The Salmon Farming Industry
Brief History:
Initial attempts at farming Salmon in Scotland started in the late 1960's, shortly after the collapse of the Norwegian Industry due to disease. With the financial incentives provided by government agencies, farms quickly started springing up in every Scottish sealoch, with a massive 'land grab' as companies and individuals rushed to secure the leases for all the best farming locations. By the late 1980's and early 1990's massive over production and competition from Norway caused many independent farmers to sell out to bigger companies as the value of fish fell.
Now, In order for the bigger companies to make money and increase profits they are always looking for new ways to cut costs. Automatic fish feeders have replaced many peoples jobs, they no longer use expensive anti-fouling on the cage nets saving themselves thousands and instead of effective anti-predator measures to stop seals from getting near their cages, they can increase profits and save even more thousands by just shooting them, its simple and cheap at only
40p a shot !
Case History 1:
Just outside the village of Broadford on the Isle of Skye, is a small bay called Camas na Sgianadin. Back in 1985 I had an Oyster farm in this bay, unfortunately a company called Highland Fishfarmers got a lease to farm salmon right beside my Oysters. I objected, but it made no difference, in the end I sold my Oyster Farm and went on to do other thing's. Located inbetween my old oyster farm and their new salmon farm are some rocks where seals used to haul out. A year or two after I left the area, the Salmon farmers systematically shot every single one of these seals...
That farm has now gone as the company folded......
and after 20+ years No seals have ever returned to those rocks....
Is it acceptable that an industry can move into an area ,
decimate the local wildlife and then just walk away leaving this
irreversable destruction behind them ?
Case History 2:
Near Kyle of Lochalsh there is a Marine Harvest Salmon Farm. In 2007 they applied to expand the farm. Over the winter they have replaced their small cages for bigger ones, this effectively means they have more eggs in one basket than before. It means that a hole in a net could lead to the escape and loss of more fish than was previously the case.. The fear of a hole in a net becomes even greater,and the percieved threat of a seal attack will lead to a policy of erradicating the Lochalsh Seal population as a deterent rather than because they are actually attacking the salmon farm. The Council recommended that they instal anti-predator nets, high tension cage netting and acoustic devices to deter seals. Marine Harvest so far have chosen to ignore these recommendations and instead have decided to pursue the cheaper option of shooting seals in the proximity of the farm, and this is regardless of whether they are actually attacking the cages or not... after all it is simpler, and cheaper than all the other options... pictures of the most recently shot seals by the salmon farm are in the 'Slaughter' page...
Dead Seal Sron Salmon farm, Lochalsh
How can it be right that this salmon farm, which has been located near a traditional seal haul out site be allowed to shoot any of these seals at all. Surely the onus is on the industry to have effective non lethal predator controls, and if that doesn't work well bad luck, salmon are cheap and easily replaced .... as the situation currently stands, they can shoot all the seals in Lochalsh if they decide to do it... in 2004 they started by killing 20% of the regular population.... with small numbers to start with, a low birth rate, natural attrition and only a 50% survival rate for pups in the first year, there will soon be no seals left in the Loch if Marine Harvest continue to shoot them..... Once these seals are gone, they are gone for good... See case history 1. above...
what right does an industry have, to destroy all the wildlife around it in order to increase shareholder profits in the short term ??
Marine Harvest Address. (click on link)
Video clip for Marine Harvest AGM at Oslo