A firefighter, coastguard volunteer, crofter, councilwoman, fish farmer, wife and mother, is a mouthful in itself, but juggling all of these talents is Rosie Curtis, who is seen as a local hero in Kilchoan.
Working in the Scottish Salmon industry with Mowi, the team decided to video a day in the life of Rosie and create a video, ‘Surf and Turf’ to capture the beauty and the challenges behind her work.
Rosie lives on a croft with her husband and three children, farming 45 Blackface sheep, three Highland cows and some chickens! She worked away from the area until her dad became ill and returned home to help her mum look after him. When he passed, he had left her a croft.
“I wanted to be back in the village and as we all know you can’t make a living from a croft, which is why I secured a job at our local fish farm where my husband and brother work,” said Rosie.
“I have never looked back, and I have worked my way up the ladder, starting as a farm tech for a few years, to becoming assistant manager, and for the last eight years I have been manager for MacLean’s Nose salmon farm, Kilchoan, and here I am 23 years later still producing Scottish fine salmon,” added Rosie.
“Aquaculture provides for much more than just a job in small Scottish communities, we are proud to have Mowi close by to bring our community together and create jobs in our small community. My advice to anyone looking to come in to the aquaculture industry, is that there is no better feeling than being part of producing food for our own country and a great career path for any young person.
“Being born and brought up living by the sea on my croft I have always been involved in looking after animals and now salmon, I feel very fortunate that I get to do both, in the same day as well as volunteering for various other committees in our community.
“I look after my fish, I look after my croft animals, and I look after my family, all of which I love, I am very proud to work for the Scottish salmon industry, I wear my logo with pride that we produce the best Scottish salmon,” concluded Rosie.
The video will be launched on June 1 through ‘The Scoop’ newsletter which will be uploaded onto the website www.mowiscotland.co.uk as well as on YouTube – so you can check out the full video to explore the full story behind local hero, Rosie.
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