The development on the site of an old quarry at Kyleakin could create 55 full-time permanent jobs.

Extensive consultation with the community has also taken place in advance of the submission of the application, which contains detailed information about the plant and any potential impact, including the results of extensive research and analysis of the site.

Ben Hadfield, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland, said: “We have been very pleased with the response to our plan to build a fish feed plant at Kyleakin.

“The feedback from the local community has been overwhelmingly positive and people are keen to see the feed plant up and running and providing jobs.

“That’s not to say they haven’t asked questions and raised concerns, but we are confident we have addressed these and reassured them on the issues brought up during the consultation process.”

The site at Altanavaig (or Allt Anavig) quarry, is more than large enough to accommodate the development, which will include the feed plant itself as well as raw material storage silos, product storage and packaging, a loading area and car parking.

Marine Harvest is confident that the project will also provide a significant boost for the local economy, as is the case at its plant in Bjugn, Norway, built two years ago.

If approved, construction of the plant will take between a year and 18 months. Marine Harvest hopes the new plant will be up and running by 2018.