Latest news with #MowiScotland
The Herald Scotland
06-08-2025
- General
- The Herald Scotland
New images show depth of marine life in Loch Hourn
They were commissioned by Mowi Scotland to look at the impact its fish farming presence may have had on marine life. The Loch has had a fish farming presence for more than 30 years and the images show the amount of species in it remains strongs. As well as feather stars and lion's main jellyfish, the images also show peacock worms, kelp, sponges, squirts, hydrozoan, small-spotted catshark, symbiotic fish, wrasse and female cuckoo wrasse, anemones, starfish with tube feet, urchins and nudibranchs, brown crab, soft coral, scallops and more. Read More Speaking about the marine survey, Stephen MacIntyre, Head of Environment at Mowi Scotland, explains: 'At Mowi Scotland, protecting our marine environment is at the heart of everything we do. 'That's why we commissioned an independent environmental survey of the seabed and waters around our salmon farm at Loch Hourn, a waterbody that has been the subject of a recent environmental pollution report. 'There are a lot of misconceptions around the environmental effects of fish farming, with rush to judge and apportion cause and effect when reports such as these arise. 'In response, it's important we acknowledge such concerns but that we also investigate, monitor and transparently present observational field data to inform more reasoned opinions. The Lion's Mane Jellyfish (Image: Mowi Scotland) The images show the amount of marine life (Image: Mowi Scotland) 'There has been a fish farming presence in Loch Hourn for over 30 years with our own surveying of Loch Hourn in recent years showing thriving biodiversity around the farm, which this independent survey further confirms. 'The seabed and our mooring lines are teeming with the presence of sensitive and important marine life with species such as feather stars, sponges, scallops, squat lobsters, soft corals, and small-spotted catsharks within kelp habitats.' 'At Mowi, we are committed to responsible and sustainable operations that ensure we meet our environmental standards and thresholds. We take any concerns that we are not operating to those standards seriously. 'When claims were made that our farm was harming the loch, we investigated. The results are clear: salmon farming in Loch Hourn is not damaging the marine ecosystem. In fact, it's coexisting with it. (Image: Mowi Scotland) 'The photos definitely speak for themselves. This is what responsible fish farming looks like in a well-managed environment. 'In Scotland we operate to some of the most stringent regulatory controls for fish farming in the world. This is especially so in respect of environmental protections. We have a team of environmental professionals monitoring our farms and with the recent organisational commitment to fund a dedicated survey we are increasingly going beyond our regulatory requirements which will allow us to continue to share data and evidence on the healthy seas around our farms. 'We're proud to farm responsibly, growing healthy salmon for a global market, while preserving the pristine waters of Scotland for future generations.'
The Herald Scotland
04-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish salmon exporters prepare major drive for Indian market
Scottish salmon currently faces a 33 per cent tariff which severely limits trade, but this is set to be removed next year when the deal struck by the UK Government takes effect. This paves the way for exports worth tens of millions of pounds every year, creating inward investment and well-paid jobs in Scotland. As talks get underway, Indian High Commissioner Vikram K. Doraiswami this week travelled to Scotland to learn more about the scale and quality of Scottish farm-raised salmon during a visit to Rosyth, Fife, which is home to the UK's largest processing plant. READ MORE: Edinburgh-based Vice Consul Amit Chaudhary also joined the tour of Mowi's plant on Thursday, discussing ways to strengthen trade ties as the sector prepares to expand in this fast-growing market. His Excellency Vikram K. Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India to the UK, said: 'This landmark agreement is set to boost bilateral trade, which has already crossed £40 billion, by reducing tariffs and streamlining market access. 'The Scottish salmon industry, a global leader exporting over £800 million in 2024, exemplifies the quality and innovation driving this partnership. 'I am delighted that with the FTA [free trade agreement] reducing trade barriers, India's restauranteurs and consumers will soon be able to affordably access premium Scottish salmon, enhancing consumer choice and fostering economic growth. 'This visit underscores the potential for deepened collaboration, as the FTA is expected to support creating jobs and opportunities in both nations.' (L-R) - Jamie McAldine, Mowi Scotland; Scott Nolan, Mowi Scotland; Ben Hadfield, Mowi Scotland; HE Vikram K. Doraiswami, High Commissioner of India; Vice Consul Amit Chaudhary; and James Park, Salmon Scotland, outside the Mowi plant (Image: Salmon Scotland) Ian Murray, Secretary of State for Scotland, added: 'The UK Government's Brand Scotland initiative is laser focussed on selling the very best of Scotland to the world. "Iconic and globally-renowned Scottish products like salmon — and our support for the sector — is an important part of that. 'The trade deal with India is central to our Plan for Change and great news for Scotland's food and drink sector: Slashing tariffs, increasing exports, growing our economy, securing jobs and putting more money in the pockets of hard working Scots. "I look forward to continuing to work with Scottish businesses and other key partners as we give our country the global platform it deserves.' India is the world's third-largest fish market, with domestic use reaching nearly 12 million tonnes in 2021 — up 120 per cent since 2005. Although most fish eaten is currently locally sourced, imports focus on premium seafood in major cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, where demand for healthy, high-quality produce is rising. Scottish salmon fits well into this high-end market. At present, India does not register on the list of nearly 50 countries where Scottish salmon is exported in significant quantity, but there has been a recent boom in the Asian market. Exports to China were up 60% last year and volumes to Taiwan more than doubled – contributing to record international sales of more than £840 million and confirming Scottish salmon's place as the UK's biggest food export. Ben Hadfield, Mowi's chief operating officer of farming in Scotland, Ireland, the Faroes and Canada East, said: 'Future successes in India will be a further boost for Mowi in Rosyth where we are proud to employ over 1,000 people from the local area. 'With the removal of tariffs in the new trade deal between India and the UK, there is huge potential for Mowi to create a market for Scottish salmon in India, as we have successfully done in other Asian markets.' Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, added: 'India represents a huge untapped market for our nutritious fish as demand continues to grow across Asia. 'We're working closely with the UK Government and Indian partners to make sure Scottish salmon reaches more tables in India, supporting jobs and coastal communities here at home. 'This deal offers real potential, and we're determined to make the most of it for our farmers and the wider Scottish economy.'
Scotsman
23-05-2025
- Business
- Scotsman
Football may divide communities in Scotland, but it has nothing on fish
Removal of Brexit red tape should boost Scotland's salmon industry Sign up to our Football newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... If you are landing cod in a trawler off the Aberdeenshire coast, this week's news that the UK had struck a trade deal with the European Union was 'a horror show', according to the Scottish Fishermens' Federation. The granting of 12 years of access to UK waters for EU fishing vessels was seen as a betrayal. But if you are working on a salmon fish farm off the west coast, it was 'breakthrough', according to Salmon Scotland. The group includes the largest salmon farm businesses in the world, including Bakkafrost, a Faroese company, Cooke Scotland of Canada, as well as Mowi Scotland and Scottish Sea Farms, both of Norway. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad A trawler in the North Sea | PA For team salmon, removal of Brexit red tape ought to boost French sales. That's because physical checks of lorries at Boulogne-sur-Mer, a major distribution hub for seafood entering continental Europe, will no longer be needed, shaving precious hours off the time it takes to get fresh salmon to the restaurants of Paris. France is the largest market in the world for Scottish salmon, accounting for 55 per cent of exports and 95 per cent of all product sold in the EU, making the fish the UK's largest food export. Yet the story of salmon is not only one of export success. The sector remains plagued by battles between Salmon Scotland and campaign groups claiming that the industry's animal welfare practices mean its product doesn't deserve to appear on supermarket shelves or restaurant menus. Among them, WildFish and the Coastal Communities Network (CCN) argue that the use of seaborne 'open net' pens to grow salmon results in unacceptably high death rates because of overcrowding, poor animal welfare and disease, chiefly sea lice that cause skin lesions, rendering the salmon unmarketable. Last year, the Canadian government announced a ban on open pen salmon farming in British Columbia by mid-2029. Polarisation on salmon farming is clear Salmon Scotland counters that salmon farmers are the only farm sector in the UK to voluntarily publish 'farm level' mortality data and that the industry has invested heavily in fish health and welfare - to the tune of £1 billion since 2018. Mowi Scotland and Edinburgh University's Roslin Institute have just started joint research into improving resistance to disease by studying the fish's DNA and immune system. The level of polarisation on the issue is clear from the language used. Campaigners and marine scientists talk of 'mortality' of up to 25 per cent, while the industry sometimes prefers to talk about 'survival' rates, which Salmon Scotland says improved last year by 10 percentage points to 82 per cent. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Holyrood's latest effort to resolve matters came in January with the results of an inquiry by the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (RAIC) into progress on improving conditions in salmon farming since a critical Scottish government report in 2018. The committee was 'disappointed' that mortality rates had not improved, adding they were 'too high'. The String of Pearls jellyfish has been blamed for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of salmon | Getty Images Tavish Scott, Salmon Scotland's chief executive, says he doesn't believe the report was 'particularly thorough', criticising it for containing 'anti-farming language' similar to that from campaign groups. 'What the committee seemed to completely fail to understand is that is that we could not sell a single fish to any supermarket or restaurant if we were not complying with the highest regulatory standards,' he says. The Scottish government's response to the RAIC's report reveals the difficulty it appears to be having in navigating between the Scylla of an economically vital industry that employs 12,500 people and the Charybdis of voter sensitivity to animal welfare. In her response to the RAIC report, cabinet secretary Mairi Gougeon dismissed a recommendation that powers be given to limit or halt production at salmon farms that record persistent, high mortality rates. Instead, analysis would merely be done to 'explore thresholds' for such mortality. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The need to display high standards Ultimately, Scottish salmon's reputation as a premium product rests on its ability to show consumers that it's engaged in the highest standard of animal welfare. In France, that reputation is embedded in the 'Label Rouge' quality mark awarded by the French government in 1992. This may matter less in distant markets like China and Taiwan, which are growing at a healthy clip. But reputation must continually be earned, and won't have been helped by video footage this week allegedly showing what animal rights campaigners at Green Britain Foundation said was 'systemic cruelty' to salmon at a fish farm on the Isle of Skye. Some restaurants are already voting with their menus. A campaign launched in 2022 called 'Off the Table' by WildFish to persuade chefs not to offer salmon has so far signed up restaurants in Australia, Iceland, the US and the UK, including The Palmerston in Edinburgh. 'Not enough research has been done so I don't have confidence in the system,' co-owner and chef Lloyd Morse tells me. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Meantime, climate change may be the industry's biggest threat. Scientists agree that ocean warming is making it easier for disease and parasites to take hold, with obvious consequences for densely packed salmon pens. 'The effect of climate on mortality of farmed salmon is one of the biggest elephants in the room,' says John Aitchison , an aquaculture spokesman at the CCN.
