Scottish industry hits back at call for ban on Scottish ‘seal unfriendly’ salmon

Siri Elise Dybdal

The Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture (GAAIA) and Save Our Seals Fund (SOSF) are now calling on the US Government to ban imports of farmed salmon and for retailers to stop sourcing from ‘seal unfriendly’ Scottish salmon farms, after Marine Scotland data showed that aquaculture companies have culled over 300 seals during 2011 and 2012.

However, in Scotland removal of a persistent rogue seal is strictly restricted under licence by the Scottish Government to anglers, netsmen and fish farmers. Scotland hosts one of the world’s largest populations of seals. Scotland has more seals than the rest of the European Union. About 40 % of the world population of grey seals can be found in Britain and over 90% of British grey seals breed in Scotland, the majority in the Hebrides and in Orkney.

The seal numbers shot as a last resort under licence during 2011 equate to: 0.3% of the overall grey seal population of 108,000; 0.4% of the minimum common seal population of 20,400. Of the 461 (common and grey) seals shot in 2011 as a last resort, 48% were by the wild sea fisheries and netsmen sectors; 52% at fish farms.

“Scotland’s seal killers should hang their heads in shame and hang up their guns,” said the controversial eco-activist Don Staniford of GAAIA. “Supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco which condone the killing of seals by selling ‘seal-unfriendly’ farmed salmon have blood on their hands.”

John Robins, Secretary of SOSF in Scotland, said: “We have asked the US Department of Commerce to use existing US marine mammal protection laws to ban the import of salmon from Scottish floating factory fish farms.”

However, Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, hit back against the activists, pointing out: “We have a moral, ethical and legal responsibility to protect our fish against persistent aggressive predators. A rogue seal can cause enormous suffering to thousands of fish and removal is only considered as a last resort.

 “Deterrence is the most effective way to manage persistent predators that approach fish farms. However, it is inevitable that from time to time a rogue seal may be able to bypass all efforts to exclude them, which may result in an attack on the fish.

 “Fish farmers have to be able to protect their fish in the same way as a shepherd or chicken farmer would protect their livestock against foxes.”