Members of Holyrood’s Rural Affairs and Islands committee (RAIC) visited salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms on a fact-finding tour as part of the ongoing Holyrood salmon farming inquiry.
Six MSPs assembled at the salmon grower’s state-of-the-art Barcaldine freshwater hatchery near Oban, meeting people from across the business, as well as representatives from sector body Salmon Scotland and other salmon producers due to appear before the committee in the sector evidence session on 2 October.
The RAIC members – who included Convener Finlay Carson, Deputy Convener Beatrice Wishart, Emma Harper, Rhoda Grant, Emma Roddick and Arianne Burgess – were then taken out to Dunstaffnage marine farm to see a fish farm in action.
Scottish Sea Farms Head of Sustainability and Development Anne Anderson, who co-hosted today’s visit along with Head of Veterinary Services Ronnie Soutar, said the tour provided committee members with the opportunity to put their questions to those working within the sector.
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“The MSPs were able to talk to the people who are on the frontline of farming every day, observe the care and passion that goes into their work, and discover what salmon farming means to them and their families.
“No questions were off-limits and hopefully we were able to address some of the misconceptions about the sector and build on the politicians’ understanding of a way of life that brings immense benefits to rural communities.”
The RAIC is looking into the implementation of recommendations from a previous inquiry by its predecessor, the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (RECC), in 2018, and has so far heard from a range of interests, including NGOs, aquaculture scientists, regulators, and marine consenting and spatial planning experts.
Following the salmon sector’s appearance next week, the inquiry will hear from the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands, Mairi Gougeon, on 9 October.
Thereafter the committee will publish its findings.
Commenting on the visit, Scottish Sea Farms Head of Veterinary Services Ronnie Soutar said: “We welcomed the opportunity to let members see for themselves what reality looks like and, therefore, form their own opinions as opposed to the various opinions they may have heard.
“As is usual with the many visitors we get, we hope they’ve left with a better understanding and a much more positive impression of the sector.
“Our sincere hope is that the insights provided will, in turn, help the committee to help us through their findings.
“Many of the issues that we faced in 2018 we still face today, so we are hoping to see positive change from the inquiry, particularly regarding regulation.”
Before visiting Scottish Sea Farms, the parliamentary delegation toured the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) at the Scottish Marine Institute and, on Sunday, they attended a community engagement event in Oban.
Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland said: “Scottish salmon, grown in the most sustainable way, is a highly nutritious, low carbon food that more of us should be eating, an important contributor to Scotland’s economy and a vital part of the country’s coastal communities.
“We are grateful to MSPs from the rural affairs committee for visiting a salmon farming company and providing the opportunity to challenge some of the misconceptions and show the reality of salmon farming.
“We hope this visit will support the work of the committee and we look forward to appearing in front of the committee and answering their questions in a week’s time.”
