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Scottish salmon industry criticised by leading anglers group which says government fish farm inspections are 'too lenient'
Fish farms are being frequently hit by parasite infestations and mass escapes that threaten the survival of the UK's wild salmon stocks, a leading anglers' group has said.
Official inspections have revealed that scores of salmon farms around the Scottish coast have had infestations of the sea lice parasite that breached recommended levels or have led to fish suffering wounds or an early death.
The Salmon and Trout Association (S&TA) said that official reports, released to the group under freedom of information powers, showed that the government's inspection regime was failing and was too lenient – a claim disputed by the Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation.
It said their evidence raised significant questions about the common practice of routinely warning fish farms, often up to 10 days in advance, that an inspection was to take place. This often allowed salmon farms to take action on sea lice and repair damaged nets before the inspectors arrived.
Conservationists believe that high sea lice levels and escaped farmed salmon have caused a steep slump in wild Atlantic salmon numbers as the parasites kill young salmon before they breed, and genetically weaker farmed salmon cross-breed with wild fish. The industry disputes both claims.
Guy Linley-Adams, the association's solicitor and a former conservation director with the Marine Conservation Society, said all inspections should be unannounced and all inspection reports must be published weekly, in line with more rigorous enforcement procedures used in Norway.
A majority of Scotland's fish farms are Norwegian-owned yet they enjoyed weaker regulations in the UK, he said.
"The information contained within the inspectors' reports gives the lie to the bland reassurances we are given by the salmon farming industry and indeed Scottish government that the industry is properly regulated," Linley-Adams said.
"The devil is in the detail – now we have seen at least some of that detail and it is not pretty, revealing the true extent of the threat to wild fish conservation from sea lice emanating from Scottish salmon farms".
The association, in common with other conservation groups, believes the Scottish salmon farming industry is wrongly given lenient treatment by the government and enforcement agencies because of its significant economic status.
Boosted by a 23% increase in value in 2009, the industry earns around £412m a year, and is seen as a flagship product for Scotland; its fish farms are also sited in areas with weak economies, including the Western Isles and the west coast of Scotland.
The reports by the Fish Health Inspectorate released to S&TA found that from early 2009 until mid-2010, there were:
• nearly 70 instances where sea lice levels broke the industry's own code of practice and another 52 cases where there was "damage or mortality caused by sea lice, or high lice loads on sampled fish".
• 48 instances where fish farms failed to record or report sea lice numbers in line with industry standards.
The inspections also found evidence about the ineffectiveness of sea lice treatments, including lack of efficacy, tolerance to the chemicals or "potential resistance" to the treatments.
John Webster, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation's technical director, said the association's findings actually proved that the industry was very successful and very well-policed. The 68 instances where sea lice levels went over the guidelines were equivalent to only 15% of the inspections in that period. In 85% of the inspections, the guidelines were met.
"The figures actually show an extremely high level of compliance; we're rather puzzled with the way that they've drawn conclusions from these figures," he said. "I believe the industry is performing extremely well.. We can always improve on our performance but to allege that it is poor is simply inaccurate."
The Scottish government said there were tougher standards being introduced, in cooperation with the industry, to improve sea lice monitoring and tighten up enforcement. Alongside a national database of sea lice levels across Scotland, all fish farms would be required to sign up to management agreements and mandatory reporting of sea lice "failures."
Officials were unable to comment on the association's demands for a new inspection regime because of the Scottish election campaign. "It should be noted that future plans and direction will be a matter for next government, including any move towards weekly reporting of sea lice levels," a spokesman said.
Oyster disease
Restrictions have been placed on moving oysters from and to the River FalI in Cornwall after a parasitic disease that has depleted stocks in Australia and New Zealand was found in British waters for the first time.
The condition, Bonamia exitiosa, has been discovered in small numbers of native oysters which are harvested using sailing boats rather than motorised craft.
A spokesman for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "Bonamia exitiosa has the capacity to detrimentally affect native oyster stocks. Native oyster beds are also of ecological importance and their decline would result in the loss of fauna."
Kevin Denham, a senior fish health inspector for the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science said: "At the moment the numbers that we are dealing with are quite small. From a sample of 30 only three were found to have the disease.
Denham added: "The oysters which are infected are still fit for human consumption as the disease has no affect on humans."
In recent years the infection has been detected in Italy, France and Spain.