Salmon Scotland to face sustainability claim challenge

Wildfish and Coastal Communities Network Scotland are challenging the use of the term ‘sustainable’, arguing that salmon farms around Scotland can not claim to meet this description.

“In the minds of consumers, a ‘sustainable’ product is one which has a positive environmental impact, or at least no adverse impact,” said Rachel Mulrenan, Scotland director at WildFish.

“The Scottish salmon farming industry can make no such claim – from the unsustainable use of wild fish to feed farmed salmon, to the dispersal of toxic chemicals into Scottish sea lochs, to the negative impact on protected species such as wild Atlantic salmon, this is an inherently unsustainable industry producing an unsustainable product.”

The complaint details a number of allegations which the two organisations say cast doubt on the claim of sustainability, namely:

• The negative impact of parasites and escaped fish from Scottish salmon farms on wild salmon
• High mortality rates on the farms
• Pollution of the sea by toxic chemicals used by the industry
• Unsustainable use of other fish species as parasite ‘cleaner fish’
• Use of fish from unsustainable wild-caught fisheries to feed farmed salmon
• Increasing use of antibiotics on Scottish salmon farms
• Significant carbon footprint of Scottish salmon farming

John Aitchison, spokesperson for CCN, said that many Scottish coastal communities were realising how much harm salmon farming can do.

“Jobs in these communities depend on the sea being clean and healthy, so it is no surprise that this industry has lost its social licence to operate,” he said.

“Every salmon farm is allowed to discharge all its excrement and pesticides into the sea. They all release parasitic sea lice that can threaten wild salmon and sea trout. They bring feed ingredients from across the globe and then fly much of their produce to the USA and the Far East.

“To call any of this behaviour ‘sustainable’ is unacceptable.”

WildFish and CCN’s complaint comes as Salmon Scotland has proposed to change the industry’s Protected Geographical Indication from ‘Scottish farmed salmon’, to ‘Scottish salmon’, a move criticised by some, say Wildfish and CCN, as being ‘highly and deliberately misleading’.