Salmon Farming Industry Bullies Scotland Into Halting Safety Checks

Fish farmers already have a notorious reputation as serious polluters and safety violators. Now these farmers can add "bullies" to that reputation.

Pollution and health inspections for hundreds of fish farms have been halted and silenced by the Scottish government, following threats of legal action by the salmon farming industry. And what’s even more upsetting than the ugly schoolyard tactics taken by the industry is how quickly and willingly the government ministers caved to the pressure.

This past April, Marine Scotland, the government agency responsible for managing Scotland’s seas, abruptly stopped critical inspections for sea lice in salmon cages. These regular inspections were also designed to ensure that farms are not breaking the rules for treating sea lice. Rampant infestations of sea lice threaten the health of wild salmon populations, and outbreaks within fish farms are often treated with heavy doses of toxic pesticides.  In the absence of government involvement, concerns have grown that sea lice populations have grown and pesticide use has been allowed to flourish.

Marine Scotland announced in March plans to publish audits of sea lice conditions online, but was told by Phil Thomas, chairman of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO), that the salmon farming companies would go to court if their business was threatened by the released information. Rather than standing by their decision to release the reports, which would help reduce the destructive toll salmon farming can take on the marine environment, Marine Scotland rolled over and let the industry have its way. Some of the companies demanded to see the audits before they were published "to ensure accurate reporting from Marine Scotland," but as we've seen in other areas of industrial farming, companies are usually not the most reliable when it comes to self-imposed safety standards.

For its part, Marine Scotland has defended the audit halt to review "an inaccuracy" and argues that the farms are still inspected for escaping salmon, a count which the agency claims is heading for an all-time low. And while accurate audits should certainly be a priority for Marine Scotland, suspending those reports to protect the profits of the salmon farming industry is not the proper way to ensure a healthy marine ecosystem.

The unprecedented legal threat from the industry and the disappointing acquiescence by the Scottish government is a troubling indication that corporate profit threatens to take precedent over the health and safety of our food system. In order to restore public trust and show that proper management of Scotland's seas cannot be so easily manipulated, Marine Scotland must stand up to industry pressure and insist that the sea lice audits resume. The results of those audits should be published for the public, without requiring approval from the salmon farming companies.

It's time for the salmon industry bullies to be reminded of who is really in charge of managing Scotland's seas. Sign our petition telling Marine Scotland to stand up to pressure from the salmon farming industry and immediately restore sea lice audits.

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Photo credit: Allan Lee via Flickr