A new report by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and the Atlantic Salmon Federation accuses the Scottish Executive of failing to protect wild salmon from environmental damage caused by salmon farms.
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The link between the increase in farmed salmon and the decline in the wild population is hotly disputed, although recent research suggests salmon farms have spread disease. The report says the decline in stocks of wild salmon is linked to sea lice from farmed salmon sites, and interbreeding between escaped fish and the wild population, reports BBC News.
The report argues that the Scottish authorities, and authorities in other countries, have neglected to honour international commitments to preserve wild salmon. It says measures like locating farms away from the mouths of rivers where migrating fish are most likely to be harmed have not been implemented.
