WildFish calls for salmon farming moratorium after damning committee findings

Conservation charity WildFish has called on the Scottish Government to halt all new salmon farm approvals, following the publication of a highly critical letter from the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.

The Committee’s letter, published on 25 March, expressed disappointment that progress in future-proofing the salmon farming industry had not occurred with the urgency called for a year ago, and that recommendations aimed at protecting wild salmon from the risks posed by farmed salmon had not been implemented.

WildFish noted the Committee’s concerns over the continued impacts of salmon farming, including sea-lice transmission, high mortality rates and wider ecological pressures, and said meaningful reform had yet to be delivered despite assurances from the cabinet secretary.

Nick Underdown, Scotland director at WildFish, described the findings as a significant milestone. “The Committee has practically confirmed that the regulatory system remains dysfunctional and ineffective,” he said. “When a parliamentary committee acknowledges ongoing environmental harm, progress stalled in the courts and a lack of effective controls, the logical conclusion is hard to avoid: our planning authorities should not be allowing further expansion of salmon farming.”

WildFish said the Committee had stopped short of explicitly calling for a moratorium, but had come very close to doing so in substance.

The charity is calling for an immediate moratorium on new salmon farms and expansions, followed by a managed transition away from open-net salmon farming in Scotland’s coastal waters, to prioritise the recovery of wild Atlantic salmon populations. WildFish said the next Scottish Parliament, following the forthcoming Scottish Parliament election, must act with far greater urgency.