Lex Rigby, of WildFish, said: “Consumers of farmed salmon are being sold a mistruth – the idea that fish raised in an intensive and destructive production system, where 25 per cent of the fish die prematurely, are ‘responsibly produced’ and environmentally sustainable.”.
According to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, more than 40 million litres of hydrogen peroxide – used to treat sea lice and amoebic gill disease – were discharged by Scottish salmon farming companies between 2016 and 2021.
Loch Duart, whose salmon was served at a Downing Street lunch in 2023, reported using 41,250 litres of hydrogen peroxide in 2023, while Mowi used 1,303,069 litres, the report says.
The Scottish salmon industry produces around 200,000 tonnes of farmed salmon a year after huge expansion in the 1990s.
A farm in the Outer Hebrides run by Loch Duart, whose salmon has been served at royal events, reported a 76.8 per cent mortality rate in its production cycle ending in May 2023, according to the report.
