Current status: Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 27 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to its recent commitment to develop official guidance on the welfare of farmed fish, what steps it will take to ensure that the development process is fair, inclusive of all stakeholders and does not give preferential treatment to industry interests.
The Scottish Government takes the welfare of farmed fish seriously and robust legislation, policies and industry standards are already in place to safeguard fish health and welfare. In addition, much of Scotland’s fish farming is undertaken in accordance with leading independent welfare accreditation schemes, which provides further assurance of welfare standards being applied within Scottish production.
The Scottish Government has committed to progressing fish welfare standards further by introducing official guidance under Section 38 of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006. We are currently determining next steps for development of official guidance for the welfare of farmed fish, including stakeholder engagement. Consultation will involve a variety of stakeholders to ensure the development of guidance is well informed by a range of expertise, robust and operationally feasible, and that it ensures high welfare standards.
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