April 5, 2018

Scotland aquaculture industry 'environmentally impaired'?

A Scottish Parliament committee that looked into the current state of the aquaculture industry has released its report, wherein it expressed concern about the sector's full lack of understanding on the importance of the impact it has on the environment.

The committee on the environment, climate change and land reform said in its report that it "is deeply concerned that the growth of the sector is taking place without a full understanding of the environmental impacts".

Also, the report added, the committee was not convinced that the sector is being regulated sufficiently, and "this requires urgent attention".

The report said that the salmon farming industry raised the same environmental concern back in 2002, but that the scale and impact have now expanded.

It claimed that the planned expansion of salmon farming over the next 10 to 15 years, which aims to grow the industry by 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes, is unsustainable and may, without changes in approach, cause "irrecoverable damage".

"The sector has ambitious expansion targets but the Committee is concerned as to how these can be achieved in an environmentally sustainable way", said Graeme Dey, environment, climate change and land reform committee convener.

"In raising awareness of the serious environmental concerns, the Committee hopes to helpfully inform the rural economy and connectivity committee's upcoming wider scrutiny of the salmon industry in Scotland", he added.