Scottish salmon production plunged by a fifth last year amid record fish farm deaths

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scottish salmon production plunged by a fifth last year amid record deaths on fish farms and the blight of parasites and disease.The Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2022 found production of Atlantic salmon decreased by 36,199 tons - 18 per cent - to stand at 169,194 tonnes, a much bigger drop than previously forecast.Campaigners blamed the stats on a “deadly cocktail” of warming waters, jellyfish blooms, lice, viruses and a “welfare nightmare” inside salmon cages, demanding a shutdown of the industry.It comes after all-time high mortalities of more than 16million on farms last year - which experts fear will be surpassed this year.But the Scottish Government praised salmon farmers for taking the “responsible decision” in the face of eco pressures to “harvest smaller fish” in 2022 which it said partly explained the lower production tonnage.The annual survey coincided with latest monthly mortality stats on fish farms which showed August’s death rate dwarfed the same period last year.But industry chiefs insisted preliminary data for September so far indicates the outlook has improved.

Scottish salmon is the UK’s top food export and supports thousands of jobs.Rachel Mulrenan, Scotland director for conservation charity WildFish, said: “The considerable drop in farmed salmon production volume is not surprising, considering that 2022 was the deadliest year on record for Scottish salmon farms, with 16.7 million farmed salmon dying in the water.“What is concerning is that this year is looking even worse than last, with 10.5 million deaths already reported from January to August.”Veteran campaign Don Staniford said: “A deadly cocktail of warming water temperatures, swarms of jellyfish, gill problems, infectious diseases,