Just as this article headline reads, salmon farming is in Troubled waters: How high fish mortality and poor animal welfare threaten the profitability of aquaculture. Yet, is there a deeper story around the wellbeing of sentient animals suffering, the increased level of pollution and subsequent denaturing of Scottish waters and also the impact on human health also?

When visiting a local supermarket, Scottish salmon has been seen as the ‘fresh’ and ‘healthiest’ choice of salmon and Scotland is the third largest producer of farmed salmon. But, do we really know where these fish are reared and how they are caught?

As the natural patterns of these fish are restricted due to them being denied jumping (to help remove lice and parasites that burrow in their gills), chemicals are needed to remove the lice .In 2018, 22 tonnes of formaldehyde, used to treat the lice, was poured into 12 Scottish sea farms. In 2016, the government classified it as a carcinogen but its use is permitted in the caged salmon industry.

This carcinogenic chemical, amongst many other side effects of intensive farming practices, is damaging our natural resources, other wild fish in the area and also possibly entering the food chain and into our food.