Skosk yfirvöld skoða nú að loka þeim sjókvíaeldisfyrirtækjum þar sem dauði eldislaxa í kvíunum er mikill.
Ekki liggja fyrir upplýsingar um hversu margir eldislaxar drápust við Skotland í fyrra, en 2023 létu fyrirtækin 17,4 milljónir laxa drepast. Var það fjórföld aukning á dauða frá 2018.
Alls staðar þar sem sjókvíeldi er stundað í heiminum hefur dauðinn farið vaxandi í sjókvíunum.
Staðan hér við land er líka ömurleg. Nú síðast lét Kaldvík, sem vill þröngva sjókvíum í Seyðisfjörð, um 700.000 eldislaxa drepast í nóvember og desember í Fáskrúðsfirði vegna þess að þeir voru settir í sjókvíarnar þegar sjórinn var kaldari en þeir þoldu.
Sjókvíaeldi á laxi er óboðleg aðferð við matvælaframleiðslu.
The Times fjalla um ástandið við strendur Skotlands. (Áskriftar krafist)
The Guardian fjallar einnig um málið:
The Scottish government has been criticised for its “slow progress” on regulating the salmon farming industry by a parliamentary inquiry that took evidence for five months before reaching its conclusion.
The report reveals that MSPs “seriously considered” calling for a moratorium on new farms and expansion of existing sites due to concerns over persistently high salmon mortality rates but did not do so due to uncertainties over the impact on jobs and communities.
The report called for “stronger leadership” and an immediate timetable from the Scottish government to address concerns over the long-term viability of salmon farming in Scotland, and for this to be overseen by a minister within a year.
…
The inquiry comes amid a record level of mortalities at Scottish salmon farms, which has fuelled increased scrutiny over fish welfare and environmental pollution. In 2023, an unprecedented 17.4 million salmon died on farms before harvesting, exceeding 2022’s 17.2 million mortalities. In the same year, salmon farming had the lowest production for decades, according to the Scottish government fish farm production survey, published in October.
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The investigation, which took place from April to October, followed a previous damning report into the sector in 2018, which cited high mortalities, “light touch” regulation and environmental concerns, concluding that any expansion of the industry required urgent action and regulatory reform.
Finlay Carson, MSP and convener of the rural affairs and islands committee said he recognised efforts by the industry to invest and innovate amid challenges.
“But further progress should have been made in implementing the recommendations of 2018, as well as anticipating the impact of climate change and rising sea temperatures on the industry,” he said. “Ultimately, it is the Scottish government’s role, as well as the industry’s, to drive the change agenda required to allow science, research and the regulatory landscape to keep pace with the rapidly changing marine environment.”
Carson told the Guardian that if no progress is made to address its concerns within 12 months, the committee will begin to look at the impact of a moratorium.
A series of recommendations from the inquiry included new powers to halt production on sites with persistently high mortality rates, increased transparency including the mandatory publication of weekly salmon mortality figures, setting welfare standards for farmed fish and an end to the siting of farms close to wild salmon migration routes.