23/02/2005 – Hundreds
of thousands of farmed salmon are believed
to have escaped their cages in Scotland,
posing a serious threat to the country's
wild stock.
New figures revealed by the Scottish Executive
confirm that the number of farmed salmon
that escaped during the severe storms in
January 2005 was much larger than first
estimated by industry.
Despite claims that most of the fish released
during the storms died before they left
their cages, evidence now suggests that
out of a total of 731,000 fish reported
lost, only around 58,000 were confirmed
mortalities resulting in possibly over 670,000
farmed fish escaping, with potentially disastrous
impacts for Scotland's wild salmon population.
“It is not merely the number of farmed
salmon that escaped but the activities of
those that may survive," said Laura
Bateson, speaking on behalf of WWF Scotland
and Scottish Wildlife Trust's joint marine
programme.
"Should a small percentage of the
escaped salmon interbreed with the wild
salmon, it would lead to genetic dilution
of the local wild population...and have
a lesser chance of reproduction and survival,
leading to a decline in the wild population
and biodiversity in Scotland.”
Wild salmon is a protected species in Scotland,
and the species is endangered in over 30
per cent of the UK’s historic salmon rivers.
"While we recognize the social and
economic benefits of the Scottish fish farming
industry, we believe these should be equally
balanced with the socio-economic impacts
of the angling industry in Scotland and
should not outweigh the importance of protecting
Scotland’s unique and vulnerable water environment,"
Bateson said.
WWF Scotland and the Scottish Wildlife
Trust are urging the Scottish executive
to insist on minimum cage standards for
Scotland aquaculture. This has already been
introduced in Norway.
"Increasing the robust nature of the
cages, would also protect the fish farmers’
investment, especially as the frequency
of extreme weather events as witnessed in
Scotland throughout mid January are forecast
to increase over the coming decade,” Bateson
added.
Notes:
• Scottish waters generate £14 billion
or 21 per cent of Scottish GDP the economy
each year. Almost 20 per cent of the Scottish
population lives within one kilometre of
the coast. Fifty per cent of UK wildlife
is found in the marine environment with
14 nationally and internationally important
coastal and marine habitats in Scotland
supporting an estimated 8,000 species.
• The Joint Marine Programme (JMP) in Scotland
is a partnership between Scottish Wildlife
Trust and WWF Scotland. It aims to ensure
the conservation of marine wildlife and
a healthy marine and coastal environment.
• Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) is Scotland’s
largest conservation organisation committed
to protecting all wildlife, with 26,000
members and a national network of more than
120 wildlife reserves. SWT is a member of
The Wildlife Trusts, a partnership of 47
independent wildlife charities throughout
the UK, Channel Isles and Isle of Man.
• WWF have recently published the Marine
Health Check 2005, which reports that Atlantic
Salmon are in “significant decline” within
the UK, identifying salmon farming as one
of the major threats to wild species survival.
A copy of the document can be found at:
www.wwf.org.uk/marineact/reports.asp
