“Scottish Government failing to save Salmon Farm Industry from itself”, says Edward Mountain MSP
The Scottish Government has today been called out by Edward Mountain MSP for allowing the status quo of rising mortalities and rising antibiotic usage to continue in salmon fish farms during a session of Holyrood’s Rural Affairs and Islands (RAI) Committee.
Edward Mountain MSP challenged the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs over the 35% increase of mortalities for the period 2016-2021 and the 168% increase to antibiotic usage since 2017.
Last September Edward Mountain MSP made a formal request to the RAI Committee to put Scotland’s Salmon Farm industry under closer scrutiny, following a continued and sustained rise in salmon farm mortalities.
Edward Mountain MSP is the former Convener of the Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) Committee, which undertook the Salmon Farming Inquiry in 2018 in the previous parliamentary session.
The REC Committee’s recommendations in 2018 stopped short of calling for a moratorium on the expansion of the salmon farming sector, but did conclude that the industry would need to implement enhanced and more effective standards.
During the RAI Committee’s evidence session today, Edward Mountain MSP said: “In 2016 there were 22,000 tonnes of salmon that died in fish farms, in 2021 that had risen by 35% to nearly 30,000 tonnes of fish that died in fish farms. If you put that on lorries, nose to tail… it would stretch to nearly 11 miles of articulated lorries of dead fish.”
Edward Mountain MSP then went on to describe a number of REC Committee recommendations to address the issue of mortality and which have not been pursued by the Scottish Government.
The MSP then asked: “Do you not think that those were wise recommendations by the Committee to protect the industry from itself and are you going to push them forward, Cabinet Secretary?”
The Cabinet Secretary replied: “We would take recommendations seriously and again we have made significant progress against a lot of the recommendations that have been set out there… We’re not content with the [mortality] figures, I don’t think industry would be content with the figures either.”
Edward Mountain MSP pressed the Cabinet Secretary again: “Now the industry will tell you that they are producing more fish and therefore that accounts for more mortalities, but compounding an error is surely not the way forward. I don’t understand any industry that would accept a 25% mortality, I understand Cabinet Secretary with farming that there is certain amount of mortality, but 25%. Are you really happy with that? Do you think that’s good for our environment around our coastlines? And do you think it’s good for the industry?”
The Cabinet Secretary said: “I’m not content with that figure, we want to see mortalities at their lowest possible level and I would like to think I have made that clear to the Committee today.”
Edward Mountain MSP then concluded: “But it’s remained stubbornly high and it hasn’t reduced, which is the status quo for me.”
Following the evidence session, Edward Mountain MSP commented:
“I was delighted to question the Cabinet Secretary today following my request to the RAI Committee that the Scottish Government should be scrutinised for their failure to address high mortalities in salmon farms.
“In the last session the REC Committee, which I convened, published 65 recommendations to enhance the salmon farm industry.
“It was a blueprint for a sustainable future for the industry and I am disappointed that there has been a real lack of progress on implementing many of the recommendations. An opportunity has been squandered to save the industry from itself.
“Salmon farming is a vital industry for Scotland, but as long as mortalities remain high the sector’s reputation will be under threat.”