Salmon sector reveals wrasse catch data
SCOTTISH salmon farmers have for the first time published catch data for wild wrasse, which are fished in inshore waters and deployed to control sea lice on farms.The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO), which represents the sector, said the voluntary publication of wild catch data for 2018 will help the sustainability of the fishery.
The data is the first to be released since the Scottish salmon farming sector committed to voluntary control measures for the live capture of Scottish wild wrasse for salmon farms last year.
It was collated through the submission of figures from the first 20 traps lifted weekly by Scottish fishing boats providing wrasse to salmon farms.
The SSPO has already committed to the publication of sea lice levels and survival figures on farm sites.
In order to sustain a viable fishery, which has boosted the local economies of some of Scotland’s coastal communities by millions of pounds, a voluntary code of conduct is adhered to by all boats supplying the salmon farming sector.
This includes a minimum and maximum catch size to ensure juvenile and breeding age fish are directly returned to their local habitats.
Other measures include a closed season for wrasse fishing which extends from December 1 to May 1.
According to the new figures, of the 30,564 wrasse recorded as being caught in Scottish waters in 2018, 14,786 were returned as undersized and 1,527 were returned as oversized - meaning that 53 per cent of wrasse, live caught by Scottish inshore boats, were safely returned to coastal waters.
Cleaner fish, have helped reduce the presence of sea lice on Scottish salmon farms to their lowest levels since 2013 and allowed medicinal spends to fall by 47 per cent over the past three years. The salmon sector has invested more than £15 million in breeding and husbandry programmes since it adopted cleaner fish as a sea lice control method a decade ago.
All lumpfish used for lice control are now farm reared, and the continued investment in new wrasse breeding facilities and programmes should ensure the reliance on wild fish will diminish in coming years.