A new poll has revealed a "regional divide" in attitudes towards salmon farming, with people living in parts of Scotland where it takes place more concerned about the environmental impact of salmon farming than those who do not.
The poll showed differences between those who live in the Highlands and the rest of Scotland, with 41% in the Highlands and Islands, where most fish farms operate, saying that salmon farms are bad for the environment. Only 17% expressed this view in central Scotland.
Across the whole country, a quarter of Scots overall said salmon farms are bad for the environment.
The new polling was commissioned by conservation charity WildFish and carried out by Survation. Nick Underdown, director Scotland at WildFish, said: “This polling shows a clear regional divide. In the Highlands and Islands, where salmon farms are most visible and most concentrated, people are significantly more likely to recognise that this industry harms the environment."
2,005 people were polled. Those living in the Highlands and Islands were also more aware, with only 26% saying they did not know whether salmon farming was bad for the environment, compared with 43% in Central Scotland.
When those responding ‘don’t know’ were excluded from the polling results, the proportion of people in the Highlands and Islands region compared to Scotland as a whole said farms were bad for the environment at 55% and 38% respectively.
Only 11% of respondents in the Highlands and Islands, where concentration of salmon farms is high, said they believed salmon farming is good for the environment.
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Mr Underdown said: "Communities closest to where salmon farms actually operate appear to have the strongest views and that should give policymakers serious pause for thought. As scrutiny of salmon farming continues, the voices of coastal communities need to be taken seriously.
"People in areas without salmon farms understandably don’t see the pollution, the lorry-loads of diseased, dead fish on local roads and the escapes of farmed fish into their rivers, diluting the genetics of wild fish. These routine impacts that compromise the future of our wild salmon represent a national scandal and we entreat MSPs to pay attention to those who see this problem first hand.”
The findings come amid ongoing scrutiny of salmon farming regulation by the Scottish Parliament’s Rural Affairs and Islands Committee.
During a recent Holyrood committee session, Ben Hadfield, chief executive of Mowi, one of Scotland's biggest salmon farming companies, and industry representative for Salmon Scotland, told MSPs that "the majority of people on the west coast and in the Highlands and Islands want salmon farming because of all the economic benefits that it brings as an intrinsic part of the community".
He suggested opponents were “organised, well funded and vocal” but in the minority. "The majority of people," he said, "are absolutely clear that salmon farming is an economic powerhouse in remote rural areas. It’s a sustainable operation; it’s a highly desirable Scottish provenance product, and they want to invite it in."
However, this new polling suggests a more complex picture.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Salmon farming is a highly regulated industry and we expect all producers to be fully compliant with relevant regulation. The sector makes a significant contribution to our economy and communities, with Scottish salmon being the UK’s biggest food export.
“We are taking forward actions in our response to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee inquiry on salmon farming to build on the significant progress already made to ensure the sustainable development of the Scottish salmon sector.”
A spokesperson for Salmon Scotland said: "WildFish’s claims are highly misleading given the huge nine per cent margin of error and the tiny sample of just 166 people across the Highlands and Islands. That is roughly half the population of Plockton.
"It comes as no surprise that an anti-salmon farming group that wants to put 11,000 Scots out of work says this poll supports its campaign.
"Scottish salmon is a £1 billion success story for the economy, has one of the lowest carbon footprints of any farmed animal, and operates under strict environmental regulation."
A spokesperson for Survation said: “A statistical significance test conducted at the 95% confidence level showed that respondents in the Highlands and Islands were more likely to say salmon farming is bad for the environment than respondents elsewhere in Scotland. Additionally, the data were cleaned and weighted to be representative of the Scottish population, and the regional crossbreaks reported are standard for a survey of this size and methodology.”
