STAndupforwildsalmon.org is the Salmon & Trout Association’s (S&TA) new, dedicated website aimed at highlighting the threat posed by current salmon farming practices to wild fish. It is interactive, fast-moving and regularly updated – a valuable and dynamic resource for any and everyone concerned about the impact of salmon farming on the wild salmon population and the fragile aquatic environment on Scotland’s west coast, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland.
As well as focusing on such issues as sea lice and disease outbreaks at individual farms, it also details latest developments in sustainable farming, such as the new closed systems being trialled in Canada and elsewhere.
It is the latest stage in the S&TA campaign to urge the fish farming industry to adopt more sustainable practices and avoid harming wild fish populations.
Janina Gray, S&TA Head of Science and project leader of the new website explained:
“The S&TA Aquaculture Campaign doesn’t aim to close down fish farming, but to move industry towards a more environmentally sustainable position, with particular emphasis on protecting wild salmon and sea trout from the impacts of poorly-operated and regulated fish farming. This interactive website is designed to engage as well as inform users. The S&TA is investing tens of thousands of pounds in the fight against damaging fish farming practices in Scotland, and it is absolutely essential that as many concerned people as possible support this campaign.”
Paul Knight, S&TA CEO added,
“The S&TA’s Aquaculture Campaign addresses the problem from many different perspectives by petitioning the Scottish Parliament; by informing the public through leaflets and other publications; by appointing a dedicated environmental lawyer to hold salmon farmers to account; by proposing changes in law and policy to move the industry to a more sustainable footing This new website will bring all this activity together and, by being regularly refreshed and updated, will be in the forefront of the S&TA’s Campaign to protect these iconic species, the wild salmon and sea-trout.”
