This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scientists track escaped salmon
25/04/2006
Seven hundred farmed salmon have been deliberately released from a Scottish fish farm as part of an international experiment to track their movements.
It follows suggestions from Norway that escaped farmed fish from Scotland may be making their way into their rivers and breeding with their valuable wild salmon stocks.
Previous experiments in Norway have indicated that fish released at this time of year do not enter local rivers. The healthy fish being used in this simulated escape have been tagged for easy identification.
Deputy Rural Development Minister Rhona Brankin said:
"There has long been concern about the possible impacts of escaped farmed salmon on wild stocks, and the salmon farming industry has addressed this in their recently published "Code of Good Practice". Containment is also being addressed in the forthcoming Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill.
"This experiment, conducted by our Fisheries Research Services, will provide invaluable information which will help us to assess the possible consequences of escapes of farmed salmon."
As part of an international experiment, under the auspices of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), to determine whether any farmed salmon that appear in rivers and fisheries in Norway originate in other countries with salmon farming industries.
The simulated escape took place at a fish farm in Wester Ross.
Concern has been expressed over the possible impacts on wild salmon stocks of escaped farmed salmon entering rivers and spawning, especially if they spawn with wild fish. The salmon farming industry's "Code of Good Practice", launched in March this year, includes measures to reduce escapes.
The report "The Economic Impact of Game and Coarse Angling in Scotland", published by the Scottish Executive in 2004, estimated that annual spend by salmon and sea trout anglers in Scotland was £73.5 M, supporting 2200 full time job equivalents, mostly in remote, rural areas.
The salmon farming industry is worth some £500M annually to the Scottish economy.
Both the wild salmon and salmon farming sectors are determined that containment of farmed fish should be a high priority.
Wild salmon and sea trout interests have given their support to this experiment.