Cleaner beaches in the pipeline

Mowi is to become the first company in Scotland to brand feedpipes in a bid to reduce and identify sources of marine waste.

The aquaculture industry works hard to prevent any marine debris from farms, which can be caused by extreme weather, however, the debris often comes from other industries and even other countries brought to Scotland by winds and tides over many months or years.

Current procedure is that if a member of the public comes across any aquaculture waste, they report it to industry body Salmon Scotland using a What3Words location. Regardless of its source, the nearest salmon farm will then clear the debris.

In a bid to help identify where marine debris has originated, Mowi Scotland will now brand all of its feedpipes, making them easily identifiable.

The idea to use branded feedpipes was raised by Ullapool Sea Savers, a group of young people from Ullapool who have come together to raise awareness of the challenges facing the local marine environment and to celebrate and promote all that is wonderful about the sea around where they live.

Ben Hadfield, COO Farming at Mowi Scotland, said: “When Ullapool Sea Savers approached us with the idea of branding our feedpipes, it was a no-brainer for us.

“We want to be a responsible neighbour, and while we don’t plan on losing any feedpipes or equipment, during storms it can unfortunately happen. Having a clear way to identify marine waste means straight away we know where it came from and can ensure it is cleared quickly. However, even if marine debris has not come from one of our farms, we will still be clearing waste nearby, as well as carrying out proactive beach cleans and providing data to the Marine Conservation Society.

“In 2025, our teams across Scotland carried out 57 beach cleans, and now they have been busy branding the feedpipes – something that involves a significant investment in time, so I’d like to thank everyone involved. I hope this move will help us all to maintain cleaner waters.”

All of Mowi Scotland’s existing feedpipes are now in the process of being branded with the Mowi logo using a device that was designed in-house, and any future feedpipe purchases will also be branded.