Call to halt wild wrasse ‘gold rush’
THE Angling Trust has called for an immediate suspension of the wrasse ‘gold rush’ that supplies live, wild caught fish to salmon farmers in Scotland.
Some 89 tonnes of wrasse, used as cleaner fish to control sea lice on salmon, were caught in 2015, much of this in the inshore waters of the south-west of England, according to government figures from the Marine Management Organisation (MMO).
Attempts are being made to supply the aquaculture market with captive bred wrasse but unlike lumpfish, another effective cleaner fish, the complicated life cycle of wrasse means farmed supplies are still restricted, though increasing.
The industry in Scotland continues to make a huge investment in wrasse hatcheries, in Scotland and also in Wales.
The Angling Trust claims that the focus on the south west fishery is the result of depleted stocks in Scotland but admits this information is based only on ‘anecdotal evidence’.
Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, said: ‘We are not sure there is a sustainability issue for wild wrasse; however, it is our intention to commission a data analysis of the status of wild wrasse stocks to support the sustainable future use of wild wrasse.’