A new report produced by Fidra, the environmental charity, has looked at the worldwide impact of salmon aquaculture on the environment.

There is no worldwide framework which monitors the environmental impact of this industry. Individual countries, like Scotland, have their own regulations. Environmental impacts include: organic and chemical waste, sea lice infection, disease and plastic waste.

The report has identified key actions which need to take place

1. Farms which repeatedly fail to meet environmental standards must cease operation. Comprehensive long-term environmental monitoring must be a pre-request for all new farm applications
2. The introduction of a legal requirement for real time salmon aquaculture data to be publicly accessible to farm level, through an online dashboard or information portal. 
3. Any decision-making process to approve a new farm must robustly assess the cumulative environmental impacts that each application may have.
4. Regular monitoring, reporting and robust enforcement of regulations is essential. 

Click on this link to access the full publication: Report: Environmental legislation influencing Atlantic salmon farming in open net pen systems – A global perspective

The Salmon Aquaculture industry has expanded rapidly worldwide over 50 years, and especially in the last two decades. In Scotland it supports many jobs in coastal and island communities. It is the top food export for the whole of the UK – Scottish Salmon: Top Food Export in Recession Hit UK

The report by Fidra has examined the regulations in 7 countries: Norway, Chile, Scotland, Faroe Islands, Canada, Australia, and Iceland. Waste pollution: feed, faeces and chemical waste in the form of pesticides from salmon cages, filters down and out into the wider environment. Sea lice affect our Scottish wild salmon. In recognition of the declining numbers of the wild Atlantic salmon in Scotland the Scottish Government has produced the Scottish wild salmon strategy

The industry is now big business dominated by a few companies: the five largest production volumes of 2022 were from MOWI (Norway), Salmar (Norway), AquaChile (Chile), Leroy Seafood (Norway) and Cermaq (Norway, operates in Canada, Chile and Norway). The companies of Cooke and Bakkafrost, both with Scotland operations, were listed as 6th and 7th respectively.

The report also examines how the open age salmon aquaculture industry affects wildlife through the spread of sea lice, pesticides, plastics, and the use of acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs). In March 2021 a report was published by the Scottish Government on the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs) by the aquaculture sector. ADDs work by emitting a loud low frequency sound and affect not just seals but other marine life. Noise pollution in the marine environment comes from multiple sources, not just ADDs, including: shipping, marine renewables, and the military: Monitoring Noise Levels in the Marine Environment

The report gives a country by country listing of the industry’s production in each country and the regulations, including licensing agreements, issued by different governments. Commercial salmon production is considered to be an important source of cheaper food and of employment by these governments but with an environmental cost which as yet, worldwide, is unknown.

Fiona Grahame