Saying that supermarkets must not ignore threats to the conservation of wild salmon and sea trout in Scotland, the Salmon & Trout Association Scotland [S&TAS] is today asking Asda to take a stand for wild salmon conservation and end its sourcing relationship with Wester Ross Fisheries Limited.
Why? Because data shows that sea lice infestation is out of control on farmed salmon in the Two Brooms area of Wester Ross – and sea lice in salmon farms have been shown to pose a serious threat to wild salmon and sea trout in the migration of juvenile salmonids.
The Two Brooms area is where Wester Ross Fisheries Limited operates . The company has what S&TAS describe as ‘an appalling sea-lice record’ yet it was showcased in Asda’s July magazine this year [2013].
The latest quarterly sea lice report [for July to September 2013], published by the salmon farming industry, reveals that in the ‘Kennart to Gruinard’ region of the north-west Highlands, adult female sea-lice numbers were way over the industry’s own threshold for all three of these months. In September, the monthly lice count on farms in this area was over nine times the threshold level. Those levels have been over that threshold for each of the nine months to September.
There are seven farms in this area, operated by two companies – Wester Ross Fisheries Limited and Scottish Sea Farms Limited.
The production of huge number of juvenile sea lice by these farms presents an unacceptable threat to the conservation of wild salmon and sea trout.
Hugh Campbell Adamson, Chairman of S&TA, says: ‘The sea-lice numbers in the region where Wester Ross Fisheries have all their marine farms are shocking and the salmon farmers in these areas have lost all control.
‘We call on Asda to make a stand and end its relationship with Wester Ross Fisheries Limited in the interests of the conservation of Scotland’s iconic wild salmon and sea trout.
‘Nor is this message just for Asda. All supermarkets must stop hiding behind opaque certification schemes that mean little in practice. They need to take an honest look at their producers and where they are found wanting, where they are causing damage to wild fish conservation, those producers should be dropped.’
This poor record is not new
The poor record of on-farm sea-lice control in Wester Ross Fisheries farms is not something new.
Prior to 2013, Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) reports of inspections conducted at Wester Ross Fisheries’ farms have shown poor lice control on very many occasions. FHI inspections
- at Ardmair in Loch Kanaird on 10th November 2009, 15th June 2011, 2nd August 2011 and 25th July 2012
- at Corry in Loch Broom on 21st March 2011 and 6th June 2011
- and in Little Loch Broom, at Ardessie on 7th June 2011, 2nd August 2011 and 16th May 2013
all recorded that sea-lice levels of the farmed fish breached the suggested adult female sea lice threshold in the industry’s own Code of Good Practice during the period that records were inspected.
The image above shows the underbelly of a wild juvenile sea trout, smothered in sea lice eating away at its flesh. This fish was caught in June 2013 in Little Loch Broom, within two miles of Wester Ross Fisheries’ salmon farm at Ardessie
Why are sea lice on fish-farms such a threat to wild salmon and sea trout?
The negative impact of sea lice – which are produced in huge numbers by fish farms, on wild salmonids [salmon and sea trout] is widely accepted by fisheries scientists including the Scottish Government’s own Marine Scotland Science.
Most recently, a new paper published in 2013 by a group of fisheries experts from Norway, Canada and Scotland re-analyses data from various Irish studies and shows that the impact of sea lice on wild salmon causes a very high loss (34%) of those returning to Irish salmonid rivers.
Most importantly, there is clear evidence that both wild salmon and sea trout are in decline in Scotland’s ‘aquaculture zone’, whereas, generally, populations have stabilized on the east and north coasts where there is no fish-farming.
Note: The reference in the penultimate paragraph above is to: M Krkosek, C W Revie, B Finstad and C D Todd (2013) Comment on Jackson et al. “Impact of Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestations on migrating Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., smolts at eight locations in Ireland with an analysis of lice-induced marine mortality” – Journal of Fish Diseases.]