Armadale Salmon Fishing is a family-owned firm located in Bettyhill, a small village on the north coast of Scotland. With over 25 years of experience, owner James Mackay has built up the fishery and now the company is in its third generation of family ownership. The team consists of family members and local crew, ensuring a strong connexion to the community.
At Armadale Salmon Fishing, the fish caught are of exceptional quality and condition. The company utilises traditional fishing techniques that allow the fish to swim freely within the net until they are caught. This approach ensures that the fish do not suffer from net marks, bruising, or scaling. To maintain freshness, the fish are immediately preserved in ice.
The fish are sold based on their weight grade, ranging from 1 kg to 10 kg. Armadale Salmon Fishing carefully packs the fish in polystyrene fish boxes and dispatches them daily by refrigerated lorry to markets across the UK and Ireland. Local smokehouses and customers can also purchase their product directly.
It's important to note that legal netting companies like Armadale Salmon Fishing are the only source to purchase Wild Salmon in the UK. It is illegal to purchase rod-caught Salmon. This ensures that customers can enjoy sustainably sourced and legally obtained salmon.
The company has been featured in various media outlets and has a dedicated newsletter to keep customers informed about updates and special offers. They also play an active role in conservation and research efforts. Currently, Armadale Salmon Fishing is involved in a study to investigate the movements and depth use of salmon after they return to Scotland's north coast from their marine feeding grounds. This information is crucial for understanding potential interactions with the marine renewable industry.
Working at a Salmon Station requires hard work and dedication. Modern equipment such as tractors, hydraulic winches, and ice-making machines have made the job more manageable. However, it still requires a crew of three to four people to operate the fishery on a daily basis. The working week typically starts at 5am on a Monday, attaching a “leader” onto the bag net.
Throughout the day, the crew changes the bag nets at sea and repairs or cleans nets on shore. At around 7pm, they return to sea to fish the nets, land, grade, and pack the fish in ice, and store them overnight in the chill room.
Armadale Salmon Fishing adheres to regulations and closed times for netting. The specific closed times vary along the Scottish coast, but the company voluntarily postpones the start of their season to prioritise stock conservation. Generally, the fishing season runs from 1st April to 26th August, with a weekly closed time for netting between 6pm on Friday to 6am on Monday.
Armadale Salmon Fishing is dedicated to providing customers with the finest quality wild salmon while practising sustainability and maintaining a strong connexion with the local community.