On Tuesday, Scottish Green MSP Ariane Burgess called for licensing to be halted, noting: “2025 has shown exactly why we need to stop licensing new salmon farms or expanding existing farms.
“Industrial salmon farming is damaging our coastal waters and polluting our seas, and the industry has refused to take the action that is needed to change this.”
Ariane Burgess has called for a pause on new licensing.
Burgess highlighted the death of 250,000 fish in Shetland in October, as well as the escape of 75,000 salmon from a Highland farm during Storm Amy.
Burgess added: “If salmon farms had stronger regulations, including for animal welfare and higher environmental standards then we could reduce the damage being done. That must include real, consequential penalties for breaches and those who do not comply.
“The status quo is totally unsustainable. It’s bad for animal welfare, bad for our environment , and a growing risk to coastal communities.
“A pause would allow regulators to ensure existing rules are properly enforced and to address the true costs of salmon farming to our seas and other marine-based jobs.”
Earlier this year, video recorded by animal rights activists appeared to show staff at a Mowi salmon farm on Skye beating and suffocating a fish to death.
Animal welfare standards require that a fish should never be out of water for more than “15 seconds”, and that dying fish should be given “a non-recoverable percussive blow to the head to render it immediately insensible”.
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However, a Mowi spokesperson said the Norwegian firm was fully cooperating with an investigation into the incidents, adding:
“While we do understand that the footage showing these fish being dispatched may be concerning to some people, percussive stun to dispatch fish is the most effective and humane method in these circumstances.”
In a statement, industry body Salmon Scotland pushed back against the Greens’ proposal, stating:
“Just weeks after an independent report revealed that Scottish salmon adds £1 billion to the economy and is a vital anchor for jobs and rural communities, Scots in the Highlands and Islands will be bitterly disappointed that a small group of elected representatives seem only interested in attacking their livelihoods and their future.”