Scotland has just switched on the biggest salmon farm in the United Kingdom. Billy Baa, a new £7.5 million site in Shetland, was formally opened on Monday, 9 November 2026, and it can hold up to 4,091 tonnes of salmon at any one time — the largest biomass consent ever granted to a single-licence marine salmon farm in Scotland.
The site sits west of South Whiteness and Weisdale Voe, in some of the deepest, strongest-flowing water Scottish Sea Farms has ever farmed. Its first fish arrived in September 2026, and the opening has created eight full-time jobs on the islands. For Indian aquaculture watchers, Billy Baa matters because it is a live, working answer to the question every fish farmer asks: how do you grow more fish, in healthier water, without simply adding more cages?
Billy Baa at a glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Site name | Billy Baa, west of South Whiteness and Weisdale Voe, Shetland, Scotland |
| Operator | Scottish Sea Farms — jointly owned by Norway’s SalMar and Lerøy Seafood Group |
| Investment | £7.5 million (about €9 million) |
| Opened | Monday, 9 November 2026 (first fish stocked September 2026) |
| Maximum biomass | 4,091 tonnes at any one time — Scotland’s largest single-licence marine farm |
| Pens | Nine pens of 160 m circumference (about 51 m across) + one smaller 120 m pen |
| Average water depth | 45 metres — one of the company’s deepest Shetland sites |
| Feed barge | 500-tonne capacity, hybrid diesel-and-battery power, supplied by ScaleAQ |
| Workboat | £1.8 million vessel; two new boats launched at the opening |
| Jobs created | Eight full-time jobs |
Why “single-licence” matters
A farm’s licence sets the maximum fish it can hold, and Billy Baa’s 4,091-tonne limit is the highest ever set for one licence at a marine farm in Scotland. The distinction matters: Mowi’s Seaforth and Noster site on Lewis holds a larger combined total of 4,330 tonnes, but that figure is split across two licences. Billy Baa is the biggest single site under one licence — a deliberately large unit, not a cluster of small ones.
The pens are the largest Scottish Sea Farms has used in Shetland. Nine pens measure 160 metres around the circumference — about 51 metres across — the first of that size in the region, alongside a tenth, smaller 120-metre pen. The pens were supplied by Inverness-based Gael Force Group. At an average water depth of 45 metres, Billy Baa is also one of the company’s deepest sites in Shetland.
Bigger pens, deeper water, stronger currents
Billy Baa is not just a bigger version of an old farm — it is a different design philosophy. Scottish Sea Farms has been moving production towards larger farms in deeper water with stronger currents, and the company says the approach improves water exchange, fish health and survival rates. More water moving through a pen means more oxygen, faster waste dispersal and less stress on the fish.
The technology on site backs that up:
- A ten-line feeding system that lets all pens be fed at the same time, supported by ultra-high-definition feed cameras and motorised feed spreaders, so feed is delivered where the fish actually are — cutting waste and improving feed conversion.
- The company’s biggest feed barge to date, a floating store and control base holding 500 tonnes of feed, supplied by ScaleAQ in Scotland. A hybrid power system pairs a diesel generator with batteries to keep the supply steady while cutting fuel costs.
- A £1.8 million workboat, plus two newly launched boats — the 16-metre Vissa-Dair, built by Macduff Shipyards, and the nine-metre Bluey, built by Arran Workboats. The company says the larger equipment also supports staff safety.
Richard Darbyshire, Regional Production Manager for Shetland, 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.”
A recovery after a hard year
The opening follows a difficult period for Scottish Sea Farms. The company harvested 32,791 tonnes in 2025, when biological problems and increased mortality contributed to operating losses. It had targeted a production recovery in 2026, but after fish losses at some sites its forecast for this year has been cut from 43,000 tonnes to 40,000 tonnes, according to co-owner SalMar’s third-quarter results published on 3 November 2026. The same report puts the business’s harvest at 45,000 tonnes in 2027.
That context is exactly why Billy Baa’s design matters. The whole point of the deeper, bigger, stronger-current model is to break the cycle of biological problems that dragged 2025 down. If the farm delivers the better survival rates the company expects, it becomes the template for the next generation of Scottish sites — and the company says further developments in Shetland are under consideration.
Another Shetland project, Fish Holm in Yell Sound, won planning approval from Shetland Islands Council in February 2026. If it proceeds, it would hold up to 6,000 tonnes — putting it ahead of Billy Baa. The race for scale in Shetland is still running.
Shetland: Scotland’s salmon heartland
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Shetland salmon production, 2025 | 37,728 tonnes, worth an estimated £231.3 million |
| Shetland’s rank among Scottish marine regions | Third-highest by production |
| Scotland’s total salmon production, 2025 | 197,836 tonnes — up 3% on the previous year |
| Scotland’s estimated output, 2026 | Approximately 199,200 tonnes |
| Billy Baa maximum biomass | 4,091 tonnes at any one time |
Shetland remains one of Scotland’s main salmon-producing regions, and Scottish Sea Farms is Shetland’s largest private employer. At the opening, Managing Director Jim Gallagher said involving the local school was the highlight of the ceremony: “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.”
Pupils cut the ribbon — and named the boats
The opening ceremony had a distinctly local flavour. Pupils from Whiteness Primary School joined Shetland MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad to open the site — and the children had chosen the names of the two new workboats in a school competition. Head teacher Rachel Colclough said pupils from Early Years to Primary 7 took part enthusiastically.
To mark the school’s role, Scottish Sea Farms is donating £10,000 towards a new reading scheme and sets of novels for older pupils. It will also pay to ship the school’s existing reading books to its partner school in Senegal once they are replaced. “Our books are very out of date and it would have taken us years to find the money to replace them,” Colclough said. “This gift has made all the difference and we can now buy books that are more relevant to our children.”
Goodlad, cutting the ribbon, 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.”
What Indian aquaculture can take from Billy Baa
India does not farm Atlantic salmon, and a £7.5 million sea farm in the North Atlantic is not a model any Indian farmer can copy directly. But the design principles behind Billy Baa transfer across species and systems — and several are already being tested in Indian waters:
- Go deeper and let the water work. Stronger currents and deeper sites mean better water exchange, more oxygen and faster waste dispersal. In India, that logic is already driving the push towards offshore cage culture and deeper-water mariculture — including the sea-cage programmes run by ICAR institutes along the coast.
- Feed precisely, not generously. Ultra-high-definition feed cameras and motorised spreaders mean feed goes where the fish are. Feed is the single biggest cost in Indian aquaculture too — precision feeding is the cheapest productivity gain available, in a pond or a pen.
- Hybrid power cuts running costs. The feed barge’s diesel-and-battery hybrid system keeps power steady while burning less fuel. For Indian farms running diesel aerators and pumps, the same hybrid logic — solar plus battery plus grid — is already cutting electricity bills.
- Scale comes from fewer, better sites. Instead of scattering many small farms, Scottish Sea Farms is concentrating production at larger, well-engineered sites. India’s own cage-culture and aqua-park programmes follow the same instinct: cluster infrastructure, share services, and manage biosecurity at scale.
- Land-based salmon is the other half of the story. While Billy Baa pushes sea farming further offshore, the same company’s owners are watching land-based salmon grow fast. Quebec’s AquaBoreal project, Japan’s Pure Salmon farm and Korea’s Busan cluster are all racing to grow Atlantic salmon entirely on land in recirculating systems — a technology India is now testing for shrimp and high-value fish in saline inland water.
How the two salmon revolutions compare
| Billy Baa (sea cages) | Land-based RAS salmon | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Open sea, Shetland, Scotland | Indoor tanks — Quebec, Japan, Korea, China |
| Scale | 4,091 tonnes maximum biomass | Up to 10,000 tonnes a year (target) |
| Big advantage | Natural currents, deep clean water | No sea lice, no storms, full control |
| Big risk | Sea lice, disease, storms | Very high capital cost, energy use |
| First fish / harvest | Stocked September 2026 | Japan first harvest February 2028; Korea sales end of 2026 |
Neither model has won yet. Billy Baa bets that better engineering can tame the open sea; the RAS farms bet that leaving the sea entirely is safer. Both are worth watching, because whichever model proves cheaper and hardier will shape how the world — and India — farms fish in the next decade.
Frequently asked questions
Where is Billy Baa?
West of South Whiteness and Weisdale Voe, in Shetland, Scotland — an island group in the North Atlantic, north of mainland Britain.
How big is the farm?
It can hold up to 4,091 tonnes of salmon at any one time — the largest biomass consent for a single-licence marine salmon farm in Scotland. It has nine 160-metre-circumference pens and one smaller 120-metre pen, in water averaging 45 metres deep.
When did it open?
Formally opened on Monday, 9 November 2026. The first fish were stocked in September 2026.
Who owns Scottish Sea Farms?
It is jointly owned by Norwegian salmon producers SalMar and Lerøy Seafood Group, and it is Shetland’s largest private employer.
How much was invested?
£7.5 million (about €9 million), including a £1.8 million workboat and a 500-tonne hybrid-powered feed barge.
Is there anything for Indian fish farmers to apply for?
No — Billy Baa is a commercial farm opening, not a scheme or a vacancy. The value for Indian readers is in the technology and the design lessons, which we break down above.
What is next in Shetland?
The Fish Holm project in Yell Sound won planning approval in February 2026 and would hold up to 6,000 tonnes if it proceeds. Scottish Sea Farms says further developments are under consideration.
Related reading
- Quebec’s $4.4M Land Salmon Farm Targets 10,000 Tonnes — Canada’s land-based RAS salmon project and its $4.4 million federal contribution.
- Japan’s Land Salmon Farm Eyes €14.7M Boost — Pure Salmon Japan’s ¥70 billion indoor farm and its February 2028 first harvest.
- Korea Grows Salmon on Land: 5kg Fish, Zero Sea! — Eco Aquafarm’s first commercial-scale land-grown salmon harvest in Busan.
- Salmon in a Desert? China’s 1,000-Farm Seafood Shock — how Xinjiang farms salmon hundreds of kilometres from the sea.
Sources checked 13 November 2026: Salmon Business, “Scottish Sea Farms: opens UK’s largest salmon farm in Shetland” (10 November 2026) — £7.5 million investment, 4,091-tonne biomass, opened Monday 9 November 2026, first fish September 2026, eight jobs, nine 160 m pens + one 120 m pen, 45 m average depth, £1.8 million workboat, 500-tonne hybrid feed barge, SalMar/Lerøy ownership, 32,791-tonne 2025 harvest, 2026 forecast cut to 40,000 tonnes, 2027 forecast 45,000 tonnes, Shetland 37,728 tonnes worth £231.3 million in 2025, Scotland 197,836 tonnes in 2025 and ~199,200 tonnes estimated for 2026; Aquafeed, “Billy Baa: Scotland’s Largest Single-Licence Salmon Farm” (12 November 2026) — Mowi Seaforth/Noster 4,330 tonnes across two licences, Gael Force Group pens, ScaleAQ feed barge, Vissa-Dair and Bluey workboats, Fish Holm planning approval February 2026 (up to 6,000 tonnes), £10,000 school reading-scheme donation, quotes from Richard Darbyshire, Hannah Mary Goodlad, Jim Gallagher and Rachel Colclough. Weekday verified: Monday 9 November 2026. All figures are as reported by those two sources; where a figure comes from trade reporting rather than a company statement, it is described as such in the text. The images in this post are illustrations, not photographs of the Billy Baa site.