Scotland's Fishy Secrets BBC Scotland Investigates


Scotland's Fishy Secrets

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Fishing for salmon and sea trout on a remote Scottish river. An iconic

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sport, but it relies on the existence of an iconic animal,

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Atlantic salmon. I'm present pren - - Kenneth Macdonald, BBC Scotland's

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science correspondent, I'm investigating whether hid none this

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idyllic landscape there's an environmental disaster that might

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mean salmon and sea trout could be disappearing from our seas, rivers

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and lochs. The sea trout are just not there. What effect will it have

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on the fish It will become weaker and easier for a predator to catch.

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It would be wrong to say, well, we don't know, we don't really like

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this, but we think you should go Loch Maree a freshwater loch in

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Wester Ross. I'm lucky enough to be getting a guided tour with the

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laird here, John McKinsey. As the landowner he owns the fishing. Tell

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me how far back your familiary goes with this land and this loch?

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we started. In - I think it was 18th great grandfather was granted

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the lands of Gairloch by James IV. So we've been here quite a long

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time. This loch was once world- famous. It brought anglers to

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Scotland from across the globe. That's because it used to have the

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best sea trout ange ling in Scotland. That used to support many

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jobs here, but trout stocks have crashed. It's hard to believe when

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you look at how beautiful this place is, but John believes that

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beneath the surface there's been an environmental disaster. The sea

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trout are just not. There the fishermen don't want to come. Who

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wants to sit in boat for a week when you're not likely to catch a

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lot to put it mildly. When you look around at what it's become now, how

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does that make you feel? It's sad, frankly. It's a pale, pale

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imitation. It's barely an imitation actually. It's a memory. What's

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responsible for that crash? John believes there is an environmental

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disaster caused by tiny parasites called sea lice. They don't live

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here, they live in the sea six miles away. Sea trout and salmon

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are found in freshwater lochs like, Loch Maree. They use rivers to go

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to sea to feed before returning to spawn. It's in the sea that the

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route of -- root of any crisis can be found. John's are based on the

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work of Peter Cunningham a byologist who works for the fishery

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owners much he offered to take us out and show us what is wrong much

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he use as 50 meter long sweep net to catch a sea trout. If they are

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lice carrying lice he will know there is a problem here. So on only

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the second cast of this sweep net we have lovely looking sea trout.

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That is the good news. It has sea lice. Just how much how many, we

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will have to wait for a wee while we need to anaesthetise, process it

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and take a proper scientific look at. It You can see tiny little lice,

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these are attached by a filament to the skin of the fish. If they get

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too many it creates an infection that is why the dorsal fin becomes

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eroded. It's not as perfect a fin as it should be. That many lice,

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what affect will it have on the fish? Weaker and easier for a

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predator to catch. This is what all the fuss is bfplt it's a sea louse.

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This is a female she has a spring of eggs coming off her tail. They

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are remarkable little creature. They are not aliens, they are

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naturally occurring thesh are little crustacean. They attach

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themselves to passing sea trout and salmon. Now, when a sea louse

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attach it isself to a sea trout it's a feat likened to somebody

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being able to jump on to a jumbo jet and hang on while the jumbo jet

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is in flight. The other problem, is although she doesn't look like much,

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it's how many of her kind that are on that single fish that we netted.

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There were 91 sea lice. Each one of them suckers on, if you like, and

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chew it is way slowly into the fish. Peter says sea lice numbers have

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increased in the last 20 to 30 years hech says there is one key

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reason for that. Out in the sea here, there is a fish farm. He says

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that lice from the farmed fish are infecting the wild ones. It's all

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about numbers. Sri Lanka -- salmon farm will have 500,000 fish in it

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or more. Around here if you have healthy sea trout population in the

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loch you might have 10,000 or 20,000. It's an order of magnitude

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of two more farmed fish. If there is a natural relationship between

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parasite numbers and wild fish, as there always was, you have ten

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times as many hosts with the parasite, you can easily have ten

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times as many parasites. Which is all it is to upset the balance.

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That compromises the health of the wild fish. There are also problems

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for wild fish in areas where there are no farms like the East Coast.

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Peter accept that is there are other factors like global warming

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and lack of food making life difficult for salmon and sea trout.

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He is convinced lice from farms are contributing to their decline. At

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the end of the day, Peter changes out of his wetsuit and brings us

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here, to the River Ewe, the link between the sea lock and Loch Maree.

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He he thinks he can show us one last bit of evidence. If they are

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have lots of lice they will head for the river because freshwater

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kills the parasites. Lice levels are high enough to make them feel

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unkosm comfortable. Judging by the damage on the fins a few of them

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have decided it's Bert coming back into freshwater where the lice will

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come off rather than staying out in the sea. So, campaigners want farms

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near the rivers that are used by wild fish moved far out to sea. The

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fish farm Peter blames is here in the sea loch, a few miles from

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where he took his neting. It's run by Scotland's biggest producer,

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Marine Harvest, they believe there is no proof to link them to what's

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happened to wild fish stocks. We are heading out towards the fish

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farm here on isle ewe, we have ten blast plastic tens each 100 metres

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in succumb frens. How many are we talking about? 500 and 600,000. At

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the moment, we are going to look at a pen which will have 42,500 fish.

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They are around about 4.9 kilos, they are ready for harvesting.

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farm cost over �2 million to set up. It employees five full-time and

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five part-time staff much across Scotland this industry employs over

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1,000 people and generates �400 million for the economy. We weren't

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sure what to expect on the farm itself. Would we see fish with lice,

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would it be obvious if marine har rest were to blame? Steve showed us

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some fish, anaesthetise them and prove his fish were clean of lice.

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What we are looking for here are any signs of lice on the fish. And,

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there don't appear to be. That's good. Very good. They are beautiful

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looking fish. We saw no lice. Steve says that us a's because lice

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levels are monitored and a range of chemical treatments is used to

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remove them if worrying numbers are found. If you came to the farm and

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you sea saw a will the of lice on the fish that would be a different

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matter. They work with nearby farms and wild fish groups to reduce lice

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and share some information. Can an operation this big really claim

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it's having no impact on the wild r environment? We are farming in

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nature. So, we can't say that we're not having an impact. It's knowing

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how much of an impact we've got I think it would be wrong to say,

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well, we don't know, we don't really like this, but we think you

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should go out of the loch. We don't think that is a reason for moving.

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Campaigners say the industry may not be admitting the scale of the

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problem. That's because sea lice levels are monitored by the

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companies themselves and information about how many lice are

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found on each farm isn't published. To the wild fish lobby, that is

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like asking the fish farmers to be poachers and gamekeepers at the

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same time. I think, if there was an issue on a farm, and there have

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been issues in the past, there is no getting away from that, I think

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it is important that we do have external, auditors, inspectors to

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look at the farm. I'm sure they would want to do that in any case.

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It is important. The staff here keep a close eye on their fish. The

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government does check up on the farms. Are they doing enough? We

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have used the Freedom of Information system to find out

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about those inspections. In the last three years, inspectors almost

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always simply looked at paperwork, rather than doing their own lice

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counts. They only counted lice themselves on about one in 20

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visits. Campaigners say that is pretty much self-regulation. If

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campaigners are right and the industry could be hiding the scale

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of the problem, what is the worst that could happen? There is

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We have come to Norway. A country whose fish farming industry dwarves

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that of Scotland. We are told things here are very different from

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back home. In what way? That is what we have come to find out. The

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Norwegian salmon industry is the biggest in the world, six or seven

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times bigger than ours. Recently the impact on wild fish has become

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a major political issue. I arranged to meet the Norwegian Environment

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Minister. It's not just his casual attire that differs from what I've

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seen in Scotland. Thank you for having us. Is there any doubt in

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your mind, and the mind of the Norwegian government, there is a

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link between sea lice and fish farms and sea lice and the wild

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population? No. I mean, we do not consider this is a scientific issue,

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scientists believe there is a connection. They have to take

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political action on the basis of science. I cannot invent science,

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that would be very wrong. How would you characterise where the fish

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farming industry is in Norway at the moment? Moving step-by-step in

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the right direction. What I normally tell the sea farming

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industry is that they should take lessons from what other industries,

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like chemical industries or aluminium industries did in the

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1970s, stop denying that there is a problem and spend all their time

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solving the problem. I wanted to find out what had driven the

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minister to a view that was out of step with what the industry in

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Scotland had told me. That meant an early start the next day on the

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other side of Norway. We are in Hardangerfjord, which is the fjord

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holding the highest density of fish farms in the whole world. They are

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all closed down for fishing. That's because wild stocks have all but

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disappeared. We travel to Granton, a village that had once depended on

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fishing. We met a man whose life had been bound up with the river

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from childhood, whose way of life had been lost. The whole community

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started living by the start of the fishing season in the river. And,

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the early catch of like 4,000 kilos. In this short river. This is a

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river that's probably, I think, it's like three kilometers long.

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Great capacity. Great production of You have not fished this river in

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how long? In 15 years. Why? Sorry. I am not able to tell you how it

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was. You would have to experience it. You won't believe me if I tell

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you. It means there is a whole generation now, more than a

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generation... May be two. And they have grown up thinking that the

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river as it is now is normal. You constantly have to remind

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yourself that, despite the stunning scenery here, there is a widespread

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belief that what lies beneath is an environmental catastrophe.

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cannot show you industrial pollution or anything like that.

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This is a slow death beneath the surface. The scientists can prove

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that this is a disaster. Norwegian government has responded

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to these concerns. Now farmers have to report weekly lice figures and

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farms can be forced to slaughter their fish if levels are

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persistently high. Anyone can see statistics from any individual farm,

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in stark contrast to Scotland. The Norwegian government is even

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thinking of banning fishing in certain areas. That is at least in

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part because Norwegian trout like these ones face a new problem. In

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2009 there was an outbreak of lice which scientists believe was caused

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by them becoming resistant to the chemicals used to kill them. The

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implications are huge. Potentially it could mean that farmers could

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not do anything to control infestation of their fish and wild

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ones nearby. Back in Scotland, the key question was: His resistance

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happening here? By one of our great salmon rivers, the Tate, I arranged

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to meet a man who speaks for the industry here. We are regulated by

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the Environmental Protection agency, SEPA. They keep a close eye on what

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is going on in the industry, as did the Fish Health Inspectorate. The

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reports are open to all to see. They are regularly reported on and

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are regularly inspected. industry body says there is no

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significant problem. On our travels around Scotland, rumours of Purse -

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- resistance persisted. We wanted to find out how big a problem it

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was so we submitted a detailed Freedom of Information request of

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our own. Some of the answers were very interesting indeed. When we

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asked a Government, we found notes of private discussions between

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Government officials and drug In another document relating to the

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Veterinary Medicines Directorate, That sounds like the Government

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knows it is not being told everything. Guy Linley-Adams is a

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lawyer. He has been hired by campaigners. He has discovered no

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single body here is recording all the instances where resistance is

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happening. If we're getting resistance sea lice we need to know

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where the populations of those are. If it does spread, you will get

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multiple resistance in sea lice and you could have this awful scenario

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with farms having huge burdens of sea lice.

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And it could have even more worrying effect. I have a

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Government report that we have obtained that says that regulators

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are explaining the UN -- investigating the unexplained death

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of 6,000 fish on a farm at Hoganess in Shetland. We contacted us

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sources identity we cannot reveal who has direct knowledge of

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Hoganess and the industry more widely. He told us that resistance

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to medicines is a real problem and some farmers have been turning to

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illegal pesticides. We have been passed any male which it is claimed

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was written by a concerned member of staff and which was sent to

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management early in September of Staff are clearly worried and we

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know that chemicals banned from using the marine environment were

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seized from a boat at a farm. The company told us it took the

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allegations, including the e-mail, seriously and were investigating.

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Due to a confusion about which part of the law covers this area, the

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company will not face any consequences. The minister in

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charge, who is working on a new bill on aquaculture, agree to meet

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me. His resistance an issue that you recognise as being a problem in

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Scotland? At the moment, there is not evidence of resistance to the

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various treatments that there are. Some other countries have found

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that there is resistance if you continuously used the same

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treatment. Do you not think we are in roughly the same position as

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with sea lice in a hall, namely that the Scottish Government does

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not know how big the problem of resistance is because, as it says

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here, some fish farms are holding back from telling you? I think we

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have a pretty clear idea of where these problems have historically

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been. In any event, if there is a difficulty that is affecting one

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fish farm, I think there is a certain pressure in the industry

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for bat farm to deal with it because, of course, if one part of

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the industry is showing poor performance, that affects the

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marketability of all products. you know what is going on with fish

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farms, how come we the public cannot find out about it? We cannot

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find out what is happening farm by farm. If we were in or we could

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find it on the wet. That is a good point. I have discussed it with

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Norwegian ministers and Norwegian fish farming interests. We have

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pose the question of whether there is adverse effect through public

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disclosure of information. We should be looking at that in

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Scotland and it will be part of what we expect to consult on in the

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aquaculture bill. There is nothing to fear from disclosure of

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information that we believe tells a good story about our industry.

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are also looking at marine protected areas. To what extent

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might that extent, perhaps adding areas where there is no fish-

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farming? We will consult on that. Could we see a position, as in

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Norway, where fish farming is not allowed to protect wild fish

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stocks? Everything is open for discussion. We have to have the

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consultation and you have to understand what the effects of

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different options would be. That was quite surprising. There

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was a quick look -- a commitment to greater transparency so that we,

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the public, can find out more about what is going on in fish farms. And

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there was agreement on the idea of having areas where fish farming is

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banned completely. It looks like we are not the only people who have

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learned from what is going on in Norway.

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Some people have taken matters into their own hands. I have come to the

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Isle of Lewis to meet Peter Urpeth. A fish farm was proposed here at

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Broad Bay but locals object to because they were worried about the

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impact on the wild fish coming up this river, the Gress. You went

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into this campaign to try to stop this fish farm being developed.

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Did you expect to win? No. There is a presumption in favour that these

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things are good. They are fishing in the river is

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owned by local people and, in a first, the council he rejected the

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application, at least in part because of advice from government

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agencies that a farm would not have an impact on wild fish. The local

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authority here scrutinised that and looked at the new evidence we

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presented and came to the conclusion, which I think what --

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which I think was unique, that the link is there, is proven and

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undeniable. I think that has huge implications for the future of fish

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farming and planning for Scotland. When you look out here, this cannot

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be undone if it is damaged. Once it is gone it is gone. So there will

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be no fish farm here in Broad Bay. While the refusal of planning

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permission is remarkable enough, what is even more remarkable is the

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way the campaigners think they won. They won by winning the scientific

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argument. The firm that wanted to build a farm was the Scottish

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Salmon Company. You are not concerned that it might set a

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precedent? Not at all. Were you surprised by what the Government

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scientists had to say about the proposed development? I don't

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really know what the Government scientist said about the proposed

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development. What I do know and what we're doing is for kissing in

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on salmon farming within their Hebrides. We created 75 jobs when

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we opened a process facility last year. It was a �4 million

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investment. We have and use site at so -- at Loch Eport.

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Consumers may be facing a battle on a new front. Guy Linley-Adams has

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his eye on what retailers are doing. He knew that some supermarkets were

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selling salmon that was described as responsibly sourced. That took

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in concerns about siting farms butt we have been out shopping but this

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is not a scientific sample. There are some supermarket chains that do

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not make any kind of claims about their salmon at all. Let's have a

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look at these three bagfuls and see what we have got. Right, Tesco

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responsibly farmed. That sounds good. They are warm words. It gives

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the impression that they have done something right. No-one would claim

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to irresponsibly Falla anything, would they? Sainsbury's tells you

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the loch that it comes from. Loch Linnhe has problems because of its

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salmon farms. It is a long, narrow loch. Salmon reared to the highest

0:25:450:25:47

welfare standards with care to the environment. That doesn't really

0:25:470:25:53

tell you what they're doing. We sent a member of our production

0:25:530:25:57

team to talk to fishmongers in the supermarkets to see if they could

0:25:570:26:02

shed any more light on the matter. The first was Sainsbury's. They are

0:26:020:26:06

by far the most helpful. The woman came out from behind the counter

0:26:060:26:10

and showed me through the various packaged fish and explain the

0:26:100:26:16

labelling. At the end she said, I cannot give you categorically

0:26:160:26:26
0:26:260:26:27

assure you that our fish comes from farms. -- from farms that meet

0:26:270:26:33

certain standards. Waitrose assured me that the only source the very

0:26:330:26:38

best. I asked if I could be certain that there fish was not interfering

0:26:380:26:45

with wild stocks. He said yes. At Tesco, no-one was behind the

0:26:450:26:50

counter and I had to wait for five minutes. Someone from another

0:26:500:26:54

counter came to speak to me and asked me to come back in 20 minutes.

0:26:540:27:00

I came back and waited around again but there was no sign of anyone.

0:27:000:27:04

Having visited these stores, are you any less confused than you

0:27:040:27:13

work? No. It is a fairly mixed message. The women at Sainsbury's

0:27:130:27:17

seemed to me, as a consumer, the one he knew most.

0:27:170:27:21

Tesco said it complied with the law when choosing farm sites and that

0:27:210:27:26

it has created a code of good practice on earth farming,

0:27:260:27:35

including measures on lice. Sainsbury's said: We recognise that

0:27:350:27:39

there could be lice impact on while fish but our actions and work with

0:27:390:27:44

suppliers aim to keep impact to a minimum. Our producers have

0:27:440:27:49

structured lice treatment plans and we have jointly funded controls

0:27:490:27:53

tournament -- to minimise further impact.

0:27:530:27:57

Waitrose said it did insist that farms are not sighted at the mouths

0:27:570:28:01

of rivers used by wild fish but admitted that claim on its website

0:28:010:28:04

that farms were far from many natural salmon rivers was not

0:28:050:28:09

strictly accurate. They also said they would contact the branch we

0:28:090:28:14

visited to clarify the firm's position with staff. Science cannot

0:28:140:28:18

yet answer the question of whether fish-farming is causing an

0:28:180:28:23

environmental disaster. The results are not all-in. Such results as we

0:28:230:28:29

have a very hotly-contested. Serious questions have been raised.

0:28:290:28:33

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