Ministers urged to rethink drive to raise production of salmon

0 Parasites on farmed salmon are affecting wild fish near the farms, a study has found New international research has concluded that wild salmon and sea trout in seas close to fish farms are under increased threat of infestation by potentially deadly parasites.

The study, by scientists at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, has found “a general and pervasive negative effect of salmon lice on salmonid populations in intensively farmed areas of Ireland, Norway and Scotland”.

The report concludes: “Scientific studies indicate that salmon farming increases the abundance of salmon lice in the marine habitat and that salmon lice in the most intensively farmed areas have negatively impacted wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout populations.”

Campaigners at the charity Salmon & Trout Conservation (S&TC) Scotland, which commissioned the study, say the results back calls for the Scottish Government to rethink its drive to expand the aquaculture sector and increase farmed salmon production.

They claim the plans are “untenable” and steps should be taken to limit the number of fish farms in Scotland to halt dramatic population declines.

Sea lice graze on the surface of fish, eating mucous and skin. They occur naturally in the marine environment but serious infestations can cause loss of fins, severe scarring, infections and even death.

Effective control of the pests is one of the biggest problems facing fish farmers. Infestations caused the deaths of more than a million fish at farms in Scotland in 2016.

Andrew Graham-stewart, director of S&TC Scotland, said: “For many years we have maintained that the Scottish Government’s position – that there is ‘no evidence’ in Scotland that sea lice from salmon farming damage wild salmon and sea trout populations – is untenable. This report substantiates our view.”

Don Staniford, director of the campaign group Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture, has backed the calls.

He said: “The weight of scientific evidence is overwhelming – salmon farms are killing wild salmonandseatrout.thescottish Government needs to stop ignoring the science and start protecting Scotland’s iconic wild salmon and sea trout.”

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said a number of complex factors, including climate change, are impacting wild salmon.

She added: “We will continue to work with the aquaculture industry, which employs more than 12,000 people in Scotland, to ensure investment and innovation deliver the highest possible environmental standards.”

A parliamentary inquiry into the impacts of salmon farming is being carried out.