Phased introduction of SEPA’s Sea Lice Framework begins

The first phase of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s new Sea Lice Framework begins this month.   The Framework outlines what SEPA describes as “a proportionate, evidence-based approach to protect young salmon from sea lice”. Built on international best practice and using cutting edge science to triage risk, it will help to support the sustainable development of fish farming in…

Read More

SEPA to go ahead with wild salmon protection zones

The Scottish Government is to press forward with the roll-out of “Wild Salmon Protection Zones” which will restrict fish farming in areas seen as high risk for wild salmon. The proposed regulatory framework has not, however, been welcomed by Scotland’s salmon industry. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has been consulting on its plans for…

Read More

Regulator adopts flexible approach in virus crisis

SALMON farmers in Scotland have welcomed moves by regulators that will help them meet the challenges of producing fish during the coronavirus outbreak. With staff reductions and disruptions to processing and retail distribution, temporary measures have been agreed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and the government that allow regulatory leeway. In particular, fish…

Read More

Majority of salmon farms environmentally ‘excellent’

SOME 87 per cent of Scotland’s salmon farms have been rated environmentally ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ by regulators, new statistics show. Farmers achieved their best ever environmental performance in 2018, according to figures collected for the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s (SEPA’s) Compliance Assessment Scheme (CAS). The scheme is used by SEPA to monitor performance across a…

Read More

Salmon farmers in talks over wild fish fund

REPRESENTATIVES from the Scottish salmon farming sector and fisheries trusts have been holding talks aimed at establishing a fund to help halt wild stock decline. The ongoing bilateral discussions, between the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation and Fisheries Management Scotland, have focused on salmon conservation, according to the minutes of the Salmon Interactions Working Group. The…

Read More

Salmon farmer’s homes boost for remote island

LEADING salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms has been granted approval to build six new eco-friendly homes on the remote island of Eday in Orkney. The £750,000 development will create four new homes for employees of the nearby salmon farm, helping address an accommodation shortage, with a further two homes available to rent by islanders or…

Read More

SEPA plans ‘will hurt smaller farms’

NEW plans to tighten regulations for Scottish salmon farms will negatively impact smaller operators, a leading producer warns. The recently published proposals by SEPA (Scottish Environment Protection Agency) aim to strengthen environmental controls over the sector, and usher in a new approach, with larger farms sited in ‘sustainable locations’. Announcing its recommendations two weeks ago,…

Read More

SEPA plans tighter controls but bigger farms

SCOTTISH fish farms will be able to expand, with larger farms in ‘sustainable locations’, but will be subject to tighter environmental controls, under proposals for a revised regulatory regime published today by SEPA. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s 16-month investigation into salmon farms concludes that medicines, particularly emamectin benzoate used in the control of sea…

Read More

Tighter salmon regulation on the way says Sepa

SOME 81.4 per cent of Scotland’s salmon farms achieved ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ environmental ratings for last year from Sepa, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency. The just published compliance figures for all regulated Scottish businesses and organisations showed salmon farms’ compliance levels dropped slightly, from a peak of 85.75 per cent in 2016. Non-compliant fish farms…

Read More

Kames plans farm west of Jura

PLANS have been submitted to Argyll and Bute Council to build the first fish farm off the Isle of Jura’s uninhabited west coast, the Oban Times reported. Kames Fish Farming, which withdrew an application late last year to site a farm in the Sound of Jura, is ‘screening and scoping opinion’ for a 14-pen fin…

Read More