Harsher regulations and more red tape may be on the horizon for Scotland’s salmon farming industry.
The Sunday Post has reported that Scotland’s salmon farming industry may be in for an overhaul. MPs are seeking to tougher regulations to cut “down on waste pollution from farms, the number of sea lice cases and harm to wild salmon stocks.”
The publication said that they talked to MSPs “dismayed at the patchwork and complex regulatory regime” and that they “will argue the controls are not fit for the way the industry has expanded rapidly in recent years.”
A source close to the committee told the publication: “The current situation creates confusion, with lots of different regulations and various enforcement agencies struggling to cope with the industry’s expansion.”
An inquiry into the industry by Holyrood’s Rural Economy Committee is expected to come out in the next few weeks. Farmed salmon is Scotland’s single biggest food export believed to be worth £600m.
The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation said: “We are awaiting with interest the report from the Rural Economy Committee and will study its recommendations carefully. We will reserve comment until the report is published, and cannot comment on speculation.”
