Rural Affairs Committee, 16 Nov 1999

Meeting date: Tuesday, November 16, 1999

Official Report 176KB pdf

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Infectious Salmon Anaemia

Richard Lochhead requested at the last minute that this item be added to the agenda. I ask him to outline his reasons for doing so.

I asked for the item to be included because the infectious salmon anaemia virus has been found in wild fish in Scotland. That will change many people's perception of the crisis. I am not sure of the way forward, but I wonder whether the committee thinks that it would be appropriate for us to initiate an investigation into the infectious salmon anaemia virus in Scotland, given that it is a big issue for many rural communities.

Given the other things to which we have committed ourselves, I am not suggesting that we carry out an in-depth investigation, but some sort of action would be useful. We could request a report from the Executive on the implications of the recent developments.

I agree entirely. The issue is important and I am glad that it is on the agenda today—I raised it with the minister myself.

Richard's suggestion that we ask the minister to present a report to us is good. My rural constituency of West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine has three salmon rivers, and people have contacted me to express their concern. We need to have the latest information from the Executive. The Executive must focus its resources on research. I would like the committee to send that message.

If the virus is found in wild stocks, the classification of the disease changes. It is no longer classed as exotic but is classed as endemic, which means that it is handled differently. The fish farmers will not have to slaughter their stock. It would be useful to have that clarified as soon as possible.

We do not want to end up with an endless list of crises. If the wrong signals are sent from the committee, the public perception might be that the virus poses a direct threat to public health. We have seen something similar happening with the supermarkets' treatment of Scottish salmon. On that basis, I am inclined to ask the Executive for further information. We risk sending the wrong signals if we throw up our hands in horror and talk about another crisis hitting the rural community.

Is it the view of the committee that we should ask the Executive to supply us with a detailed written submission on the latest evidence on infectious salmon anaemia and that, once we have seen that document, the matter can be discussed further?

Members indicated agreement.

Meeting continued in private until 17:42.