Scottish petition calls for wild salmon protection

Anglers' body the Salmon and Trout Association say fish bred in cages near salmon rivers are spreading parasites, causing a decline of wild salmon, BBC News reports.

Former presiding officer David Steel will present the 17,000-name petition

The Scottish fish farming industry say the complaints are ill-informed.

 The row has become increasingly bitter over what is causing the long-term decline in stocks of wild salmon, said BBC Scotland correspondent Colin Blane.

The anglers’ association claim fish farms breed devastating levels of the parasite sea lice, which then destroy wild fish, and want fish farms moved away from the mouths of salmon rivers.

In reply, leaders of the fish farming industry are scathing and say wild salmon numbers were falling even before farms were set up, the news source reported.