Mowi explores new method to reduce impact on wild salmon in newly-approved fish farm

Norwegian fish farm giant Mowi has been given the go-ahead for Tabhaigh East fish farm on Loch Erisort, to the east of the Isle of Lewis.

The development, with a maximum capacity of 2,075 tonnes of fish, was approved by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

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Mowi, which employs some 150 people across the Hebrides, said the new development will see the fish moved further out to sea with the aim of reducing potential crossover with young wild salmon. The plan, developed with local stakeholders, also includes the closure of farming permissions for its North Shore West site, which is located in the inner part of the loch.

Mowi said the move is part of a wider plan to reduce its environmental footprint.

Environmental campaigners, however, said that the move will not solve the pollution problem.

A spokesperson for Mowi said: “The more open sea location and the improved dispersive characteristics of the new farming environment provides a more suitable location for the rearing of healthy farm reared salmon and will result in a net reduction in our environmental footprint.

“A key aim of the plan and relocation of biomass from within Loch Erisort to the mouth of the loch was to reduce potential interactions with wild salmonids transiting through the Erisort complex from the River Laxay system.”

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The salmon farming sector has faced increased and intense scrutiny over environmental impact, particularly on the endangered Atlantic salmon. As with other forms of intensive agriculture, the waste can pollute water sources and impact sea and river wildlife. Farmed fish escapees are also a major concern as they can interbreed with wild fish populations and weaken genetics. They also pose ecological threats through competition, predation and disease transmission.

Campaign group WildFish said it was deeply disappointed that councillors and Sepa had consented to the new fish farm.

The organisation’s Scotland director Nick Underdown said: “Mowi’s claim that the relocation will ‘reduce potential interactions with wild salmonids’ is a rare admission that the salmon farming industry is negatively impacting Scotland’s declining wild salmon population.

“Moving this farm further out of the sea loch does not make its pollution disappear. These cages full of salmon will be sited in a less sheltered environment dispersing waste and chemicals over a wider area, as well as risking increased exposure to storm damage that can lead to escapes of farmed salmon into the wild.

“This industry should not be expanding while sea lice parasites, mass escapes, and habitat damage remain poorly monitored and woefully underregulated. Faced with a tidal wave of proposed salmon farm developments, the Scottish Government should look to countries like Canada, which is removing salmon farms from many of its coastal waters due to the risk they present to wild salmon.”

Last year, King Charles stripped Mowi of its Royal Warrant following undercover footage from its Isle of Skye site showing fish welfare abuses and public criticism over large-scale fish escapes into Scottish waters.

The new fish farm plans come as a number of leading chefs and restaurants in Edinburgh, have removed farmed salmon from their menus amid environmental and welfare concerns. These include The Witchery on the Royal Mile the Contini Restaurants group, which includes its renowned restaurant Contini George Street, Cannonball Restaurant & Bar and The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant at the National Gallery.