Call to ban capture of fish to protect salmon

Workers taken off oil rig after power loss

A WILDLIFE charity is calling for a ban of the capture of an estimated 3,000 live fish per week which are being used to protect Scottish salmon farms from parasites.

Devon Wildlife Trust claim wrasse are being captured live from the area’s coast and transported to waters north of the Border.

The fish are used as “cleaner fish”, helping fish farms by feeding on the sea lice that infest captive salmon and slow their growth.

Until now wrasse have not been commercially fished in Devon, but demand from Scotland for parasite control has meant that five species are now being targeted.

It is not known how many fish are being taken, but a similar wrasse fishery in 2015 in Dorset saw 57,000 taken during just one 18-week period.

Devon Wildlife Trust’s Peter Burgess stated: “We’re calling for an immediate stop to the practice of removing live fish from Devon’s Marine Protected Areas to satisfy the needs of Scottish fish farms.” MORE than 70 people have been flown off a North Sea platform after it suffered a loss of power.

Coastguard helicopters were mobilised to take 76 non-essential workers off BP’s Bruce installation off Aberdeen late on Thursday evening. They were transferred to other platforms in the area.

The coastguard said that 45 workers remain on the installation.

A BP spokesman said: “BP can confirm it initiated a partial down-man of the Bruce platform following a loss of power on Thursday evening.

“Of the 121 people on board, 76 non-essential personnel have been taken off the platform.

“BP has been working closely with the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to transfer these people by helicopter to the East Brae and Heimdal platforms, the Alvheim FPSO and the Transocean Arctic drilling rig. The remaining 45 people on-board Bruce are safe and production has been temporarily shut in.”