• Contact
  • About
  • Authors
DONATE TO BYLINES SCOTLAND
NEWSLETTER SIGN UP
  • Login
Bylines Scotland
  • Home
  • News
    • All
    • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
    • Europe
    • King Charles III
    • Queen Elizabeth II
    • Scotland
    • War in Ukraine
    • World
    Scotland's Pro-EU

    Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

    Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet

    Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

    Portrait of Humza Yousaf

    Humza Yousaf’s plans if he becomes the SNP leader

    Media distortion

    Truth and Trust

    Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

    Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

    Health service

    Funding the Scottish Health Service 

    Sunflower in watercolour for the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine 2022

    Euromove Scotland Campaign Raises Donations for Ukraine’s Frontline Communities.

    Nicola Sturgeon portraiture

    Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

    BBC Scotland in dismantling letters

    The three minute read. Scotland must seek to reform its media

    Trending Tags

    • Democracy
    • Devolution
    • Brexit
    • Ukraine
  • Politics
    • All
    • Council Areas
    • Europe
    • Holyrood
    • Liz Truss
    • Rest of UK
    • Tories
    • United Kingdom
    • Westminster
    • World
    Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

    Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

    Ash Regan and Tim Rideout Currency launch

    Ash Regan backs Scottish currency

    blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

    Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

    A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

    Is Alister Jack sane?

    Image Malcom Laverty

    The Brown plan

    The climate change impacts of Russia’s war with Ukraine

    Britain wastes £1bn on drones to monitor English Channel

    The Autumn Statement – time to take a closer look

    Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

    Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

    Trending Tags

    • Equality
    • Johnson
    • Scottish National Party
  • Business
    • All
    • Agriculture
    • Aviation
    • Corporations
    • Energy
    • Finance
    • Fishing
    • Natural Resources
    • Shipbuilding
    • Trade
    • Transport
    • Workers
    Fish farm in Scotland

    A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

    Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

    How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

    Dead salmons

    Death in our waters

    Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

    Fish Farming in Scotland 

    Offshore wind farm

    How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

    Broadband optic fibres

    Scotland fulfilling its commitment to enable access to superfast broadband

    A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

    Saving Scotland’s tenements

    A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

    Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

    large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

    Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

    Trending Tags

    • Health
      • All
      • Assisted dying
      • Covid
      • Influenza
      • Polio virus
      • Respiratory
      • Scientific Research
      Tree representing lungs

      Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

      Health service

      Funding the Scottish Health Service 

      A goose surrounded by avian flu

      Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

      A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

      The Ethiopia Medical Project

      Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

      “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

      Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

      Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

      A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

      Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

      Two more unions reject Scottish Government NHS pay offer

      GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

      Trending Tags

      • Environment
        • All
        • Air Pollution
        • Biology
        • Climate Change
        • Wildfires
        Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

        Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

        Wood stove at the foot of the bed in the Danish Blue room at Pig Hill Inn, Cold Spring, New York. Printed with permission and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

        When smoke gets in your eyes

        Opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt. Photo courtesy of the UNFCCC

        COP27 and the inconvenient truth

        Viscum album in trees

        Night of the strangling figs: a biological horror story

        Out & about with Charlie Mac: Cycling to the heart of Scotland – the National Cycle Network 7

        Scotland's mountain footpaths

        How do we care for Scotland’s mountain footpath network?

        climate science

        PM to be chosen by people with little grasp of climate science

        Trending Tags

        • Opinion
        No Result
        View All Result
        • Home
        • News
          • All
          • Bylines Scotland Breaking News
          • Europe
          • King Charles III
          • Queen Elizabeth II
          • Scotland
          • War in Ukraine
          • World
          Scotland's Pro-EU

          Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

          Front cover of Scottish Currency Q&A booklet

          Priorities for the SNP and the Scottish Government on currency

          Portrait of Humza Yousaf

          Humza Yousaf’s plans if he becomes the SNP leader

          Media distortion

          Truth and Trust

          Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

          Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

          Health service

          Funding the Scottish Health Service 

          Sunflower in watercolour for the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine 2022

          Euromove Scotland Campaign Raises Donations for Ukraine’s Frontline Communities.

          Nicola Sturgeon portraiture

          Nicola Sturgeon and Jacinda Ardern – what two shock resignations tell us about good leadership

          BBC Scotland in dismantling letters

          The three minute read. Scotland must seek to reform its media

          Trending Tags

          • Democracy
          • Devolution
          • Brexit
          • Ukraine
        • Politics
          • All
          • Council Areas
          • Europe
          • Holyrood
          • Liz Truss
          • Rest of UK
          • Tories
          • United Kingdom
          • Westminster
          • World
          Kate Forbes, candidate for the SNP membership, official portrait

          Kate Forbes campaign for the SNP leadership contest 

          Ash Regan and Tim Rideout Currency launch

          Ash Regan backs Scottish currency

          blue background, A younf woman holding a large black sign that says VOTE ! in white letters

          Scottish elections: young people more likely to vote if they started at 16 – new study

          A scene of people demonstrating, holding Scotland flags. One man wears a tartan cap and holds a blue flag with both the Scottish cross and the EU stars on it.

          Is Alister Jack sane?

          Image Malcom Laverty

          The Brown plan

          The climate change impacts of Russia’s war with Ukraine

          Britain wastes £1bn on drones to monitor English Channel

          The Autumn Statement – time to take a closer look

          Photo Mtaylor848, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

          Christmas cheer for Tesco if grim reading for the political classes

          Trending Tags

          • Equality
          • Johnson
          • Scottish National Party
        • Business
          • All
          • Agriculture
          • Aviation
          • Corporations
          • Energy
          • Finance
          • Fishing
          • Natural Resources
          • Shipbuilding
          • Trade
          • Transport
          • Workers
          Fish farm in Scotland

          A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

          Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

          How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

          Dead salmons

          Death in our waters

          Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort

          Fish Farming in Scotland 

          Offshore wind farm

          How will local communities get a fair share of record investment from offshore wind farms?

          Broadband optic fibres

          Scotland fulfilling its commitment to enable access to superfast broadband

          A row of tall houses on the left, with parked cars in front on the side of the street

          Saving Scotland’s tenements

          A large red researcgh vessel in the sea with ice sheets all around it on the water.

          Rosyth shipyard attracts UK Government contract to maintain fleet of scientific research vessels

          large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

          Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

          Trending Tags

          • Health
            • All
            • Assisted dying
            • Covid
            • Influenza
            • Polio virus
            • Respiratory
            • Scientific Research
            Tree representing lungs

            Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

            Health service

            Funding the Scottish Health Service 

            A goose surrounded by avian flu

            Who is knocking our doors? A putative new pandemic?

            A woman walking in a field with a jerrycan of water on her back, spraying water on the vegetation

            The Ethiopia Medical Project

            Healthcare word seen in a scrabble

            “Leave no one behind” – the Health Foundation’s report into health inequalities in Scotland 2023.

            Sign saying NHS Greater Galsgow & Clyde in front of a hospital building

            Concern over patients waiting in corridors for free beds at Glasgow Superhospital

            A hospital corridor with trolleys on the sides.

            Glasgow hospitals halt non-urgent operations due to pressure

            Two more unions reject Scottish Government NHS pay offer

            GMB union reject Scottish Government pay offer to NHS staff

            Trending Tags

            • Environment
              • All
              • Air Pollution
              • Biology
              • Climate Change
              • Wildfires
              Ardnish wildfire by Leslie Barrie, CC BY-SA 2.0 Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic — CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons'

              Fire threats in the Scottish countryside

              Wood stove at the foot of the bed in the Danish Blue room at Pig Hill Inn, Cold Spring, New York. Printed with permission and confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0.

              When smoke gets in your eyes

              Opening of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP27 in Egypt. Photo courtesy of the UNFCCC

              COP27 and the inconvenient truth

              Viscum album in trees

              Night of the strangling figs: a biological horror story

              Out & about with Charlie Mac: Cycling to the heart of Scotland – the National Cycle Network 7

              Scotland's mountain footpaths

              How do we care for Scotland’s mountain footpath network?

              climate science

              PM to be chosen by people with little grasp of climate science

              Trending Tags

              • Opinion
              No Result
              View All Result
              Bylines Scotland
              No Result
              View All Result
              Home Business Fishing

              How farmed salmon is produced – stage one

              With the fish farming industry being a crucial part of Scottish agriculture, there are numerous environmental factors that must be taken into consideration in its continuance.

              Ewan KennedybyEwan Kennedy
              11-03-2023 15:06
              in Fishing
              Fish farms in a Scottish Loch

              Image courtesy of author's friend, who asked not to be named

              Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

              It is a curious feature of fish farming in Scotland that the great majority of the salmon which are produced in the 250 or so fish farms on our western “aquaculture coast” are not grown from native Scottish stock. They start their lives as microscopic ova,  brought across from Norway and Iceland and placed, as smolts, in growing facilities in freshwater lochs before growing big enough to be moved to cages on the open sea.

              Figures from the Scottish Government website show that in 2016, no British broodstock were used in fish farms here, while 58.4 million foreign ova were imported. By 2020, the use of British ova had risen to 258,000, against 68.8 million imported.

              There is rising concern within Norway and Iceland regarding the risk of damage to the genetic integrity of their wild fish should Scottish smolts escape and interbreed with them. The multinational companies who own the industry here do not share this concern about their own salmon escaping to breed with wild Scottish stock nor, it seems, do our regulators. Until recently Marine Scotland denied the possibility of interbreeding and there have been few, if any, studies undertaken in Scottish waters. However, evidence from places such as British Columbia confirms that it does happen.

              Environmental issues within the salmon industry

              Environmental issues arise as early as this initial stage in the lochs, when diseases such as saprolegnia, a fungal condition which typically affects fish kept in aquariums, manifest themselves. Currently the main method of dealing with this is by the use of formaldehyde, a highly toxic chemical with a history of use in disinfection and serious industrial cleaning. It is a carcinogen, and industry guidance for its use requires workers to wear protective clothing. In recent years, operators of fish farms have started experimenting with its use in our freshwater lochs.

              No doubt as a result of industry lobbying, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency decided to allow its use, with companies having an obligation to disclose how much they were using. The figures reported by the various companies operating in Scotland added up to a total of 22.4 tonnes of this poison being poured into ten Scottish freshwater lochs between April and December 2019.

              The start date of this reporting period is interesting, as it coincides with residents near to some of the lochs in question beginning to experience discomfort, and, in some cases, worrying health issues. In addition,, locals have been notifying SEPA of the presence of vehicles with quantities of formaldehyde in conspicuous containers covered with warning notices.

              The ten farms in question are in the Highlands: Lochs Lochy, Arkaig, Sheil, Ness and Garry, (run by MOWI), Lochs Shin, Cooke Aquaculture and Damph, (run by the Scottish Salmon Company), and in Argyll: Lochs Tralaig and Avich, (run by Kames) and Loch Frisa on Mull, (run by Scottish Sea Farms).

              Unlike with open sea sites, these operators do not require any permission from the Crown Estate, but they do require a lease from the private landowners.

              Dead salmons
              Business

              Death in our waters

              byEwan Kennedy
              9 March 2023

              The problem with a lack of council regulation

              The operators also require planning permission. Research in the Argyll & Bute planning portal shows that Kames Fish Farming Limited obtained consents in 1991 for three sites in mid Argyll – the two mentioned above, plus Loch na Losgain Mor, which seems to have escaped SEPA’s attention.

              These consents were all limited to six years, after which it was anticipated that the sites would be inspected to check for any environmental damage before possibly being renewed. In this case, this event did not happen. Argyll and Bute Council officials didn’t spot the expiry dates and the operations in all three lochs continued. Recently, Kames applied for retrospective consent for two of their sites, which was duly granted, despite my request that the Council should ask the operators to commission an Environmental Impact Assessment. 

              On 1 June 2021, the Council emailed me as follows:

              “In eventuality, and for reasons I have not been able to establish – all of the involved persons having long left the employment of Argyll and Bute Council – this planning condition was not acted upon when it was first breached in November 1997. In fact, this breach did not come to light until at some point in late 2019 by which time the operations had likely gained ‘immunity’ from any planning enforcement action the Council may have wished to take. Nevertheless, the planning authority took this matter up with the operator of the fish farm as soon as the breach of condition was realised. The subsequent application was made in order to support a claim by Kames Fish Farming Limited that their operations were, by that point in time, lawful.”

              Loch Tralaig has a particular problem, in that in the 1950s a hydroelectric scheme was installed, involving the construction of a dam which has since prevented the free flow of water from the loch. The dam is still there, despite the scheme no longer being in use. As a result, there has been insufficient water flow to carry the waste material from the smolt growing cages.

              This waste material has been deposited over more thanthirty years, forming a heap of dead material to such an extent that the water depth is greatly reduced. Local residents have reported that there are no longer wild fish in the loch, nor have the ospreys, which formerly nested by the shores, returned. Two years ago, I rowed a dinghy over the loch, while a friend dived down to take the following footage showing the true desolation of Loch Tralaig.


              We need your help! The press in our country is dominated by billionaire-owned media, many offshore and avoiding paying tax. We are a citizen journalism publication but still have significant costs. If you believe in what we do, please consider subscribing to the Bylines Gazette 🙏

              Tags: FishFarms
              Previous Post

              Florence is beautiful – but skip the tripe!

              Next Post

              An independent Scotland must support university, SME and industry R&D

              Ewan Kennedy

              Ewan Kennedy

              A Glasgow native, Ewan Kennedy worked as a solicitor in general practice in the city for over forty years and was also at times a part time academic and tribunal chair. He has a lifelong interest in the coastal environment and has lived for many years at the head of a sea loch in mid Argyll. Over the last twenty years he has become involved in researching and campaigning against industrial aquaculture on the west coast.

              Related Posts

              Fish farm in Scotland
              Business

              A deeper dive into the history of Scottish fish farming

              byEwan Kennedy
              16 March 2023
              Dead salmons
              Business

              Death in our waters

              byEwan Kennedy
              9 March 2023
              Fish farming, Isle of Sky, Loch Ainort
              Business

              Fish Farming in Scotland 

              byEwan Kennedy
              8 March 2023
              A mountain of spools forming a tree on the left, a sandy area to the right and a row of houses at the back. mountains in the distance on the right
              Arts & Entertainment

              The Ullapool Giving Tree

              byDr Lucy Beattie
              11 January 2023
              Photo of Scottish Fisherman.
The Scottish fishing industry overlooked by a London-centric government Photos by Phil Morphew and Magdalena Mitchell
              Business

              Scottish creel industry on the brink of collapse

              byDiane Morphew
              2 February 2021
              Next Post
              Edinburgh's University flag

              An independent Scotland must support university, SME and industry R&D

              PLEASE SUPPORT OUR CROWDFUNDER

              Subscribe to our newsletters
              CHOOSE YOUR NEWS
              Follow us on social media
              CHOOSE YOUR PLATFORMS
              Download our app
              ALL OF BYLINES IN ONE PLACE
              Subscribe to our gazette
              CONTRIBUTE TO OUR SUSTAINABILITY
              Make a monthly or one-off donation
              DONATE NOW
              Help us with our hosting costs
              SIGN UP TO SITEGROUND
              We are always looking for citizen journalists
              WRITE FOR US
              Volunteer as an editor, in a technical role, or on social media
              VOLUNTEER FOR US
              Something else?
              GET IN TOUCH
              Previous
              Next

              LATEST

              Scottish flag with SYP (Scottish Youth Parliament)

              Scottish Youth Parliament in 2023: Facing the Future

              22 March 2023
              Tree representing lungs

              Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

              21 March 2023
              Scotland's Pro-EU

              Scotland’s leading pro-EU organisation will be in good spirits when it meets in Edinburgh on Rejoin Day 

              20 March 2023
              Illustration for Arts and Entertainment

              Scottish Opera’s sensational new Puccini production has it all – love, death and laughter

              18 March 2023

              MOST READ

              Tree representing lungs

              Where are the areas in Scotland most affected by lung conditions?

              21 March 2023
              Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaking at 2022 special meeting of the North Atlantic Council and G7 leaders meeting at NATO Headquarters in Brussels during the Ukraine situation. Picture by Andrew Parsons / No 10 Downing Street. Licensed under the United Kingdom Open Government Licence v3.0

              Boris Johnson; Britain’s worst ever prime minister?

              6 September 2022
              Scottish flag with SYP (Scottish Youth Parliament)

              Scottish Youth Parliament in 2023: Facing the Future

              22 March 2023
              large posts saying 'Glasgow Airport Business Park' on the left and right of a road leading away from the main road in the front. . On that road leading away building with walls almost entirely existing of windows.

              Why doing business in Scotland may be better for your corporate wellbeing

              14 January 2023

              BROWSE BY TAGS

              Brexit Christmas ClimateChange Covid Covid19 Culture Defence Democracy Devolution FishFarms Glasgow Halloween health History Holyrood independence IndyRef2 Johnson Journalism Liz Truss Long Covid Monarchy nationalism NATO NHS Nicola Sturgeon politics Poverty Pro-EU Public Health Putin Russia Sars-CoV-2 Scotland Security Security and Defence shipbuilding SNP Sunak Tories Tourism Twitter Ukraine UK Supreme Court War in Ukraine
              Bylines Scotland

              We are a not-for-profit citizen journalism publication. Our aim is to publish well-written, fact-based articles and opinion pieces on subjects that are of interest to people in Scotland and beyond.

              Bylines Scotland is a trading brand of Bylines Network Limited, which is a sister organisation to Byline Times.

              Learn more about us

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Network
              • About
              • Authors
              • Contact
              • Donate
              • Privacy

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              No Result
              View All Result
              • Home
              • News
                • Scotland
                • World
              • Politics
                • Council Areas
                • Europe
                • Holyrood
                • Rest of UK
                • Westminster
              • Business
                • Fishing
                • Trade
                • Transport
              • Health
              • Environment
                • Climate Change
              • Opinion
              • Donate
              CROWDFUNDER

              © 2023 Bylines Scotland. Citizen Journalism | Local & Internationalist

              Welcome Back!

              Login to your account below

              Forgotten Password?

              Retrieve your password

              Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

              Log In