Ministers Gorge on Scottish Salmon à la John Gummer

Fergus Ewing (the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy & Connectivity aka Minister for the Promotion of Norwegian-owned Salmon Farming) is never afraid to leap like a disease-ridden Scottish salmon onto the industry's bandwagon.

The photo of him tucking into Mowi salmon at the Lochaber Show (pictured with Kate Forbes MSP, another Scottish Minister busy prom0ting Norwegian-owned 'Scottish' salmon) brings back memories of John Gummer (then the UK Minister of Agriculture) feeding his daughter a bite of British beef at the height of the BSE scandal.

"The fish farm industry forms an integral part of Scotland's rural economy – creating jobs and providing capital in some of our most rural communities," crowed Fergus Ewing in The Herald (15 October 2018). "So it’s very encouraging to see salmon production value on the increase yet again."

"Demand for quality Scottish salmon continues to outstrip supply and the sector aspires to grow to meet demand, but we also recognise the importance of steady, sustainable development," he continued. "These new figures, alongside the investment in tackling emerging challenges give us great confidence in the sector’s ability for sustainable growth over the coming years."

Fergus forgot to mention the fact that salmon farming production in Scotland is predicted to fall a whopping 21% during 2018 (most of that 39,000 tonne fall being accounted for by lice-infested Mowi who reported a fall in salmon farming production in Scotland from 60,000 tonnes in 2017 to 40,000 tonnes in 2018).

Here's the 2017 Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey published in October 2018 which predicts a fall of 21% (39,000 tonnes less production) in 2018:

In January 2018, Fergus admitted via a Scottish Parliamentary reply that over a quarter (26.7%) of all Scottish farmed salmon (nearly 13 million) were dying on salmon farms:

In April 2018, Fergus was at the Brussels Seafood Show flexing his muscles on behalf of the predominantly Norwegian-owned 'Scottish' salmon farming sector and pledging his support to a reckless expansion plan to double or even treble salmon farming production by 2030:

Fergus wears salmon-tinted spectacles to avoid looking at the escalating problems of salmon farming.

In June 2018, Fergus Ewing (pictured with Ben Hadfield, Mowi Scotland's Managing Director) hit out at metropolitan critics of the aquaculture sector as he opened a Mowi hatchery in the Highlands.

In October 2018, The Sunday Mail reported that 500,000 farmed salmon had died at Mowi's flagship hatchery at Inchmore – opened only a few months earlier by Scotland's Cabinet Secretary for Rural Economy, Fergus Ewing.

In September 2018, Fergus Ewing vowed to deal with "detractors":

BBC Panorama reported in May 2019:

Before Fergus gorges on more Scottish salmon he may want to do some more reading about the risks posed by consuming farmed salmon. Science Daily reported in 2009: