Sea lice crisis at fish farms hits supply of fresh salmon

AN epidemic of sea lice in Scotland’s fish farms is contributing to a global shortage of salmon, driving up prices and threatening to force it off restaurant menus.

Supplies have been hit by the parasite problem on farms around the West Coast, at the same time that supplies from Norway have shrunk through over-harvesting of the fish.

Growth rates of salmon have also been affected by unusually cold weather, while further afield supplies from Chile have fallen dramatically because fish farms have been hit by toxic algae blooms. As a result, some 123,000 tons of salmon have been lost so far this year.

The Scottish Salmon Producers Association denies there is a problem and insists health and welfare standards at fish farms are high.

But the food company Beacon, which purchases salmon on behalf of more than 2,000 restaurant businesses across the UK, warned yester day that salmon prices had risen by 16 per cent since February. Beacon believes a shortage could run through the year into Christmas and that restaurants may need to change their menus, possibly switching to sea trout.

Earlier this month, Scotland’s salmon farming industry was criticised by conservationists for failing to have effective measures to combat sea lice.

Salmon & Trout Conservation Scotland (S&TCS) accused the Scottish Government of having standards on control of sea lice more lax than any other salmon-farming country in the North Atlantic.

Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TCS, said: ‘It is abundantly clear that Scotland lags far behind all the countries in the North Atlantic with salmon farming industries when it comes to protecting wild fish from the impacts of salmon aquaculture.

‘The contrast between the strict statutory controls elsewhere and the paucity of regu lation in Scotland is extreme. When it comes to the most serious threat to wild salmonids, sea lice produced by the billion on salmon farms, Scotland essentially relies on what are little more than gentleman’s agreements and unenforceable codes of good practice.

‘In contrast, the Faroese have almost zero tolerance of any build-up of sea lice and the Norwegians accept no more than 0.5 lice per farmed fish.

‘Yet the Scottish regime now allows up to an astonishing eight lice per farmed fish.’

Scottish angling writer Bruce Sandison said: ‘The way forward for fish farming is to bring the industry ashore, on to land and into closed containers, so there is no sea lice and no need to spend millions on medicine.’

Beacon senior food buyer Emma Warrington said: ‘The market is volatile, with demand continuing to outstrip supply, so our advice would be to start to look at alternative products for your Christmas menu.

Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation spokesman Scott Landsburgh said: ‘I don’t recognise any substance in many of these claims. If Beacon are trying to push their new Christmas menus, they should talk to salmon farming companies about supply of Scottish salmon for this year. In modern Scottish fish farming, the standards of fish health and welfare are extremely high.’

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘Scotland has a robust legislative and regulatory framework in place to provide the right balance between growing aquaculture and protecting the environment.’

‘Scotland is lagging behind’