More than a million salmon die at supplier to UK supermarkets: A major salmon supplier to UK supermarkets has seen more than a million salmon die at one of its Scottish fish farms. Mowi Scotland, which supplies Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, runs two sites in the Outer Hebrides which are licenced as a single fish farm by the Scottish government. It was revealed through statistics released by the Scottish government this month that more than a million salmon had died in the eighteen-month cycle which it takes to raise a salmon to marketable size which began in spring 2023. Mass salmon die-offs in Scottish fish farms have long been an area of concern, and are used by environmentalists to claim that fish farms are both cruel and environmentally damaging. This was backed up by footage captured by the activist group Animal Rising at the fish farm which, the Guardian said, showed “sick fish with patches of raw, descaled flesh, scraped mouths and swollen or burst eyeballs.” However, Mowi said that the deaths were not an indication of poor welfare and were caused by rising sea temperatures which caused jellyfish blooms which led to the salmon dying. Read more on this story here.
Controversy as endangered UK eels exported to Russia: Millions of endangered silver eels will be exported from the Severn Estuary to Russia this year, a move environmentalists have described as “bonkers.” Silver eels are classed as Critically Endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature – the highest and most serious category the organisation uses – as numbers have declined by 95 per cent in the last forty years. This has been caused by barriers to migration, pollution and demand for eels from Asia where they are seen as a delicacy. In 2010 the EU banned the export of eels outside of the bloc, in an attempt to stop the decline of the species by effectively stopping eels from being exported to Asia. However, a loophole allows silver eels to be sent to non-EU countries if they are within the natural range of the species for restocking lakes and rivers, allowing eels to be exported to Russia. Five tons of baby silver eels in the elver stage of their lives are set to be exported to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. This amounts to around fifteen million individual eels. Andrew Kerr of the Sustainable Eel Group, an organisation which works across Europe to protect and conserve silver eels, called the export of eels to Russia “bonkers” as there was no way of knowing that they would be used to restock rivers and lakes and they were highly likely to be exported to Asia. Kerr told the Guardian: “Trafficking in eel is the biggest wildlife crime of a living creature on the planet … It is such a risk to send them to Kaliningrad, the most notorious corner of Europe where everything is traded – humans, drugs, guns and eels.” However, traditional eel fishermen said that the exporting of eels to Russia kept the fishery alive, and the eels were used to restock lagoons shared between Russia, Lithuania and Poland. A spokesperson for Defra told the Guardian that “robust rules” were in place to protect silver eels in the U and applications to export eels were “scrutinised” to ensure they were “legal and sustainable.” Read more here.
Illegal shellfish collecting taking place at popular Welsh beach: This month it was revealed that large-scale illegal shellfish gathering was taking place at Glen Beach in Saundersfoot, Pembrokeshire. Locals reported that driveways and roads were blocked by the number of vehicles which appeared at low tides, as people made their way onto the shellfish beds. While it is not illegal to collect shellfish for personal consumption, it becomes an offence if the shellfish are sold or used for commercial gain. It was also suspected that some licenced commercial fishermen may be taking more cockles and other shellfish than they were allowed. Click here to read more.
Crewmembers win modern slavey claim: A group of Ghanaian fishermen have been awarded £20,000 each in compensation after being recognised as victims of modern-day slavery by the UK government. They were rescued from the scallop dredger Olivia Jean owned by the Scottish company TN Trawlers. The BBC said that the men’s living conditions were “grossly unsanitary and cramped, and they were not able to access safe drinking water, adequate food or medical treatment” with the BBC going on to say that once the men were on board the vessel they were subjected to “modern slavery and forced labour.” The crew are now living in West Yorkshire, while TN Trawlers denies all allegations of slavery and criminality. Read more here.
Azores to create huge marine protected area: One of the largest marine protected areas in the world is set to be created in the waters of the Azores. The island nation – which is an autonomous region of Portugal – will designate around one-third of its waters as being protected, making the zone 287,000 square kilometres (178,000 square miles) in size. Bernardo Brito E. Abreu, the Advisor to the President of the Government of the Azores on Sea Affairs and Fisheries, said: “The Azores’ waters are a hotspot for marine life, hosting a third of the world’s whale and dolphin species, 600 species of fish, five species of sea turtles, and rare deep-sea corals and unique hydrothermal vent ecosystems … Protection will likely boost the Azores’ eco-tourism, which already draws 120,000 marine tourists annually.” It is believed that half of the Azores marine protected zone will be highly protected, while the other half will be fully protected, meaning that no form of activity which impacts the marine environment can take place in it. Read more here.
Abandoned fishing gear posing risk to wildlife: Representatives from the charity Clean Planet UK have warned that lost fishing gear is endangering marine life around the British Isles. Volunteers found two tonnes of abandoned gear during a clear-up between Hartlepool and Saltburn in north east England last year and warned that lost fishing nets, lines, rope and lobster pots all posed a threat to marine wildlife. Lost fishing nets are known as ghost nets as they continue to catch fish long after they have been abandoned, and lobster and crab pots will continue to trap crustaceans. Clean Planet UK’s David Smith told the BBC “Last year we recovered a record amount of lost fishing gear and recycled about two tonnes … it causes havoc to marine life … Doing nothing is not an option – we need to start acting now.” Read more on the BBC News website by clicking here.
EU set to demand continued access to British fishing grounds: The Telegraph reported this month that the EU will demand continued access to British fishing grounds. The post-Brexit agreement on fishing saw EU vessels access to British waters, but their catches were reduced by a quarter. This deal will expire in 2026, the same time in which a separate deal on UK access to EU gas and electricity markets also needs to be renegotiated. It is feared that the current Labour government may allow greater EU access to British fishing waters to gain a more favourable agreement on energy. EU fishermen caught 760,000 tons of fish from British waters each year between 2012 and 2016, while British fishermen caught 90,000 tons from EU waters annually during the same time period, making fishing a major issue in Brexit negotiations, despite its relatively minor contribution to the UK economy. Read more here.