The demise of sea trout numbers on the northwest coast of Scotland has plummeted by 70% since the installation of open pen aquaculture. In Loch Maree, once a fly fishers destination for big sea trout, there is only one part-time ghillie remaining from the dozens of guides who worked seven days a week from July to October. Many more dozens of support businesses have closed.
Part II of . . . IS FARMED SALMON JUST A PROCESSED FOOD?
What are we doing to protect wild fish? Clearly, open net pen fish farming is not working as planned and there are too many disasters swept under the rug . . . follow the money
By Skip Clement
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]orldwide science discoveries have given us a loud warning here in Scotland that salmon farming is harming wild fish. Currently, poorly run and badly sited open net farms are putting our wild salmon and sea trout at risk from parasites and diseases:
• Numbers of wild salmon and sea trout found in Scotland’s rivers have declined by 70% over the past two decades
• Wild Atlantic Salmon is on the brink of becoming an endangered species in our lifetime, with global populations of wild Atlantic salmon are estimated to have declined from 8-10 million in the 1970s to just 3 million fish today
Our salmon farming campaign champions a shift to production systems where the salmon farming industry and wild fish can thrive together:
• Relocate poorly sited farms
• Review lice regulations and take action on lice trigger levels mandatory
• Encourage a shift to closed containment salmon farming: either land-based or floating tanks in place of open nets.
• Work by our Scottish team has already led to TWO parliamentary inquiries to consider industry reform systems where the salmon farming industry and wild fish can thrive together.
Join the UK’s only charity campaigning specifically for wild fish and their waters.
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