Scottish Sea Farms has officially opened Scotland’s largest salmon farming site, following a £7.5 million (€9 million) investment in Shetland.
The Billy Baa facility, located west of South Whiteness and Weisdale Voe, has permission to hold up to 4,091 tonnes of salmon at any one time, making it the country’s largest marine salmon farm by licensed biomass.
The site was formally opened on Monday, 9 November, having received its first fish in September. Eight full-time jobs have been created. Billy Baa comprises nine pens measuring 160 metres in circumference, the first of their size in Shetland, and one smaller 120-metre pen. The average water depth is 45 metres, making it one of Scottish Sea Farms’ deepest sites in the region.
The investment includes a £1.8 million (€2.2 million) workboat and a 500-tonne feed barge equipped with a hybrid diesel and battery power system designed to reduce fuel consumption. Scottish Sea Farms, jointly owned by Norwegian salmon producers SalMar and Lerøy Seafood Group, has been moving towards larger farms in deeper waters with stronger currents. The company says the approach is intended to improve water exchange, fish health and survival rates.
The investment follows a difficult period for the business. Scottish Sea Farms harvested 32,791 tonnes in 2025, when biological problems and increased mortality contributed to operating losses. The company has targeted a recovery in production during 2026. Shetland remains one of Scotland’s main salmon-producing regions. According to the latest Scottish Government figures, its farms produced 37,728 tonnes in 2025, worth an estimated £231.3 million (€277.2 million).
Across Scotland, salmon production rose 3% to 197,836 tonnes last year. The government estimates output will reach approximately 199,200 tonnes in 2026. Billy Baa is part of Scottish Sea Farms’ wider strategy to concentrate production at larger, more exposed sites, with further developments under consideration in Shetland.
News Courtesy : salmon business