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…

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Salmon farmers publish mortality data

SCOTLAND’S salmon farmers have published their monthly mortality figures on a farm-by-farm basis today for the first time in a move to improve transparency in the industry. The data, which covers 100 per cent of Scottish salmon farms, shows that for the first four months of this year, survival rates on farms ranged between 98.5…

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Thermolicers ‘effective’ tool in pest control

MECHANICAL methods of removing sea lice from salmon are an effective means of managing lice levels on farms, the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation said. Responding to calls from anti-salmon farm campaigners to ban thermolicers and hydrolicers, the SSPO’s chief executive, Julie Hesketh-Laird, said: ‘Fish health and welfare is, and always will be, at the heart…

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SSPO seeks new team with political skills

THE Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation is looking to strengthen its team with up to three new appointments, all based in Edinburgh. Although the SSPO is currently headquartered in Perth, it said it is actively searching for premises in the capital for its future HQ. The organisation, which represents six out of Scotland’s seven salmon farming…

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Salmon farming's future: bigger, offshore sites

By Vince McDonagh THERE is now a strong case for accelerating the relocation of older, sheltered Scottish fish farms to larger and more open coastal locations. That was one of the main developments from today’s session of the Scottish parliament’s Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) committee inquiry into salmon farming. The two-hour long hearing at Holyrood, which was…

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Farm by farm sea lice data published

SCOTTISH salmon farmers have published farm by farm sea lice data for the first time today, following a commitment made earlier in the year. Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) former chief executive Scott Landsburgh told the ongoing inquiry into salmon farming, by the Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) committee, that the information would be made…

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MSPs visit salmon farm as part of inquiry

A GROUP of MSPs from the Rural Economy and Connectivity committee visited salmon farming operations on the west coast yesterday, as part of an ongoing inquiry into the industry in Scotland. The five politicians also met anglers during the day-long tour, and heard about the ground-breaking work of a hatchery using genetic profiling to restock…

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Scottish salmon standards ‘very high’, MSPs told

By Vince McDonagh A STRONG defence of Scotland’s record on the regulation of its aquaculture industry was put up by the team giving evidence at the Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) committee at Holyrood yesterday. The committee, which is investigating the salmon farming sector, was told by the convenor, Highlands and Islands MPS Edward Mountain (Con),…

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Students 'must be good communicators'

YOUNG scientists need to communicate their research to a wider audience, a PhD conference in Stirling heard yesterday. Students were given a platform to do just that at the Institute of Aquaculture (IoA), showcasing the results of several years’ study in front of their teachers, peers, and industry guests. ‘You should know how to say…

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‘Learn the ropes’ MH boss tells students

THE boss of Scotland’s biggest salmon farming company told students yesterday they were more likely to get a job in his company if they’d had work experience on a farm. Ben Hadfield, managing director of Marine Harvest Scotland, said he had his first job at 15, in a water purification plant, and went back there…

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