The Scottish salmon farming industry faces scrutiny over the level of progress in making improvements.
The Scottish Parliament’s rural affairs committee has announced a follow-up inquiry
after its predecessor said some six years ago that “urgent action” was required to
address fish health and environmental challenges.
Back in 2018, the then named rural economy committee set out 65 recommendations about how challenges, such as the control of sea lice, rising fish mortalities and the need to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment, should be addressed.
That committee also said that the current standards of regulation of the sector was ‘not acceptable’.
Finlay Carson, convener of the Rural Affairs and Islands’s committee, said the past recommendations aimed to put in place measures that would maintain the “reputation of Scottish salmon as an internationally recognised premium product, and so preserving the significant economic and social value this industry brings to Scotland.”
He stated: "Picking up the baton from our predecessors, we will find out what progress has been made in developing the industry since 2018 and how the various fish health, environmental and climate change challenges it faces are being addressed.”
Over the course of nine evidence sessions, MSPs on the committee will revisit the
recommendations hearing from aquaculture stakeholders; salmon farming representatives;
non-governmental organisations; and regulators.
In September, the committee will meet with local community groups to learn more about the impact salmon farming is having on local communities. Members will also visit the Scottish Association for Marine Science and salmon farms to increase their understanding of how the sector is developing.”
Holyrood launches new inquiry into salmon farming
3 June 2024
