People come from around he UK and the world to work at Loch Duart and there’s opportunities to join the team whatever your age or experience. We spoke to some of the team to find out what brought them to the North West of Scotland to work in some of the most challenging yet beautiful locations in the world.
Watch the Loch Duart team explain what makes working at Loch Duart so special.
James Brown came to work at Loch Duart at a later stage in his career as a husbandryman and has been supported by the farm to pursue one of his passions, while raising money for a very worthy cause.
“I’ve come to Scotland for a couple of years of adventure before I retire. I mentioned that I was a personal trainer and I do both Europe’s Toughest and the World’s Toughest Mudder as well a lot of ultra-running. Loch Duart said they’d be happy to support me and the charity, CHAS, (Children’s Hospices Across Scotland).
In 2024 Loch Duart bought me, shoes and a total wardrobe for obstacle racing, paid for my ticket to enter for my flight. I’ve been to sponsored events in Finland, in Norway, in America and I’ve done cross country skiing and a little bit of survival challenges. I do well in my age group. Over the last couple of years we’ve donated a couple of thousand pounds to CHAS. I love me job. There’s no reason for me not to stay here.”
A chance meeting in Uist changed Mickey’s life and eventually led to him becoming a Site manager at Loch Duart.
“To be honest with you the company’s been fantastic. Before fish farming I’d left the army and was living out of a bag as a travelling barman, seeing the world.”
Then when his wee boy came along, Mickey felt he needed something more stable.
“I was in Uist at the time and a fella came over offering me a job fish farming. At that time I couldn’t even tie me own shoe laces let alone knots. Now, 15 years later I’m managing a seat site, so the progression’s good. They put me through my driving licence and it’s a really good environment. I can’t fault their support structure. It’s been grand.”
Kat, one of Loch Duart’s regional biologists says no day is the same when working on the farm.
“I was in a food and pharmaceutical testing lab, moved into virology then fell into molecular biology, which is what brought me up here. It’s a very different job to anything I’ve done before. It’s exciting, it’s changeable, every day is different and it’s more worthwhile.
“Working at this end is very interesting because in a lab you receive samples, you test them and you don’t know where they’re from or where they’re going. Taking the samples on site at Loch Duart and seeing where the samples come from, it’s like the start of the story. Then when you get the results you see the end of the story.
“Knowing that everything that we do goes towards the welfare of the fish is such a good feeling. I’m really proud to work at Loch Duart because of the level of welfare that we have here.”
Site manager Mickey talks about the journey of fish on a site, through the winter.
“We got these on November the 1st when it’s wintery, snowy and cold, a decent temperature for the fish. The colder it is, the better it is and they’re thriving and doing well.
With a good Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) Mickey explained that interventions for the fish were minimal.
“There’s been a decent FCR so I’ve not really had to touch them and they’re jumping away nicely. Health checks have been done and the wrasse (cleaner fish) are looking good. You’ve even got the sunshine, so what more can you ask for.
“This fish know when they’re getting fed and they know when they want to get fed…these fish (points to pen) are jumping like this now because they’re waiting to get fed. They get used to stuff and it’s important to treat them like the animal that they are.”
Gary, Site Manager, explains how Loch Duart has supported his career development:
“I’ve learnt a vast amount of skills since I started working at Loch Duart. Many people that come to work at Loch Duart don’t really have an experience in aquaculture to begin with. The big ones are knot tying, boat handling, fish welfare and also just working with people and managing a team. I’m fortunate to have been mentored and taught by some of the leading people here at Loch Duart and now I’m in a position to do the same and give the something back.”
Regional biologist Kat explains how the community spirit at Loch Duart made her move so easy.
“The thing I’m most proud of since coming here is how much I’ve learned. I was brand new to aquaculture, had never done anything like this before and in a year, I’ve learned about fish, welfare, fish health and aquaculture in general. It’s incredible.
“Coming from Cambridge, where everyone lives their life at a million miles an hour, it’s very different to up here. You’ve got a small community and everyone looks after each other. Being part of a community is always something that I’d wanted and finding it up here is great. Everyone works so well here. Everyone knows what they’re doing and everyone pitches in to help each other out. They’re a wonderful bunch of people.”
The last word goes to Micky who says working on Loch Duart farms can be a perfect job.
“It’s a team, you have to work with each other and you have to rely on each other. I might be the manager but we all have a say in everything that goes on here, that’s the only way to do it.
“One good thing about fish farming in these isolated situations is that you very quickly know whether it’s for you or not. For people who don’t particularly like big cities or big crowds this is the dream job for you.”