Move salmon farms onshore

Sir, - Scott Landsburgh’s comments about my criticisms of the salmon farming industry were robust. They had to be – he is the chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation. Mr Landsburgh asserted many of my statements made during my talk to anglers were completely wrong.

Along with the angling fraternity, fishery owners, conservationists, and scientists, I still believe the salmon farming industry should be held to account for its activities.

I could have said a lot more, for instance the fact that the Scottish Government’s Marine Scotland biologists’ map of the west coast revealed that near every critically endangered salmon river was a fish farm. Surprise, surprise.

Each of these farms spews out a sea lice soup through which juvenile fish (smolts) have to swim during their annual migration, and are literally eaten alive by a plague of parasites.

I could also have mentioned Sepa’s disclosure that 45 sea lochs are contaminated by pesticides used to control sea lice, chemicals which can damage human health and marine life, a “ticking time bomb” according to some environmentalists.

I could have mentioned that farmed salmon are fed with pellets made from fish that salmon and other species rely on for their food.

Beef and dairy producers muck out their sheds and byres daily to prevent disease.

Salmon farmers don’t clean up the faeces, fish pellets, and chemicals which drop through the nets to rot, making the sea bed sterile.

There are plans for giant salmon farms off Orkney and Shetland, one of which could produce more effluent than the entire outflow from Glasgow. So how much effluent is being produced by the 300 west coast salmon farms?

I could also have mentioned the thousands of caged salmon which have died from pancreatic disease over the years.

There is no doubt in my mind that the salmon farming industry in Scotland should clean up its act and move to closed containment facilities on dry land rather than cages in what used to be our pristine sea lochs. Arnot McWhinnie. Whiteacre, Stanley.