Salmon farming global standards draft released

Putting Scotland’s £400 million salmon farming industry, and the rest of the industry worldwide, on a more sustainable footing is the aim of new draft global standards published Tuesday 3 August. WWF Scotland welcomed the publication of the draft standards by the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue and encouraged the Scottish salmon industry, retailers, other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the wider public to comment before the 03 October deadline. The environmental group said that if a good set of final standards is adopted and then taken up by enough operators, it could transform the industry. The draft standards have been produced by the Salmon Aquaculture Dialogue: a 500-person roundtable that includes salmon aquaculture industry leaders, scientists and representatives from NGOs. The salmon Dialogue seeks to minimise or eliminate the key negative impacts associated with salmon aquaculture, such as sea lice spreading from salmon farms, escaped farmed salmon interbreeding with wild salmon populations, and conflicts within communities regarding shared coastal resources. Dr Piers Hart, Aquaculture Policy Officer with WWF Scotland said: “As the second largest producer in the world, salmon farming is clearly an important industry in Scotland. However, it is also an industry that impacts on people and the environment. If the salmon farming industry is to be put on a more sustainable footing, in Scotland and the rest of the world, then it is crucial that everyone with an interest in the issues engages with the Dialogue process. We encourage the industry, retailers, other NGOs and the wider public to comment before the 3 October deadline. "If a good set of standards can be developed and these are then taken up by operators, the industry could be transformed. A good set of standards would see some environmental impacts of salmon farming eliminated or reduced and secure markets created for those prepared to operate in more sustainable ways."