Millions of salmon deaths at Scottish farms disclosed after watchdog’s ruling | Fish
Millions of fish deaths from accidental poisoning and drowning on Scottish salmon farms have been revealed after the regulator was forced to share its reports.
The UK government’s Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) had refused to publish the inspection reports, claiming it would cause “serious harm” to companies, including their reputation.
However, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) determined that there was no valid justification for retaining the information; It’s a decision that campaign group Animal Equality UK has praised as “a turning point for public transparency”.
The ICO’s decision led to the publication of some inspection reports from APHA, which documented details of the extent and causes of deaths on some farms.
One noted that more than 100,000 fish drowned in 2021 at an inland salmon farm run by Mowi, Scotland’s largest salmon farming company, after a worker left them unattended and their access to oxygen was cut off.
In a separate incident in the same region that same month, a buildup of hydrogen sulfide caused the death of more than 1 million fish within 10 hours. APHA did not take any enforcement action.
Another report states that 600,000 fish died in 2022 due to a build-up of hydrogen sulphide at a facility run by RSPCA-certified Bakkafrost. The problem recurred on an even larger scale months later, leading to the death of more than 1.5 million fish. Again, no sanctions were imposed.
APHA found that nearly 70,000 fish died at a trout farm in 2023, with 7,800 surviving fish subsequently killed as “economically unviable”, but the facility never reported any deaths to the Fish Health Inspectorate. APHA advised the operator to seek veterinary advice and emailed him a copy of the code of good practice.
In making its decision, the ICO said APHA had previously published some reports, which weakened the argument for not publishing others. It said the latest reports, dated 2024, “undermine the case that disclosure would still pose a real and significant risk to commercial interests.”
Despite the publication of the reports, the decision means that a freedom of information request must be forwarded to APHA, rather than the routine publication of future reports.
Abigail Penny, chief executive of Animal Equality UK, said: “APHA’s culture of secrecy must end. The public has a right to know what is going on on these farms and whether regulators are doing their job.”
“People are completely tired of the same cycle repeating itself; corporations inflict pain on animals, show little remorse, while the bodies taxpayers pay to hold them accountable look the other way.
“This tight-lipped approach serves neither the public nor the animals; it serves only the salmon farming industry. This information belongs to the public and should not be buried in bureaucracy to protect global conglomerates from appropriate scrutiny.”
Animal Equality released the footage, which it said was filmed at a Scottish salmon farm run by Scottish Sea Farms, in March in a bid to force APHA to publish newer inspection reports.
The charity says the video was shot at the Fiunary farm and shows salmon suffering from blindness, open sores, a severe sea lice infestation and missing noses. Scottish Sea Farms is known to supply salmon to Marks & Spencer, while Fiunary supplies salmon to the Co-op.
Animal Equality has instructed law firm Advocates for Animals to lodge a formal complaint with APHA about conditions at Fiunary and is demanding APHA confirm what action, if any, it has taken and publish any inspection reports for the site and its operator in line with the ICO’s decision.
An APHA spokesperson said it was committed to openness and transparency. “We carefully consider requests for information on a case-by-case basis. Exemptions apply only for reasons of confidentiality or commercial sensitivity and where full disclosure would prevent APHA from performing its functions effectively,” they said.
“We take all reports of suspected poor welfare on salmon farms seriously and will not hesitate to take further action if we find evidence of cruelty or neglect.”
A spokesperson for Salmon Scotland, responding on behalf of all producers named in this article, said: “Claims made by activists are often taken out of context and present a misleading picture of what is going on on farms. “Scotland’s salmon farmers support transparency around the UK’s most popular fish.
“Farms operate to world-leading welfare standards, underpinned by strict regulations, veterinary supervision, regular inspections and inspections. Voluntarily posted survival rates by the industry are at record levels and more than £1bn has been invested in innovation, veterinary care, technology and stock management to continually improve welfare.”
A Co-op spokesman said it sets high standards for suppliers by using only RSPCA-secured Scottish salmon. They added: “We are aware of the footage relating to the Fiunary facility and are contacting our supplier urgently to understand the full context. We take any reports regarding animal welfare extremely seriously and will take swift action if our standards are not met.”
