Scotland’s first salmon farms are under direct attack of the environmental groups as they claim that the industry is unsustainable and that the measure could further harm seas already at risk. It is informed that Marine Harvest is hoping to implement the system as part of a £40 million expansion of its Scottish operations.
The company explained that it wants to take advantage of the growing demand for farmed Scottish salmon across Europe, where consumption has been rising 6 to 8 per cent annually. But the critics claim farmed salmon waste pollutes inland waters and carry diseases that threaten wild stock.
Duncan McLaren, chief executive of Friends of the Earth Scotland, opined that they are not convinced by these plans. He said that farming of carnivorous fish is unsustainable as an industry because it relies on a greater input of fish product than the salmon it produces, roughly 5kg of feed for 1kg of fish.
James Reynolds, from RSPB Scotland, also raised concerns saying that they would question how sustainable the industry is in its current form in the amount of fish meal that is made to bring the salmon to market size, so if there were measures to increase that we would want to see it happen in the most sustainable manner possible. Alan Sutherland, Marine Harvest’s managing director, told that the time is right for the next generation of fish farming. The demand for our product is there and we know the quality is there.
