Footage reveals huge numbers of dead fish being removed from salmon farm hours before politicians arrive for ‘fact-finding tour’
Industry fails to disclose crucial fact during ‘fact-finding tour’
Animal Equality UK investigators filmed evidence showing Marks & Spencer’s salmon supplier, Scottish Sea Farms (SSF), collecting huge numbers of dead fish just seven hours before Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) went on a fact-finding mission at Dunstaffnage salmon farm. Those visiting were not made aware that the fish had been removed from the water that same morning.
Animal Equality also obtained evidence of dead salmon and wrasse (so-called ‘cleanerfish’ used to eat the lice off of the farmed salmon) floating on the surface and a treatment boat was recorded to have visited the site three days earlier.
Need for stricter controls on sea lice, fish deaths, and environmental impact
Members of the Holyrood Rural Affairs and Islands (RAI) Committee visited Scottish fish farm, Dunstaffnage, on Monday 23rd September. Visitors comprised MSPs Arianne Burgess, Finlay Carson, Rhoda Grant, Emma Harper, Emma Roddick and Beatrice Wishart.
The RAI is conducting a formal inquiry into the Scottish farmed salmon industry. This follows another investigation in 2018 by the Rural Economy and Connectivity (REC) Committee which called for stricter controls on sea lice, fish mortality, and environmental impacts.
The 2024 inquiry is reported to assess ‘what progress has been made in developing the industry since 2018 and how the various fish health, environmental and climate change challenges it faces are being addressed’.
The 2018 Committee already recognised these fatal flaws in the farming system and called for urgent action, but rather than effectively tackle these serious and pervasive issues, this latest move suggests that industry representatives would prefer to hide the truth instead.
– Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality
Soaring death rates on salmon farms
Industry representatives have responded arguing the collection of sick and dead fish is a ‘daily’ occurrence and ‘standard operating procedure’, prompting many to ask why so many fish were filmed dead on the farm.
Given the unnatural conditions, sea lice and diseases run rampant on many Scottish salmon farms. So, while tragic, its unsurprising death rates reached an all-time high over recent years.
According to data released via Salmon Scotland, the Dunstaffnage farm is one of the most deadly sites for salmon in the country. Industry data from last year showed more than half (56.5%) of salmon at the farm died in production.
In 2023, a staggering 17.4 million salmon died on Scottish farms, due to disease, predation, lice outbreaks, warming waters, rough weather, abrasive ‘treatments’ or algal blooms.
Timeline of events
- Wednesday 18th September – Friday 20th September: Treatment boat goes from cage to cage on Dunstaffnage farm.
- Saturday 21st September: Animal Equality UK films multiple dead fish floating on the surface of cages.
- Monday 23rd September (morning): Workers filmed filling large containers to the brim with dead salmon.
- Monday 23rd September (afternoon): Scottish MSPs visit the farm on a ‘fact-finding tour’.
Politicians react: “This footage raises further questions”
After learning of Animal Equality’s findings, a spokesperson for the Committee told the Guardian: “We have heard concerns about fish mortality on salmon farms during the wide range of evidence taken throughout our inquiry and this footage raises further questions”.
The RAI Committee is set to hear formal evidence from salmon farming representatives on 2nd October 2024, followed by input from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform, and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, on the same day. She will provide her final input on 9th October.
We urge the RAI Committee to see the industry for what it truly is: deceptive and deadly.
– Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality
A failing industry
The Scottish salmon industry is facing a growing crisis. For years, salmon on farms have been dying in their droves. In 2022, a staggering 16.7 million farmed fish died before reaching the slaughterhouse and in 2023, a further 17.4 million died. This is unacceptable.
We’ve consistently raised the alarm, urging the industry to take action. If immediate steps aren’t taken, many more millions of fish are at risk of perishing on farms. Yet, despite these warnings, the Scottish salmon industry plans to expand exponentially in the coming years. Together, we must put a stop to this.
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