'Militant' MSPs Grill Scottish Salmon

Read a transcript of today's salmon farming inquiry online here (from 6pm)

David Sandison representing the Scottish Salmon Polluters Organisation (aka The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation) was well and truly grilled to a crisp at this morning's salmon farming inquiry by the 'militant' wing of the Scottish Parliament; namely the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee.

Sitting next to Sam Collin of Scottish Wildlife Trust and John Aitchison of Friends of the Sound of Jura, the general manager of the Scottish Salmon Polluters Organisation was aiming to "bust a few myths" but David Sandison was subjected to an intense grilling.

In advance of the inquiry, the outgoing chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Polluters Organisation (Scott Landsburgh) claimed that the inquiry represented an opportunity to "set the record straight" referring to the "voices of the militant part of the wild fish lobby".

Shamefully, two of "the voices of the militant part of the wild fish lobby" – Andrew Graham-Stewart and Guy Linley-Adams of Salmon & Trout Conservation who are heavily armed with their double-barrel surnames, fishing rods and the power of Freedom of Information – were not even called to give oral evidence (even though the Parliamentary inquiry stemmed from a petition filed by Guy Linley-Adams on behalf of Salmon & Trout Conservation).

Read more via Salmon & Trout Conservation's dangerous arsenal of damning sea lice data:

"FOI Number Five – getting you the information they don’t want you to see!"

"Scottish salmon farming’s ‘liciest’ farms named and shamed"

"Scotland’s worst sea lice offenders: Full Farm List"

So it was left to the militant wing of the Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform Committee to fire dangerous questions on infectious diseases, lice infestation, mass mortalities, dead seals, ADDs, leaking haulage trucks (as shown by the BBC's One Show) and other skeletons lurking in Scottish salmon's Room 101.

John Aitchison of Friends of the Sound of Jura (supremely confident after fighting off the unwanted advances of a ravenous polar bear whilst filming the BBC's Frozen Planet) fired broadside after broadside against the disease-ridden Scottish salmon farming sector (and the industry's lapdog called the Scottish Environment Pollution Agency).

Sam Collin of Scottish Wildlife Trusts (representing Scottish Environment LINK) had a dangerous looking beard and an extremely terrifying checked suit.

After the grilling was over you wouldn't blame David Sandison of the Scottish Salmon Polluters Organisation for wanting to drown his sorrows in a very large bottle of Scotch (probably propping up the bar at the World's End pub with the industry's lapdog named SEPA).

Thankfully, the new chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Polluters Organisation (Julie Hesketh-Laird) was chief executive of the Scottish Whisky Association.

Oh what a pairing.

As you eat your dinner tonight – here's 25 reasons to boycott Scottish salmon – why not turn on Scottish Parliament TV and click on the archive of today's salmon farming discussions which also featured the Scottish Environment Pollution Agency, Marine Scotland and Highland Council. Watch online here.

Read a transcript of today's salmon farming inquiry online here (from 6pm)