Mowi reported that its Anglesey hatchery achieved the milestone of deploying 500,000 farmed ballan wrasse for the year so far.

“This a great achievement especially considering that the team at the hatchery, and indeed the hatchery itself, is quite new and the fact that farming ballan wrasse is still in its infancy. It is also a major milestone in the journey towards supplying all our ballan wrasse from a farmed source, thereby reducing the number of wild wrasse used,” the company said.

Dougie Hunter, managing director of Ocean Matters Ltd & Dorset Cleanerfish Ltd, said that “this is a great achievement from everyone at Anglesey hatchery and our colleagues at Machrihanish broodstock site who supply the larvae. The Angelsey hatchery has been retro-converted from a former seabass facility during the pandemic and for the guys to reach this production milestone is fantastic to see.”

Mowi acquired the Anglesey hatchery in 2019 and delivered the first ballan wrasse to Mowi’s seawater farms in 2021.