A new shellfish farm is being set up, creating valuable new jobs, in one of the most economically fragile areas of the Western Isles.

The mussel farm in Loch Miavaig is in the Uig district, on the west coast of Lewis, an area classified under the Government's 'Initiative at the Edge' special development programme.

When mature, the farm will produce 100 tonnes of mussels each year, generating two full-time jobs, one part-time and a further five seasonally.

The £120,000 (pounds) project is being developed by Miavaig Bay Mussels, owned by Peter MacLeod from Barvas in Lewis. Western Isles Enterprise (WIE) are contributing £40,000 (pounds) to the establishment costs, also levering in £36,000 (pounds) in European funding through the PESCA programme to help diversify fishery-dependent communities.

The 'Grade A' classified waters of Loch Miavaig, on the very edge of the Atlantic, are clean enough to allow the harvested mussels to go straight for human consumption, without the additional purification required in some locations elsewhere in the UK and Europe.

It is intended to sell the mussels into growing, high-quality markets in the UK, with the possibility of further expansion into Europe. Longer term plans also exist to develop a processing plant - adding more value to the produce leaving the area.

During the early 1980's, mussel farming was attempted at several locations in the Western Isles, most of these businesses, including a previous venture by Mr Macleod, failed because they were on too small a scale to provide a consistent and reliable supply to customers,

Peter MacLeod currently manages the islands' only large, established mussel farm, a position he will maintain for the time being.

Mr Macleod says: "This is a good time to be entering the industry again, with a rising demand and the fairly low level of Scottish production.

My own experience over the last few years has given me a good grasp of the factors affecting mussel farming and will underpin the development of this new business.

"The site I'm developing is a good one for collecting young mussels, and with the clean water of the Western Isles I'm very confident of producing top quality shellfish for the market from our first harvest next autumn."

Western Isles Enterprise chief executive Donnie Macaulay said: "This is a very good example of sustainable development using the areas excellent natural marine resources to provide valuable new employment.

The fact that these new jobs are being created in an Initiative at the Edge area is an added bonus.

"Peter Macleod's substantial knowledge of the industry, including the difficulties he faced, in common with many others, during the first generation of mussel farming in the area, has given him the experience needed to make this new business a commercial success."