October 27,  2020

Scottish Sea Farms' head of freshwater farming to leave company

Scottish Sea Farms' head of freshwater farming, Pål Tangvik, will leave the company and return to his home country of Norway, having successfully fulfilled his mission of delivering the company's first full generation of recirculating aquaculture system-grown smolts.

The veteran fish farmer joined the company in December 2014 from Lerøy Seafood Group – which co-owns Scottish Sea Farms with SalMar ASA – and was tasked with overhauling the company's freshwater production strategy, including the creation of a new state-of-the-art RAS hatchery.

In six years, Tangvik had overseen the design, location and build of the new hatchery at Barcaldine, streamlined Scottish Sea Farms' pre-existing freshwater estate in preparation for its opening and brought together a sector-leading team that is now delivering the full smolt requirement of the company' 42-strong estate of marine farms.

The first generation of RAS-grown smolts has been transferred to sea at double the average weights achieved via traditional hatchery methods and are showing excellent post-transfer performance. Meanwhile, the freshwater team are now starting to deliver from the second generation of smolts reared at Barcaldine Hatchery.

"My whole reason for coming to Scotland was to help Scottish Sea Farms bring Barcaldine Hatchery into being and see the finished facility deliver its first generation of smolts," said Tangvik.

He will continue to lead and manage Scottish Sea Farms' freshwater team until a suitable replacement is found, ensuring a smooth handover across all activities.

Scottish Sea Farms managing director Jim Gallagher said: "The difference that Pål has made to our freshwater farming is something we will be forever thankful for and something that I hope that he himself will always be hugely proud of. "

- Scottish Sea Farms