CLIMATE FOR CHANGE
Scottish Sea Farms has been working proactively to reduce its use of antibiotics for several years now
Scottish salmon farms are currently striving to deliver on ambitious fish health targets, with one prominent firm recently achieving a major industry milestone by completely eliminating the use of antibiotics across all their farming activities Scottish Sea Farms, one of Scotland’s leading salmon farming companies, has achieved a first in farmed fish health, with no antibiotics used in any of its farming operations in 2020. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – where bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites become resistant to a medicine, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spreading – is considered by the World Health Organisation to be amongst the top 10 threats to global health.
Scottish salmon producers have rejected allegations put forward in Netflix’s latest documentary ’Seaspiracy’, claiming the film makes assertions that are “wrong, misleading and inaccurate”. Seaspiracy, from the team behind award-winning 2014 documentary Cowspiracy, highlighted issues of animal welfare and claimed Scottish salmon were dying from sea lice infestation, anaemia, heart disease - and even chlamydia. Within days of its launch on March 24, the film - which delves into the harmful impacts of the aquaculture industry - was one of Netflix’s top ten most watched films and programmes. Scottish salmon farmers, however, have taken issue with the film’s portrayal of the industry.
Salmon Farm offshore from Isle of Lewis
The agreement will see ownership of SSC’s Trilleachan Mor site on Loch Seaforth on the east side of Harris and its Scaladale shore base pass to Mowi. In return, SSC will assume control of Mowi’s Scotasay and Raineach sites, and the shore base at East Loch Tarbert. The exchange will be carried out in accordance with all regulatory requirements including where required the transfer of relevant licences.
This approach allows the producers to consolidate management of their sites around Harris rather than operating over geographically disparate locations. The creation of these distinct management areas will be key to effective health management, with the largest gain being sea lice control, where centralised management from the one point will allow for faster and better coordination of resources, resulting in a more effective control of parasite levels.