In farm’s way

I never fished certain lochs mainly because you had to wait for “dead man’s shoes” to get on.

As a youngster, the tales of fantastic sea trout fishing on iconic stretches of water amid the grandeur of the mountains and glens, captured my imagination.

Alas, sea trout fishing has collapsed in some areas, with some attributing that to fish farming.

Before fish farms, catches could vary from 600 to 1600 in the good ones.

Since then, sea lice spewed out by fish farms has literally eaten alive and killed migrating juvenile fish and damaged population numbers.

Salmon & Trout Conservation Scotland are leading the campaign to restore some fishing spots.

Last week at a Parliamentary reception at Holyrood a powerful and graphic film was screened for MSPs showing how a poorly sited fish farm devastated what was once a prolific and entirely sustainable wild fishery.

As the film points out, big business should not be allowed to kill off a species in the pursuit of profits.

It says: “Our politicians grant permits to big businesses to use the coastal environment in a way that causes these fish to be eaten alive by parasites putting the species at risk.

“The question is, who will stand up against this and fight for the country we share with wild sea trout?”

To back up their campaign, S&TCS are publishing a report on the culpability of salmon farming by Dr Andrew Walker MSc PhD, formerly senior scientist at Scottish Government’s Fisheries Research Services.

Hughie Campbell Adamson, chairman of S&TCS said: “We fully accept that salmon farming is a ery important industry for Scotland.

“What we are asking for is the relocation of those farms which are simply in the wrong place or are incapable of controlling sea lice and thus are causing significant damage to wild salmon and sea trout stocks.”

Some in the industry claim the decline in sea trout stocks began before the fish farms, and that the decline was likely to have been caused by climate change and over fishing.

I’ve been campaigning or years for fish farms to either be removed from sea lochs and river mouths or made to operate far out at sea, or in closed confinement facilities on land to create a sea licefree environment for our sea trout and salmon, which are equally threatened.

If you agree, write to your MSP demanding action to save our sea trout and salmon.