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What is wrong with open cage salmon farming in Scotland and what do we do about it? “Stop salmon farming, for good".  We want:

• Local communities having the final say on all salmon farm developments and the right to review and amend the planning permissions for all existing salmon farms • An end to the dumping of salmon farm sewage, chemicals, plastic, and parasites in our sea lochs • All government grant funding and subsidies being given to overseas salmon farming corporations to be diverted into our local community action and development groups • Vibrant and diverse local economies that don’t require us to destroy the places we live and in which we have more of a say and share in more of the benefits

A government inquiry into Scotland’s salmon-farming industry has criticized its mortality levels, but salmon-farming groups have pushed back against what they say is unfair treatment compared to other forms of animal farming.

Scotland is the world’s third-largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), after Norway and Chile. The industry is seeking to significantly increase production in Scotland, driven by growing export demand.However, it faces ethical concerns over mounting fish mortality, as well as environmental concerns about pollution, the proliferation of sea lice affecting wild salmon, and opposition from several local communities.Industry members acknowledge the challenge of growing salmon amid rising sea temperatures, but say Scottish salmon farms have made progress in managing sea lice and other health challenges. By Francesco De Augustinis

Scotland’s salmon-farming industry has overcome a lot of challenges over the past few years, but more work is needed to ensure it remains sustainable and prioritizes animal health and welfare into the future, according to Scotland Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and Islands Mairi Gougeon. By Jason Holland

Mowi Scotland, which supplies Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, blames a rise in sea temperatures for the deaths, while campaigners say expanding farms will make things worse. By Sophie Kevany

UK government faces threat of legal action over its failure to regulate the growing fish farming industry.

Papa Westray is at risk from a new a massive new industrial fish farm in the bay of East Moclett. Changes are already seeing in the environment from current nets. The new fishfarm is planned for the as yet untouched East side of the island, it is a direct threat to the island’s pristine lagoon. The heart of what makes this Orkney island so special, a true jewel in the North.

Aquaculture is an important industry for rural Scotland, in particular for the west coast and the islands. Tourism is also important to Scotland’s economy and depends heavily on the country’s landscape. Targeted research was undertaken to assess whether fish farming impacts tourism in coastal areas of Scotland. This was accomplished through face-to-face interviews with tourists and telephone interviews with tourism-related businesses and aquaculture businesses at three case study locations: Outer Hebrides, Shetland and Oban and Mull. A large percentage of respondents (87% of 120 people surveyed) had seen fish farming before, although half of them had not seen fish farming at the case study location. Respondents were asked to consider how the current levels of fish farming affected their perception of the area, impact on scenery, natural environment, recreational activities and willingness to revisit based on a scale from strongly negative, slightly negative, no affect/neutral, slightly positive, strongly positive or do not know. The majority of respondents stated that current levels of fish farming had no effect on the aforementioned parameters. When asked to consider further development or expansion of fish farming, visitors remained neutral to all, except for the impact on the scenery and the natural environment, where approximately half of the responses were negative. This research provides qualitative evidence that the current levels and future developments or expansion of aquaculture operations will not affect visitors’ willingness to revisit the case study sites or affect their key recreational activities.