Salmon farm moratorium call
LOCAL fishery trusts and boards are calling for an immediate moratorium on new open cage marine salmon farms or any expansion of existing sites.
Save Seil Sound, Argyll District Salmon Fishery Board, Argyll Fisheries Trust, Friends of Loch Etive and Friends of the Sound of Jura have joined 22 other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to back the call by Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland (S&TC Scotland).
The move comes as the Scottish Parliament investigates the environmental impact of Atlantic salmon farming in Scotland. The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee gathered evidence ahead of the current inquiry by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (RECC).
Friends of the Sound of Jura was one of the organisations that gave evidence to the ECCLR last month, and in February the committee took evidence from the Dunbeg-based Scottish Association for Marine Science.
Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of S&TC Scotland, said: ‘The all-party ECCLR Committee of the Scottish Parliament unanimously agreed its report in March and concluded the current consenting and regulatory framework for the salmon farming industry is inadequate to address environmental issues.
‘They were not convinced the sector is being regulated sufficiently, or regulated sufficiently effectively, and made it clear this needs to be addressed urgently because further expansion must be on an environmentally sustainable basis. They also said if current issues are not addressed, this expansion will be unsustainable and may cause irrecoverable damage to the environment, concluding “the status quo is not an option”.’
Last week, the RECC heard evidence from representatives of the aquaculture industry. The following individuals were invited to give evidence: Scott Landsburgh, former chief executive, Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation; Ben Hadfield, managing director, Marine Harvest Scotland; Craig Anderson, chief executive, Scottish Salmon Company; Grant Cumming, managing director, Grieg Seafood Shetland, Grieg Seafood; and Stewart Graham, Group Managing Director, Gael Force Group.
After the meeting the committee reviewed all the evidence it had heard on salmon farming in Scotland.
Asked last week to comment on the call for the moratorium, Marine Harvest’s business support manager Steve Bracken said he would await the final outcome of the RECC inquiry in July.
This comes as Argyll and Bute Council last week permitted an increase in biomass of farmed fish on two farms on Loch Fyne.
Meanwhile, Dawnfresh has submitted a planning application to increase the number of pens at Airds Point on Loch Etive from 10 to 12 without increasing the current biomass. The revised application also allows for an upgrade to the cages, as well as installing new feeding equipment on each pen.