The International Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisation (IFFO) has hit back at claims that overfishing of sandeels and krill in the Atlantic Ocean are causing a decrease in size and weight of Scottish salmon.
The claims were made in a recent article published in UK newspaper, Telegraph, which also stated that sandeels were being caught for the production of fertiliser.
In response to the article, the IFFO has highlighted the need for Telegraph readers to know that “the only significant fishing for krill is conducted in the Southern Hemisphere (Antarctica) far away from the feeding grounds for the Atlantic Salmon”.
The organisation has also stressed the fact that fishing for sandeels, which are only found in the North Sea, is carefully monitored by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES).
Referring to the claim that sandeels are caught for the production of fertiliser, the IFFO called it “totally erroneous”, explaining that what limited landings there are, they go for the production of marine ingredients for human and animal nutrition and nothing goes for fertiliser production.
The IFFO also pointed out the believed reason for the decrease in size and weight of salmon returning to Scotland – the warming of the seas in the North Atlantic, according to Professor Todd at St Andrew’s University.
