Scotland’s salmon farmers have started publishing monthly mortality figures on a farm-by-farm basis to increase transparency and understanding of the sector.
The data, which covers 100 percent of Scottish salmon farms, shows that for the first four months of this year, survival rates on farms ranged between 98.5 and 99 percent. Around 60 percent of salmon farms stocked with fish had less than one percent mortality.
“The health and welfare of salmon is hugely important to salmon farmers. This regular, voluntary publication is unparalleled and sets a precedent for transparency in business reporting. It sets a base line to show future trends and currently around two-thirds of active salmon farms have 99 percent survival rates. We hope this will be helpful to the progress of the collaborative Farmed Fish Health Framework initiative to further improve survival of salmon,” said Julie Hesketh-Laird, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO).
Scottish government’s Chief Veterinary Officer Sheila Voas has welcomed the increased transparency.
“Of course, what is most important is that we all work together to tackle mortality of any level, in any sector, to help reduce it to an absolute minimum. The recently published 10-year Farmed Fish Health Framework for Scotland is a progressive step [toward] that aim, bringing together producers, government and regulators to address the big issues in aquaculture,” she said.
As well as providing monthly farm-by-farm statistics for use by Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate and scientists, the new reports give information on the causes of mortality, including extreme weather incidents, jellyfish, algal blooms, marine predators, and disease.
Photo courtesy of John Ross Jr.
