Industry’s impact
Environmental probe into salmon farming looks at welfare and waste
THE welfare standards in salmon farming in Scotland are currently very high and there is no reason to believe these will slip if the industry expands, a committee in Holyrood heard on January 30. Dr Adam Hughes, from the Oban based Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), was part of a panel answering questions on the environmental impact of salmon farming.
The evidence session discussed sea lice, impacts on wild salmon, the sustainability of fish feed, enclosed farming systems and fish welfare.
The panel was asked by Mark Ruskell, the Green list MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, about the high level of mortalities in the past year and how the proposed expansion of the industry would affect fish welfare.
Hughes said the recent mortalities were a one in five or even a one in ten-year high, and that there are environmental impacts in any form of food production it is up to society to decide what is acceptable and what is not.
The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Com- mittee had earlier commissioned a report by SAMS to review the literature on the environmental impacts of salmon farming in Scotland, the scale of the impacts and approaches to mitigating the impacts.
It took evidence from SAMS personnel, including Dr Hughes, Professor Paul Tett and Professor ick Owens. Also on the panel was Professor Eric Verspoor from the Rivers and Lochs Institute and the University of the Highlands and Islands.
The ECCLR committee’s inquiry was undertaken in advance of the Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) Committee’s forthcoming inquiry into aquaculture in Scotland, expected to take place a er Easter.
The committee, convened by the S P MSP for Angus South, Graeme Dey, also heard views on alternative production methods, such as closed containment, which may afford greater control over biosecurity.
However, the MSPS were told that while there had long been a focus on research into recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS), and the technology had advanced, the costs are much higher than in conventional net pen farming.
Also, societal perception surveys suggest that consumers believe open sea pens are more
Norway seems to be so much further ahead than us in terms of investment and research”
natural and environmentally friendly, said Hughes. There were also welfare implications because of the likely increase in stocking densities in closed containment production.
Looking at the impact of sea lice on wild salmon, Verspoor said an excessive sea lice burden on wild stocks can have a negative effect on their survival.
However, whether this is a concern in any given location is another question not all salmon have the same journey’, with some rivers near salmon farms reporting historically high stocks levels, he said.
The SAMS scientists told MSPs that Scotland must invest in more research and consider where it will source an increasing demand for fish feed if its salmon farming industry is to keep pace with global leaders such as Norway.
The marine scientists explained that their review of current scientific literature had identified gaps in published research into the environmental effects of the industry and a lack of available data.
Members concluded that a running theme to the session was a need for greater investment in research, when compared with aquaculture leaders such as Norway.
Dey asked how long it would take to build up a body of robust science’ to fill these knowledge gaps.
Owens, director of SAMS, said We would need to double or treble the current effort going on in Scotland. You are looking at a decade of really intensive work and we will need to up our game by an order of magnitude.’
Asked which areas of research required most attention, Owens said sea lice and organic material from fish farms were two key areas identified by the SAMS report.
Tett was asked to consider the main environmental impacts of an increasing Scottish salm- on farming industry. He said the two biggest environmental impacts to consider were the global impact of getting the ingredients for fish feed and the long term effects of chemicals on the environment. We don’t know enough about these long term chemical effects,’ he said.
Committee member Alex Rowley, the Labour MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, said Throughout this evidence session, it seems to me that there is a lack of data and research in so many areas and Norway seems to be so much further ahead than us in terms of investment and research. Would that be a fair conclusion to draw ’
Hughes responded In my opinion, absolutely. The level of investment in research in Norway is much higher, as is the level of technical knowledge.’
Claudia Beamish, the Labour list MSP for South Scotland, questioned the accessibility of data from farms.
Verspoor agreed that, in principle, transparency was desirable but warned that there is misuse of this information on both sides of the debate’ and that science takes a long time to crunch the numbers’.
On the subject of the discharge of waste nutrients, John Scott, the Conservative MSP for Ayr, asked what effect the breakdown of emamectin ben oate, used in some sea lice treatments, had on other species.
Professor Tett said it was very di cult to get evidence from the seabed as most monitoring is not sensitive enough. He suggested that a longer term investigation of sea lochs was needed.
One conclusion that I’ve come to is that there is no standard sea loch,’ he said, adding that each farmer should understand the local conditions of their farms.
As far as other chemicals go, he said there is comparatively little use of antibiotics in Scotland now as vaccines seem to have done their job.
And anti-fouling chemicals, such as those used on nets (as well as by other marine users, including sailing boats), had undergone a big change following the discovery of the harmful effects of Tributyltin (TBT) on molluscs. Less harmful chemicals, such as copper and inc, are now used.
The committee also questioned the panel on a review by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) into biomass consenting, and the advantages of adaptive management’.
The committee was due to take further evidence on February 6 from the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, Scottish Environment Link, Friends of the Sound of Jura, Loch Duart, Sepa, the Scottish government and Highland Council. Martin Jaffa: Next Page.