Report on msn today, arguments by sta make sense, but so does reply by fish farmers association.
Who is bending statistics for their own aims?



A conservation charity has called for tighter regulation of salmon farms, claiming official inspections have revealed high levels of sea lice and concerns over the way fish are contained.

The Salmon & Trout Association (S&TA) said it obtained previously unpublished Scottish Government fish health inspectorate reports for 2009 and 2010.

According to the group, there were 68 instances where fish farms were recorded as having sea lice levels above the thresholds recommended in the industry's code of practice.

The S&TA branded the figures "alarming", saying sea lice are a "major concern" for wild fish conservation.

Chief executive of the association, Paul Knight, said: "This dossier lays bare the reality of what is happening on Scotland's marine fish farms. The breaches of the industry's own code of good practice, in which the Scottish Government places so much faith, are so widespread as to call into question the code's basic credibility."

He added: "These are the Scottish Government's own inspections. They indicate a disregard for the environment, yet no enforcement action has been taken by the government against the companies concerned. The dossier is very strong evidence of the desperate need for strict regulations that are properly enforced."

The S&TA said the figures, obtained under freedom of information laws, also exposed 52 instances where fish farms were recorded as having sea lice-related issues, such as damage or death caused by the parasites. In 48 instances, fish farms were not recording farm sea lice numbers in accordance with industry standards.

Industry representatives hit back at the criticism, insisting it was based on a failure to understand the statistics.

Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of Scottish Salmon Producers' Organisation, said: "Yet again the S&TA has failed to understand the figures, which demonstrate extremely high levels of compliance, ranging between 85% and 95%.

"Salmon farming works within strict guidelines applied by regulators and the law. The industry has ambitions for sustainable growth and plans are being constructed in consultation with regulators and the Scottish Government."


Check out facts yourself.
who is egging the pudding?
regards
bert

The fish farmers are not to be trusted - they tried to use legal muscle to stop the Scottish Gove revealing the data.

Even if is true (which I doubt) that they have 85-95% compliance, that is quite poor. Would you accept your drinking water being "in spec" for 85% of the time?

MSN a bit slow off the mark. The Guardian had it covered last week: News | Atlantic Salmon Federation

"Who is bending statistics for their own aims?" you ask aenoon; like it's some sort of even handed balanced debate? The vast majority of Scotland's fish farms are Norwegian-owned; they enjoy far weaker regulations in Scotland than in Norway, a nation that has woken up to the devastating effect of 'Aquaculture' on their home salmon rivers. Sold out instead to the Alex Salmond led blind eye and of course "unable to comment on the association's demands for a new inspection regime because of the Scottish election campaign". Right!

The industry said to be worth £412 million (to the owners) and rising fast - the largest producer of farmed Atlantic salmon in the EU, producing over 144,000 tonnes in 2009 - sold out for mostly low grade employment, a few thousand jobs in the Highlands and Islands wins a helluva lot more votes I suppose. Scottish Government

The reports by the Fish Health Inspectorate released to S&TA found that from early 2009 until mid-2010, there were:

• nearly 70 instances where sea lice levels broke the industry's own code of practice and another 52 cases where there was "damage or mortality caused by sea lice, or high lice loads on sampled fish".

• 48 instances where fish farms failed to record or report sea lice numbers in line with industry standards.

The inspections also found evidence about the ineffectiveness of sea lice treatments, including lack of efficacy, tolerance to the chemicals or "potential resistance" to the treatments.

A majority of Scotland's fish farms are Norwegian-owned yet they enjoyed weaker regulations in Scotland.

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Save the softmouth trout

Im yet to be totally convinced on this,I would prefer to see inland farms rather than estuary based farms,but if one side says its black,the other will say its white.

The SandTA what have they done for Scottish fishing?They dont have any offices here,and are mainly England based,Sana being the governing body is the organisation which should be fighting the issue if it is that bad.

As far as sold out for mostly low grade employment, a few thousand jobs in the Highlands and Islands wins a helluva lot more votes I suppose. Scottish Government

A job is a job and with the remoteness of the highlands and islands very important to the economy up here,especially when the british goverment is closing down RAF bases which generate alot to the economy here and employ many also,soon to go due to cuts.The goverment is doing nothing to help Scotland,fuel prices are the highest in the UK especially in the islands where fuel is is needed,for not only heating but travel and power source also.So even low grade employment is better than nothing.

If selling fish to china gives Scotland and the economy money,then at the present time it is important to every person living here when they are so widespread and every job is important.

Hell there is not even a motorway and only a partial duel carrigeway from Perth upwards as we cant afford to build one which is needed.Go past Inverness and some are no better than single track roads.

What about the damage of seals,cormorants,klondykers etc,What is the SandTa doing about this,IN SCOTLAND,?

I appreciate the samlon farm issue and how strong people feel,but Im still middle of the road on the whole issue till it is definitive and outright proof.
Untill then the other issues are very important for any person to live and eat day to day as most in the UK, in very hard times, where jobs need to be created.

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Kevin

SANA? Don't they pick the International loch-style team or something? It's SEPA who control, or should be controlling, aquaculture in Scotland.

I also think your point about Who We Are: Scotland - The Salmon & Trout Association offices may be erronous.



So I take it it's either: the Westminster Goverment's fault - led at the time by Gordon Brown (an MP from close to you) - or the S&TA, presumably for 'dereliction of duty' as well as being percieved English?

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Save the softmouth trout

First of all, S & TA did a very good job in helping to stop the Scottish Salmon Company getting planning permission for a new farm site in Broad Bay, Isle of Lewis. SANA accept sponsorship money from the Scottish Salmon Company.
Living in one of the regions (East Coast of Lewis) where quite a few of the farms listed as having "offended" are situated I feel the need to inject a bit of reality into this debate.
I also (purely by chance) recently attended one of the meetings where fishfarmers and wild fish interests sit round a table and try to work together. The fishfarmers want confidentiality regarding the information they supply to the meetings (but I have seen all the lice count figures for my local area).
I do quite a bit of sea angling and catch lots of sea trout as a bycatch......the pictures going about of badly liced sea trout with lesions are of fish I caught.
In the winter of 2009-2010 all the sea trout we caught were badly liced.
In the winter of 2010-2011 the sea trout have been lice free.
What are considered bad lice counts now are nowhere near as bad as in the past. The problem is the immunity lice have to the treatments which is not the fish farmers fault.The cost of developing new treatments means few, if any, new treatments are coming soon. (A similar problem can be found in agriculture).
But, now that fish farming is profitable other approaches have been taken to tacke sea lice which have worked. (dont ask, confidentiality).
Also, the lice problems and the fact that the farmed salmon is now a high value product has encouraged the different farming companies to work together to better manage the problems of lice and disease.
What is fact is that both the Eishken fishery (salmon and sea trout) and the Scaladale River (salmon) have recovered very well in the last few years and are now well worth a cast. Both fisheries are in areas of intense fish farm activity.
The sharp reduction in sheep numbers (improving riparian habitat) and a huge drop in poaching activity are factors in the recovery of these fisheries, but so also is improved lice management by the fishfarmers.
Regarding jobs..........fishfarmers are important employers in the islands who provide relatively good wages (ie....can afford to put kids to college) as opposed to ghillie/estate jobs. Remember that the fishing season is short in the H & I (3-5 months) but fish farming provides year long employment.
In summary..........yes, we need S & TA to keep fish farmers honest but do not believe everything you read in the press.

A good post Laxdale and informative from someone on the ground.

It is for this reason all the press reports I treat with a little scepticism and why I say I am not convinced when they are published.Its good that things are improving and jobs are created and not as low graded as thought.

Sepa are the defra and Ea in Scotland and Im sure there are persons on this forum who can say more on this than me.

SandTa as I said are mainly english based,The question I asked,Laxdale has answered of an instance where they have done something here in Scotland,but the membership of sandta here in Scotland is minute,the web link you offer is a little out of date also and are not offices but homes of those members.

So I take it it's either: the Westminster Goverment's fault - led at the time by Gordon Brown (an MP from close to you) - or the S&TA, presumably for 'dereliction of duty' as well as being percieved English?

Your right here the goverment do have alot to answer for the mess this country is in.But jobs are very important to the area for families and if there is a problem in the fish farm industry it does need sorted for the effect on wild fish,but not through propaganda,but factual evidence as Laxdale has offered.Livlihoods, which this area relies on could be effected.

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Kevin

Seeing as this has taken a political turn how about spelling out how the Salmond led Scottish goverment is now percieved by Norway, and many other nations, to be "supporting Chinese repression":

Scotland's wild salmon face 'calamity' from trade deal with China | Environment | The Observer

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Save the softmouth trout

Ok I have read it and it seems it is only just beginning to get going and alot has to be established,so it seems it is work in progress,which does seem to agree with what I said before on it was not really working effectivly in Scotland in the past and just beginning.As I said the list is still out of date also.

Being honest I dont have much time for Mr Salmond,but as I said before jobs are important and any income from anyone coming into Scotland is welcome IMO for both the people in it and the economy.

Mr Salmond has been the only one who has actually done something of any use,(and it hurts to say that ) the rest as usual were all talk and bombardly daft in what they did which benefited noone.
What happens elsewhere ,other than the UK I couldnt care less,this country needs to get itself sorted first and the sooner the goverments realise it the better we would be.
Jobs be they in fish farming or goldifish rearing its money for people which is needed in these hard times.

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Kevin

Fair enough; but surely not to the detriment of wild sea trout and salmon runs by bad work practices? There are probably EU rules that I'm not familiar with that could also be invoked.

Laxdale's post was excellent; summed it up from both sides, I understand lice treatments are supposed to be simultaneous: synchronised treatments over wide areas all at the same time to prevent re-infection.
I understand this is one of the 'secrets' that came out last year as it doesn't often happen.

I had a brief dig on employment statistics and found:



I worked this out as only about 0.25% of Scottish jobs; obviously much more important to regional communities though. The answer is surely improved work practices, less cost cutting, short-cuts and illegal practices (should they occur that is).
I had a quick check on SEPA but couldn't find anything recent. I've often heard of Scottish salmon aquaculture likened to the now banned 'battery' poultry farms. Eggs and chicken haven't increased in price all that much with the advent of more humane 'free range' or 'barn' conditions.

I was frankly appalled by the SEPA mortallity figures I did find:

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Save the softmouth trout