety.
The children helped celebrate the launch after choosing the names for the farm’s two new workboats, Vissa-Dair and Bluey, which were also launched today.
To mark the school’s involvement, we are donating £10,000 towards a new reading scheme and sets of novels for older pupils. We will also fund the shipping of the school’s existing reading books to its partner school in Senegal once they are replaced.
Whiteness Primary Head Teacher Rachel Colclough said pupils from Early Years to P7 had enthusiastically taken part in the boat-naming competition.
“Our books are very out of date and it would have taken us years to find the money to replace them,” she said. “This gift has made all the difference and we can now buy books that are more relevant to our children.”
Investing in Shetland’s future
Cutting the ribbon, Hannah Mary Goodlad said: “Shetland’s deeper, cleaner waters and strong currents form an incredible habitat for all our seafood industries, and I am not surprised that Shetland is now to host Scotland’s largest sea farm.
“This project is a great example of Shetland’s unique ability to attract key, high-value investment that builds our economy, grows our workforce and strengthens our supply chain.”
Our Managing Director Jim Gallagher said involving the school was the highlight of the day.
“The presence of the children reminded us that they are the future and it’s crucial that, as Shetland’s largest private employer, we can offer them a future to look forward to here, with skilled job opportunities to match their talents.
“By growing our business and investing in the Shetland and Scottish economy, as we have done with Billy Baa, we will continue to contribute to the long-term viability of our local communities.”
Technology supporting fish and people
Stocked in September, Billy Baa follows our strategy of developing larger farms in locations with deeper waters and faster currents.
The farm has nine 160-metre circumference pens, the first of this size in Shetland, and one 120-metre pen, supplied by Inverness-based Gael Force Group. The average water depth is 45 metres, making it one of the deepest farms in our Shetland estate.
A ten-line feeding system allows all pens to be fed at the same time, supported by ultra-high-definition feed cameras and motorised feed spreaders.
Our largest feed barge to date, supplied by ScaleAQ in Scotland, has a 500-tonne capacity and a hybrid power system combining a diesel generator with batteries to maintain a continuous power supply while reducing fuel costs.
The two new workboats also represent investment in Scottish boatbuilding. The 16-metre Vissa-Dair was built by Macduff Shipyards, while the nine-metre Bluey was constructed by Arran Workboats.
Our Regional Production Manager for Shetland, Richard Darbyshire, said: “The salmon sector is constantly evolving and Billy Baa is at the pinnacle of technical progress.
“We have introduced a number of innovations and, with the depth and size of the pens, we will have more room than ever to grow our fish, leading to better performance and fish health and welfare.”