Escaped salmon dampen enthusiasm for fish farms

Wildlife conservation groups in Scotland have condemned a Scotland-based fish farm after 37,000 juvenile salmon escaped following a suspected predator attack.

The Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS) and the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards (ASFB) said the salmon, which escaped from a unit on Lock Frisa owned by Scottish Sea Farms (SSF), present a “major risk to the genetic integrity and survival of wild salmon populations”.

The fish escaped through large holes in their enclosure, believed to have been caused by small predators such as otters.

“These escaped fish will inevitably migrate to sea,” said Roger Brook, RAFTS chairman.

“When they return as adults, they are likely to outnumber the River Aros’s wild stocks and threaten their future viability.”

Brook criticised the fish farmers in question for failing to adequately protect their stock.

“The word ‘escape’ is a misnomer in that it implies cunning fish managing to evade capture,” he said.

“The reality is that these fish simply swim out of their cages because the farmers use inadequate equipment that cannot withstand the attentions of small predators such as otters.

“It is reported that local anglers had been aware of these escaped fish for three to four weeks before the fish farmer noticed.

“That calls into question just how rigorous the company’s monitoring of these cages was.”

Hugh Campbell, ASFB chairman, said authorities should intervene to relocate salmon farms away from wild salmon.

“Freshwater salmon smolt farms should ideally be located in self-contained land-based units, as is practiced in other countries,” he said.

“Over the last decade scientists from all the wild salmon producing nations of the North Atlantic, including some of the Scottish Government’s own scientists, have consistently advised that escaped farmed salmon pose a serious threat to wild stocks.”

A spokesperson for SSF said the firm “deeply regrets” the escape, adding that it expects few of the fish to survive in the wild.