Scotland’s salmon sector sees off another parliamentary inquiry but still seeks long awaited regulatory reform to unleash its growth potential, writes Jenny Hjul in this month’s round-up of industry news

The future of Scotland’s salmon farming sector was debated in the Scottish parliament on March 20, the final stage of the inquiry conducted last year by the Rural Affairs and Islands committee (RAIC).

The committee’s report, published in January, had already drawn fire from the sector, with Tavish Scott, Salmon Scotland chief executive, saying the RAIC recommendations would add ‘further regulatory complexity and burden on salmon farmers’.

Rural Affairs Minister Mairi Gougeon agreed and refused to support RAIC demands for regulation that was not proportionate. She also dismissed talk of a moratorium on new farms or the expansion of existing ones which, although not included in the RAIC report, hangs over the sector as a threat for when the committee comes back next year to gauge progress.

Gougeon said: ‘Any move towards some sort of moratorium would deprive Scotland of the benefits of salmon farming for our economy, and our communities, without adequate justification that the potential environmental harms are not being managed appropriately.

‘A moratorium could stifle the very investment in science and innovation that will ultimately support fish health, environmental and productivity goals.’

The minister, like her predecessor Fergus Ewing, has become a ‘friend’ of the sector and salmon farmers were sorry to hear of her decision, announced earlier in March, that she intends to stand down at the next Scottish elections in May 2026.

The fate of Scotland’s newest salmon farmer, Organic Sea Harvest (OSH), which ceased trading in March, was also discussed in the debate, with the ‘clunky’ planning and consenting process blamed for making it impossible for small companies to succeed.

OSH, which farmed on Skye, had tried for several years to get planning permission for two extra sites it said were necessary for viability, but had been thwarted by ‘bureaucracy, red tape and the regulatory burden’ according to Salmon Scotland.

Offshore growth

The country’s potential may be exploited by the Norwegians, with SalMar, the world’s second-largest Atlantic salmon farmer and co-owner of Scottish Sea Farms, revealing it was looking at sites off the east coast of Shetland for an offshore fish farm.

SalMar already operates two offshore facilities – Ocean Farm 1 and Arctic Offshore Farming – in central and northern Norway and said it was in the ‘early phase of community engagement’.

The Scottish government is conducting a consultation on the consenting process for aquaculture developments between three and 12 miles from the shore.

In Norway, the rising cost of producing salmon is cause for concern, aquaculture consultant Eirik Moe told Intrafish.

Production costs are up 118 per cent in the last 10 years, according to a report from the global consultancy, Norwegian Aquaculture Analysis 2024. Feed costs are also up 118 per cent.

While increased prices have compensated for high costs, Moe warned that markets for Norwegian salmon, mostly exports, are in a state of flux.

‘The geopolitical landscape is changing rapidly. Suddenly, tariffs have become a global issue. The conditions in today’s world therefore indicate that the price increase per kilo of salmon will not continue,’ he said.

Trump’s tariffs

As reported last month, Norway’s exports to the US rose almost 40 per cent in January compared to the same period last year and producers are anxious about the impact of possible Trump tariffs on Europe.

At Seafood Expo North America (SENA) in Boston in March, industry leaders said economic uncertainty could impact investments, especially in areas such as artificial intelligence, increasingly gaining traction in the sector.

Anne Hvistendahl, global head of seafood at DNB, said stable investments within the salmon farming sector, such as the wellboat and vessel industries, were essential for the industry’s future.

Canada, first of Trump’s targets, has seen 25 per cent tariffs imposed on steel and aluminium imports and has been threatened with ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on April 2.

The country, under new Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England who replaced long-serving Justin Trudeau in March, will go to the polls next month.

Carney’s ruling Liberals and the opposition Conservatives are neck-and-neck in the polls, and Canada’s salmon farmers will be hoping that whoever wins will make business growth a priority.

Business leaders across Western Canada are calling on the next government to overturn the proposed ban on marine net-pen salmon farming in British Columbia, reported Fabian Dawson for SeaWestNews.

Trudeau sided with the anti-fish farming lobby in 2019 to close down BC’s lucrative salmon farming sector, with a transition to closed containment, set to take effect in 2029, putting 4,560 jobs at risk.

Brian Kingzett, executive director of BC Salmon Farmers Association, said the BC sector is ‘basically on its knees’, adding that ‘the (salmon farming) companies are very close to leaving Canada right now because of the federal transition’.

‘This is not the time to be putting 4,500 people out of work or taking 50,000 tonnes of sustainable protein a year off Canadian shelves,’ he told Intrafish.

‘We’re hoping that we’ve got to a place, as a responsible industry providing responsible briefings, where that message is going to get through, and we’ll get back to a positive future for the aquaculture industry in BC.’

BC Conservative leader John Rustad called for a crackdown on ‘foreign interference’ by American-funded environmental groups campaigning against salmon farming.

Public perception

Messaging was also the focus of talks at the recent North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) in Bergen, where salmon farming executives pondered public perception issues.

The disconnect between the sector’s (sustainable) environmental performance and consumer sentiment presents a challenging paradox, Undercurrent News reported.

In the UK, nearly one-fifth of consumers who encounter negative publicity about salmon farming subsequently reduce their consumption, according to William Davies, of Sofina, owner of Young’s Seafoods.

‘In the UK, there are lots of animal welfare campaigns. Videos are edited creatively that make it seem every fish is suffering.’

Norway is addressing similar misperceptions with a new advertising campaign, ‘Salmon under the microscope’, launched by Seafood Norway in March and highlighting both achievements and challenges in a bid to improve the sector’s image.

In Australia, meanwhile, pressure from animal welfare activists to close down salmon farms has prompted a show of support from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

The PM announced he would rush through legislation to protect Tasmania’s salmon industry from a legal challenge by environmental lobby groups, campaigning for endangered Maugean skate.

Feed good news

Finally, March brought welcome developments in aquafeed, on several fronts. Danish feed giant BioMar announced that inclusion of alternative ingredients helped it cut forage fish use to an all-time low, with a Forage Fish Dependency Ratio (FFDR) – which measures the amount of wild fish used in feed relative to the farmed fish produced – of 0.37 for 2024.

The company attributed the reduction to an increased reliance on alternative raw materials such as microalgae, and trimmings. With its recent acquisition of Norwegian research centre LetSea, BioMar said it would be able to further advance the development of new feed ingredients.

There may be scope, too, for the inclusion of genetically modified (GM) ingredients by feed companies in the European market, as attitudes show signs of shifting towards omega-3 oils derived from GM canola.

While consumers in the US have widely accepted GM ingredients, and GM products have been used in salmon farming feeds in Chile and Canada over the last five years, the EU has remained opposed.

A survey found that younger consumers, and those who ate salmon regularly, were more comfortable with the idea of GM oil.

In other feed news, Mowi revealed it was reviewing its feed division, which has facilities in Norway and Scotland, with a possible sale on the cards.

Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim, appearing at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum, acknowledged the challenges of integrating feed production with farming operations.

Keep up to date with the industry’s top stories, all in our next news review.