April 30, 2018

 

Environmental groups demand immediate moratorium on salmon farm expansions

 

 

Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) Scotland, a registered charity and Scotland's voice for fish and water conservation, is leading a call for an immediate moratorium on any new open-cage marine salmon farms in Scotland or any expansion of existing sites.

 

It claimed that any expansion of the industry now would be unsustainable and might cause irrecoverable damage to the environment.

 

"The all-party ECCLR [environment, climate change and land reform] committee of the Scottish Parliament unanimously agreed their report in March and concluded that the current consenting and regulatory framework for the salmon farming industry is inadequate to address the environmental issues", said Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TC Scotland.

 

Graham-Stewart was referring to the committee's report that looked into the current state of the aquaculture industry in Scotland and which released its report expressing concern about the sector's alleged full lack of understanding on the importance of the impact it has on the environment.

 

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

 

S&TC Scotland claimed that its call was supported by 26 other environmental NGOs and other bodies including Atlantic Salmon Trust, Fish Legal, National Trust for Scotland, Scottish Anglers National Association, Salmon Aquaculture Reform Network Scotland, Scottish Creel Fishermen's Federation, Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust, Scottish Salmon Think-Tank and Whale and Dolphin Conservation.

 

Moratorium on fish biomass increase

 

Their demand included a moratorium on any increases in farmed fish biomass at existing sites.

 

S&TC Scotland also claimed that earlier this month alone, the Highland Council granted planning permission for two new salmon farms on Skye and the Argyll. Likewise, the Bute Council permitted an increase in biomass of farmed fish on two farms on Loch Fyne, where the record of sea lice control and mortalities on The Scottish Salmon Company farms over the last two production cycles "has been amongst the worst in Scotland".

 

"As it stands, these issues remain completely unresolved and, as the oral evidence given on April 18 to the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Crown Estate, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Highland Council shows, we are a very long way from addressing them", Graham-Stewart stressed.

 

Scotland has also been bugged by sea lice issues. Late last year, it was reported that sea lice numbers were running out of control for extended periods in much of the Scottish salmon industry.

 

S&TC accused individual farms of failing to operate with lice numbers below the Scottish government's trigger levels, citing uncovered information.-Rick Alberto