16 September 2024
The Committee will meet with a range of local stakeholders at a community engagement event on Sunday 22 September, to gain a first-hand account of the impact of salmon farming on the local community.
On Monday 23 September, the delegation will take part in a tour of the facilities and hold discussions with different departments within the *Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS**) at the Scottish Marine Institute. The visit will end with a visit to a sea farm.
Members enrolled for the visit are Committee Convener Finlay Carson MSP; Deputy Convener Beatrice Wishart MSP; Emma Harper MSP; Elena Whitham MSP; Rhoda Grant MSP; Emma Roddick MSP; Arianne Burgess MSP and Colin Beattie MSP.
Speaking in advance of the visit Committee Convener and leader of the delegation, Finlay Carson MSP said;
“Our inquiry is focussed on determining to what extent recommendations made by our predecessors* in 2018, to address economic, social and environmental issues related to the salmon farming industry in Scotland, have been implemented.
“This visit offers us an important opportunity to hold discussions with local stakeholders directly impacted by the industry to gain a better understanding of the benefits, opportunities and challenges experienced by the local community from the industry.
“We will also be keen to learn more about the issues around spatial demands on the Scottish marine environment, that we’ve heard so much about during our inquiry work.”
The Committee plans to hear from marine consenting and spatial planning experts on 18 September; salmon industry stakeholders on 2 October; and from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform & Islands, Mairi Gougeon MSP on 9 October. The Committee will report its findings to the Scottish Parliament thereafter.
Further information about previous Committee work on salmon farming and updates on the progress on the RAI inquiry (including a timeline)
*In November 2018, the then Rural Economy & Connectivity Committee (RECC) said that urgent action needed to be taken to improve the regulation of the Scottish salmon farming industry and to address fish health and environmental challenges.
At the time, the Committee set out its recommendations about how challenges, such as the control of sea lice, rising fish mortalities and the need to reduce the sector’s impact on the environment, should be addressed. The Committee also said that the current standards of regulation of the sector was ‘not acceptable’.
**The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is Scotland’s largest and oldest independent marine science organisation, delivering marine science for a productive and sustainably managed marine environment through innovative research, education and engagement with society.
Scottish farmed salmon was the UK’s top food export by value in 2023. Figures from the HMRC show that export sales for the calendar year totalled £581m.
In 2022, 169,194 tonnes of Atlantic salmon were produced in Scotland – a decrease of 36,199 tonnes on the 2021 total of 205,393 tonnes, which was the highest level of production ever recorded in Scotland.
In 2023, data published by the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) recorded 17.4 million fish mortalities on Scottish Salmon farms which exceeded the 17.2 million of 2022’s record-breaking year.
Further background to the salmon industry in Scotland, including the fish health and environmental issues, can be found in the SPICe briefing on salmon farming in Scotland published at the time of the previous RECC Committee inquiry.
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