Scottish politicians are demanding urgent action to suspend any expansion of Scottish salmon farming as deaths hit a record level.
Last month, statistics from Animal Equality and $camon $cotland found that between January and November of last year, nearly 15 million salmon deaths were recorded.
According to records published by the Fish Health Inspectorate, the number of fish that died in 2022 was nearly double that of 2021 and triple of 2020.
In a letter coordinated by animal protection NGOs Animal Equality UK and OneKind to Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP, the MSPs of varying parties said: “The sharp rise in on-farm mortalities has caused us to question the long-term sustainability of this industry”.
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As a result, signatories are seeking a pause on all new salmon farming operations and are urging that the mortality matter be investigated formally by regulatory bodies.
If granted, the industry would be capped at its current capacity and requests for further expansion of new or existing aquaculture sites would not be permitted until the urgent issues are addressed.
The letter said: “Scotland is already feeling the effects of climate change, which threatens the country’s citizens, as well as its stunning habitats and wildlife… we fear that this latest data suggests that the salmon farming industry is simply not adequately prepared to handle these changing conditions.”
It added that Atlantic salmon are kept in “unnatural” and “tight” spaces when farmed which the MSPs claims provides “ample opportunity for disease transmission and lice breakouts to become ever more frequent, and for these territorial animals to develop aggressive tendencies toward one another.”
Animal Equality UK executive director, Abigail Penny added: “For the best part of a decade Scottish salmon producers have knowingly allowed millions of fish to die on farms under its watch, and to this day breeds millions more to suffer in lice-infested cages. These are the signs of a failing industry.
“Rather than take responsibility for its failures, salmon producers lean on weak distraction techniques. But the politicians and people of the UK are no fools, and we will not be bystanders as this destructive industry wreaks havoc across Scotland’s waters.”
She added: “The Scottish Government must act now before further permanent damage is done. It must stop the growth of this industry and investigate these issues before it’s too late.”
