For immediate release: 26 September 2019
New report set to reveal drastic fall in salmon farming production in Scotland
Campaigners call for industry overhaul ahead of publication of 2018 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey, as Scottish salmon farms hit by infectious diseases, lice infestation and welfare problems.
A new government report, to be published on Monday, 30 September, is set to reveal Scottish salmon farming production fell drastically in 2018.
Salmon welfare campaigners are calling for urgent action from the government to ensure proper oversight of the industry and prevent mass deaths.
Each year, the ‘Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey’ reports salmon production figures for the previous year and predicts production for the coming year. The 2017 survey predicted a 21% fall in salmon farming production in Scotland for 2018 – 150,774 tonnes, compared to 189,707 tonnes in 2017. The 2018 survey will confirm the actual figure.
The publication of the report comes at a time of growing pressure on the Scottish government to scrutinise the salmon industry. This summer, over 43,000 people backed calls by Scottish Salmon Watch and consumer group SumOfUs for Holyrood to force emergency inspections of salmon farms, due to evidence captured by Scottish Salmon Watch of welfare abuses on a salmon farm in Wester Ross. Activists recently took to the water around salmon farms on the west coast of Scotland, to protest the conditions on salmon farms and their harm to the natural environment.
Proposals for new salmon farms off the islands of Canna and Arran have both been met with significant opposition.
Anna Liberadzki, Campaigner at SumOfUs, said: “Salmon farming corporations aren’t just businesses but custodians of our precious marine environment. The priority should be to hold them accountable for their disastrous impacts, rather than give the go ahead to new sites off the islands of Canna and Arran. Due to growing evidence of terrible conditions on salmon farms, over 43,000 people have signed a SumOfUs petition urging the Scottish government to carry out emergency inspections. It’s time they took salmon welfare seriously.”
Don Staniford, Director of Scottish Salmon Watch, said: “If the forecast is correct, Scottish salmon farming production in 2018 will be less than 15 years ago! Far from being a success story, Scottish salmon farming is a welfare nightmare and a disease disaster with a mortality rate running at over 20%. Lice infestation, pathogens, viruses and infectious diseases are ravaging salmon farms across Scotland. Consumers should avoid Scottish salmon – shamefully marketed as 'healthy' and 'sustainable' – like the proverbial plague.”
Disease and mortality problems have continued during 2019, with mass mortalities reported at salmon farms across Scotland, according to data published last week by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate.
Scottish salmon farming is set for a very bleak autumn with disease problems predicted by Mowi's health manager to make "a painful September and October for the salmon industry in Scotland".
/ENDS
Notes to editors
Contact:
Felicity Slater, SumOfUs: felicity@digacommunications.com 07931 565 986
Don Staniford, Scottish Salmon Watch: salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com 07771 541826
View the SumOfUs petition here: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/stop-salmon-from-suffering-investigate-scottish-fish-farms-right-now-1
Historical predictions of annual salmon farming production:
- The 2016 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey predicted 177,202 tonnes for 2017 compared to the actual figure of 189,707 tonnes.
- The 2015 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey predicted 177,857 tonnes for 2016 compared to the actual figure of 162,817 tonnes.
- The 2014 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey predicted 186,508 tonnes for 2015 compared to the actual figure of 171,722 tonnes.
- The 2013 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey predicted 162,374 tonnes for 2014 compared to the actual figure of 179,022 tonnes.
- The 2012 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey predicted 152,507 tonnes for 2013 compared to the actual figure of 163,234 tonnes.
- The 2011 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey predicted 158,026 tonnes for 2012 compared to the actual figure of 162,223 tonnes.
SumOfUs is a global movement of consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, united together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy. sumofus.org
Scottish Salmon Watch was set up in 2018 to shine a light on the murky waters of salmon farming in Scotland. scottishsalmonwatch.org
Download as a PDF online here
Read more via "Media Backgrounder: Disease-Ridden Scottish Salmon is Dead in the Water" (26 September 2019)