Mowi, the world's largest salmon farmer, is scouting locations in Scotland to deploy a new farming system that can reduce the amount of time fish spend in netpens by eight months.

The Neptune sea tank system, which has been successful in trials at Mowi's Norwegian operations, can help control water inputs and outputs better, limit sea lice and reduce interactions with wild fish, the company said.

The tank, 40 meters in diameter, will grow salmon after their initial freshwater phase from 120 to 800 grams before their transfer to netpens.

Mowi already has approached Wester Ross Area Salmon Fishery Board to install one of the Neptune tanks at Loch Ewe, with plans to approach stakeholders at other locations to deploy four of those tanks in Scotland.

The company shuttered its conventional operations at Loch Ewe after selling its final organic salmon harvest in early November.

Mowi first announced the closure of Loch Ewe in 2019, a move the salmon farming giant said would allow it to produce in a more modern and efficient way.

With the farm now empty, Mowi will pull out of its site lease with the Crown Estate. However, the company will implement a post-closure monitoring program as it continues to assess the health of the marine environment.

The company has offered employees working at the farm with other opportunities within the firm.

Salmon farmer Grieg Seafood is divesting its assets in Shetland, Scotland, "when the time is right" to focus on operations in Norway and Canada, the company announced Nov. 17.

While Grieg expects the process to be completed during 2021, there is no defined timescale for the review. The company does not know what the final outcome will be, but aims to sell its Shetland operations when the timing is right.