Shetland’s seafood industry bodies have recently undertaken a clean-up operation at Loch of Strom to restore the site to its original state.

The task – contracted to construction company, Hunter and Morrison – involved the clearance and disposal of redundant aquaculture equipment from around the loch.

General manager of Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation Shetland, David Sandison, said: “In this particular instance, the site has been owned and run by many different operators, over many years, making it difficult to establish any particular responsibility for the discarded equipment, so we have cleared the site and plan to retrieve material from the loch itself.
“We are very grateful to the contractors, Hunter and Morrison, for doing an excellent job.”

Commenting on the initiative, chief executive of Seafood Shetland, Ruth Henderson, said: “We aren’t perfect, and as with any industrial operation, we recognise that our business creates waste. What we need to do is try to ensure that this is kept to a minimum; redundant sites are cleared; operators take full responsibility for any disused material and dispose of it in a responsible manner.

“To that end, we are collaborating on this initiative to support the clearance of discarded aquaculture infrastructure and equipment across Shetland. Our aim is to work with other parties to produce site restoration plans and help facilitate implementation.

“The seafood industry is dependent on a clean environment, and we know that we must protect that. As a result, we are working hard to minimise our own waste and, from time to time, clearing litter that is not of our making.

“We also participate in ‘Da Voar Redd Up’, which not only means that we take a very active role in keeping our shoreline clean, it also reinforces the policy of ‘no waste to sea’ to our workforce.”