tuesday march 19 2013 business insight - squarespace · tuesday march 19 2013 salmon scales ......

Business Insight

Tuesday March 19 2013

Salmon scales new heights

Scotland rides the wave of the growth of aquaculture

Beyond these shoresA premium product makes crucial inroads in distant marketplaces

Tuesday March 19 2013 | the times

Business Insight2

Welcome

The environmental performance of fish farming is prominent in media reporting of the industry in Scotland. From the industry’s point of view, any impacts are minute, local and temporary, and the

criticisms are both misinformed and ex-aggerated. The negative publicity is leav-ened by good news stories of the growing demand for the oil-rich fish.

But there is another environmental story which is not being told — the posi-tion of aquaculture in the global human food chain. This story is quite different:

fish farming is an increasingly vital part of the life-and-death struggle to keep famine at bay, and is also one of the most environmentally efficient of the food in-dustries.

Keeping the world’s people adequately fed is a growing challenge. The world’s population passed 6 billion in the late 1990s, hit the 7 billion mark a couple of years ago, is expected to surpass 7.5 bil-lion by 2020, and could reach 8 billion by 2030. That is an awful lot more mouths to feed in a world where between 10-15 per cent of the current population do not get enough food to eat.

Since time immemorial, people have fished for food. But marine fisheries, as we know from Scottish experience, are under pressure. This pressure, from increasingly sophisticated fishing techniques hoo-vering up fish stocks and reducing their ability to reproduce, is a global problem. According to the UN’s Food and Agricul-tural Organisation (FAO), since 2006 the contribution of the world’s fisheries to the human food supply chain has been static at about 90 million tonnes.

The growth of aquaculture, however, has enabled the world consumption of fish to grow. From negligible production in 1960, fish farming has grown to 64 mil-lion tonnes in 2011, an output which is still growing at about 6 per cent a year

Marine fisheries are under pressure but Scottish-reared salmon is helping to provide an environmentally efficient food source

The potential to build on existing successWelcome to the March issue of Business Insight, which focuses on the thriving aquaculture sector. Peter Jones highlights the fact that while wild fish stocks are under threat, farmed salmon is becoming increasingly important in fulfilling the need for protein in a hungry world, while Paul Wheelhouse MSP discusses the legisla-tive framework that will support progress – and ensure sustainability.

We also examine the growing value of exporting

to countries such as the US and China and the lessons that can be learned from the success there of the Scotch whisky industry. Scotland’s salmon farmers bring an annual £500 million to the economy and many of them are based in the Highlands and Islands where the industry is crucial to rural communi-ties. As our Forum discus-sion emphasises, local and national governments must make a leap of faith if this vital sector is to realise its true potential.

Welcome

Peter Jonesat large

Tale of a growing solution to hunger

Scotland’s Salmon industry leads the way in animal welfare and is working closely with the RSPCA’s Freedom Food programme – the only independently

audited, dedicated salmon welfare scheme in the world.

It is just over ten years since the RSPCA published the world’s first welfare standards for Atlantic farmed salmon and Freedom Food, the RSP-CA’s farm animal assurance and food labelling scheme, started to work with the Scottish aquaculture industry. In that time, Freedom Food has gone from a standing start to covering around 70% of all Scottish farmed Atlantic salmon production.

It is a remarkable achievement, given that the UK has been in reces-sion for the last three years. Indeed, it would seem logical, with the resultant squeeze on household budgets, that ethical food would be a long way down consumer priority lists.

But whilst some ethical food labels, such as organic, are struggling, ac-cording to The Co-operative’s annual report, Ethical Consumerism (Decem-ber 2012), ethical food sales continue to grow, with a rise of 4.66% in 2011. Freedom Food labelled products are

one of the biggest winners – showing growth in 2010/11 of 17.32%.

Success storyThe RSPCA has welfare standards for all the main species of animals farmed for food – including chicken, duck, dairy, beef, sheep and egg production. But the Scottish Salmon farming in-dustry is Freedom Food’s biggest success story to date. Freedom Food labelled fresh and smoked salmon is now sold in many of the UK’s major grocery retail outlets – including Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative, Morrisons, Tesco, Booths and many independents.

Why such a success? Bob Waller, agricultural manager for Freedom Food, says: “Aquaculture is a relatively young industry and many Scottish salmon farmers were keen to avoid some of the worst pitfalls of terrestrial farming and ready to consider the benefits of farm-ing to higher welfare standards.

“It also became clear at an early stage, that there were tangible com-mercial benefits to be had from adopt-ing the welfare standards – improve-ments in fish health and bio-security, a reduction in mortality and an increase in operational efficiency. Addition-ally, our requirement that the salmon are handled appropriately throughout

every stage – hatchery, fresh and sea-water phases, transport and slaughter - has been shown to result in significant improvements in flesh quality and shelf life.

“All the signs are that the welfare of animals is now considered by many consumers to be a ‘quality attribute.’ Add this to the inbuilt competitive advantage that ‘farmed in Scotland’ brings and you have a potentially

unbeatable offering from the Scottish salmon industry and an opportunity for us to bring RSPCA welfare standards to millions more salmon”.

Scheme IntegrityAll Freedom Food approved salmon farming members receive an annual assessment from a specially trained assessor and are subject to moni-toring visits from an RSPCA Farm

Livestock Officer. Freedom Food itself is audited and accredited by the United Kingdom Accredita-tion Service, to European Quality Standard – EN45011. Robust product traceability processes are in place, to ensure that the any product bearing the Freedom Food label has come from an animal that has been reared, transported and slaughtered to RSPCA welfare standards.

Good welfare is good business

commercIal report: the rSpca’S Freedom Food

all Freedom Food approved salmon farming members receive an annual assessment from a specially trained assessor

Business Insightthe times | Tuesday March 19 2013 3

course there are also significant exports of premium value-added products too.

This strong salmon performance con-tributes to exports of seafood from Scot-land worth over £600 million a year and our delicious salmon products are enjoyed in around 60 countries around the world. More recently we have seen strong growth in demand for Scottish salmon from Chi-na which is now our fifth largest export market. We have also enjoyed very strong high value growth in key markets such as Japan, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates.

It has been my pleasure to meet many of those who work in the industry since my appointment last year. They are gen-uinely optimistic about the future and I share that optimism. They also recognise that the industry has wider environmen-tal responsibilities and are proud to sign-post the good work undertaken to date to reinforce their ‘green’ credentials — a responsibility I also take very seriously.

That is why I have refocused the Min-isterial Group on Aquaculture (MGA) to work alongside our current Bill. It is important that all with an interest in our marine environment act as good neigh-bours and in so doing to enable the indus-try to achieve 2020 sustainable growth targets, as set out in the draft National Marine Plan. This is to grow marine fin-fish production 32 per cent and shellfish (especially mussels) 80 per cent sustain-ably by 2020 from a 2011 baseline and to do so in a way that is consistent with our sustainability objectives

Our producers and exporters have to fight hard for every pound and we must continue to focus on quality and reputation, just as much as ensuring that growth is sustainable going forward. I remain confident that we are ready to face those challenges to ensure Scotland remains the world leader in premium farmed salmon. Paul Wheelhouse MSP is Minister for Environment and Climate Change

Aquaculture in Scotland is still a relatively young industry but one that has aspirations to grow sustainably during the current decade and beyond.

For that growth to be achieved an ap-propriate regulatory framework needs to be in place that is fit for purpose for all those who benefit from Scotland’s rich marine environment — an environment that is crucial to the perceived quality of our produce.

This discussion is clearly well timed as we are into Stage 2 of the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Bill. Consider-able Parliamentary attention has been placed on Scotland’s aquaculture sector and this will continue as we discuss the Bill which aims to ensure that farmed and wild fisheries — and their interac-tions with each other — continue to be managed effectively with due regard to the wider marine environment.

As such it will enhance Scottish farmed salmon’s international reputation for quality which is envied worldwide and is now our top food export. That solid reputation has been built on a number of factors — high standards within the industry, a committed workforce, local engagement, confidence in a strong regu-latory regime in Scotland, and the quality of Scotland’s marine environment.

The industry itself employs around 1800 people directly in aquaculture pro-duction and almost 3,000 in salmon processing. The impact on local commu-nities, especially those in the more rural Scottish communities is significant. For example, earlier this year Marine Har-vest announced a new apprentice scheme designed to teach those new to the in-dustry skills including boat handling, fish health, feed management and finance.

Aquaculture is an industry which sup-ports local communities and encourages local investment. Those who work at the farms and in the shops have a vested inter-est in securing its long term success. That is why they are so passionate about ensuring that legislation, whenever it is being devel-oped, supports rather than hinders progress.

Exports of fresh Scottish salmon from the UK have more than doubled in real terms over the last five years and were worth over £275 million last year. And of

A framework fit to support crucial marine industry

Paul Wheelhouse

But on the micro Scottish scale, the contentions from activists and campaign-ers that fish farming effects the sea bed under marine cages and impacts on pass-ing wild salmon, claims fiercely chal-lenged by the industry, continue. The re-sult can be great planning battles when a new fish farm is proposed. This is also the experience of wind energy. Developers need to overcome resistance to landscape intrusion, but they have the counter-bal-ancing big story to tell of wind energy’s contribution to reducing global warming.

On the global trends set out above, fish farming needs to expand for it clearly is part of the solution to the problem of feeding the world.

The salmon and other seafood prod-ucts reared in Scotland may not go directly to the world’s starving, but they nevertheless add to the world supply of food which is, obviously, the first step to-wards meeting the demand for it.

Time perhaps, for some of the global marketing expertise that has made Scot-tish farmed salmon a big success story to be turned to telling the story of fish farm-ing to a domestic audience.

The FAO reckons that fish provide some 3 billion people with almost 20 per cent of their animal protein

(see chart). It has enabled human con-sumption of fish to grow at 3.2 per cent a year in the last five decades, outpacing the annual growth in the world’s popula-tion of about 1.7 per cent. Fish farming is therefore making a major contribution to combating world famine.

The FAO reckons that fish provide about 3 billion people with almost 20 per cent of their intake of animal protein, and 4.3 billion people with about 15 per cent of such protein.

Given the pressures on farm land, environmental worries about the meth-ane, which is more active in atmospheric warming than carbon dioxide, which cat-tle emit, then the future for protein-based food looks distinctly fish-shaped.

It looks even more so when you con-sider, according to research at the Nor-wegian University of Life Sciences, that fish farming is a remarkably efficient con-verter of feedstock into food. Using the amount of animal feed to produce 1 kg of human food as a yardstick, farmed salm-on is six-and-a-half times more efficient than beef farming. It is more than twice as efficient as pig farming, and slightly less than twice as efficient as poultry pro-duction.

The reason is simple physiology — fish are cold-blooded and therefore do not need to use what they eat to heat their bodies. Because they live in water, they do not need the same heavy bone struc-ture to support their bodies, so more of their weight is edible than is the case with cattle, pigs, and poultry. Marine fish farming also uses far less fresh water, another resource under pressure, to pro-duce food than either livestock or arable farming and the total seabed area used for the whole of the Scottish sector — some 450 farm sites — is the equivalent to one good-sized livestock farm.

On the macro global scale, therefore, fish farming can lay claim to being one of the most environmentally sustainable means of food production that there is.

50

100

150

1990 2000 20051995 2011

Production from marine andinland aquaculture (million tonnes)

Catches from marine and inland fisheries (million tonnes)

Source: UN FAO

Tale of a growing solution to hunger

Aquaculture supports local communities and encourages vital investment

Scotland’s Salmon industry leads the way in animal welfare and is working closely with the RSPCA’s Freedom Food programme – the only independently

audited, dedicated salmon welfare scheme in the world.

It is just over ten years since the RSPCA published the world’s first welfare standards for Atlantic farmed salmon and Freedom Food, the RSP-CA’s farm animal assurance and food labelling scheme, started to work with the Scottish aquaculture industry. In that time, Freedom Food has gone from a standing start to covering around 70% of all Scottish farmed Atlantic salmon production.

It is a remarkable achievement, given that the UK has been in reces-sion for the last three years. Indeed, it would seem logical, with the resultant squeeze on household budgets, that ethical food would be a long way down consumer priority lists.

But whilst some ethical food labels, such as organic, are struggling, ac-cording to The Co-operative’s annual report, Ethical Consumerism (Decem-ber 2012), ethical food sales continue to grow, with a rise of 4.66% in 2011. Freedom Food labelled products are

one of the biggest winners – showing growth in 2010/11 of 17.32%.

Success storyThe RSPCA has welfare standards for all the main species of animals farmed for food – including chicken, duck, dairy, beef, sheep and egg production. But the Scottish Salmon farming in-dustry is Freedom Food’s biggest success story to date. Freedom Food labelled fresh and smoked salmon is now sold in many of the UK’s major grocery retail outlets – including Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative, Morrisons, Tesco, Booths and many independents.

Why such a success? Bob Waller, agricultural manager for Freedom Food, says: “Aquaculture is a relatively young industry and many Scottish salmon farmers were keen to avoid some of the worst pitfalls of terrestrial farming and ready to consider the benefits of farm-ing to higher welfare standards.

“It also became clear at an early stage, that there were tangible com-mercial benefits to be had from adopt-ing the welfare standards – improve-ments in fish health and bio-security, a reduction in mortality and an increase in operational efficiency. Addition-ally, our requirement that the salmon are handled appropriately throughout

every stage – hatchery, fresh and sea-water phases, transport and slaughter - has been shown to result in significant improvements in flesh quality and shelf life.

“All the signs are that the welfare of animals is now considered by many consumers to be a ‘quality attribute.’ Add this to the inbuilt competitive advantage that ‘farmed in Scotland’ brings and you have a potentially

unbeatable offering from the Scottish salmon industry and an opportunity for us to bring RSPCA welfare standards to millions more salmon”.

Scheme IntegrityAll Freedom Food approved salmon farming members receive an annual assessment from a specially trained assessor and are subject to moni-toring visits from an RSPCA Farm

Livestock Officer. Freedom Food itself is audited and accredited by the United Kingdom Accredita-tion Service, to European Quality Standard – EN45011. Robust product traceability processes are in place, to ensure that the any product bearing the Freedom Food label has come from an animal that has been reared, transported and slaughtered to RSPCA welfare standards.

Good welfare is good business

commercIal report: the rSpca’S Freedom Food

all Freedom Food approved salmon farming members receive an annual assessment from a specially trained assessor


Business Insight4

Business Forum

Time for a leap of faith in aquaculture

One million fresh salmon meals are eaten in the UK every day whilst salmon is the larg-est food export from Scotland. Salmon farming is therefore a vital contributor to the

Scottish economy, yet with support from our local and national governments the sec-tor can realise its full potential.

What are the opportunities for Scotland’s salmon farming sector?Scott Landsburgh pointed out that there is huge potential in world markets, with research revealing that the sector must grow by a minimum of 8 per cent per annum just to be able to feed demand. Recognising this, Scottish Development International and the Scottish Govern-ment have supported a planning reform for aquaculture agenda to enable it to grow sustainably. There is an aspiration to grow the sector to 210,000 tonnes by 2020, from 158,000 tonnes in 2011.

Whilst announcing that his company has plans to grow, Robert Wilson said that he found the process of gaining planning approval to be long, difficult and time consuming. He suggested that the Scottish industry has been able to build a niche for itself at the premium end of the market.

“With the introduction of new stand-ards, breeding foods and the Label Rouge quality mark, we are growing value as well as growing volume,” he said.

Where are the big markets?William Gray noted that, in addition to mature markets such as France and the US, emerging markets include the Middle East, Russia and the Far East. “There is a huge growing demand for high-end sea-food products in places like Japan, where Scottish salmon is seen as the natural re-placement for tuna in sushi,” he said.

Landsburgh noted that Scotland has

according to different territories.“Japan is very environmentally con-

scious, particularly after Fukushima, so it’s all about the quality of the water and a pristine environment — Scotland does well there. In China there is an obsession with food safety, so all that assurances and quality controls mean the world to them whilst in Dubai the demand is for a premi-um product that will go to the top hotels.

“Scottish salmon is now able to tick so many of those boxes for different mar-kets that it is allowing us to create a step change in the export business.”

Has the economic downturn been an inhibiting factor or has the sector bucked the trend?Rory Conn suggested that, as high qual-ity food producers, salmon farmers have a unique position as they are producing a product that not only tastes good, but is good for people and demand outstrips supply.

“If you look at growing global popu-lations and you look at the efficiency of salmon as a food converter and a pro-ducer of protein, then look at the C02 footprint of salmon versus other proteins, there are so many macro factors that support the development of the industry, combined with domestic and export mar-

kets wanting more of our product, that is why we’ve been able to avoid some of the challenges that have affected other industries,” he said.

How do you maintain the uniqueness of Scottish salmon?Steve Bracken emphasised that Scot-tish salmon is the holder of a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) awarded by the European Commission to pro-mote the designation of a quality food or farmed product linked to a region, location or country. “We recently had Chinese visitors who put great value in PGI because they saw it as proving that Scottish salmon is safe and traceable, and in a country where there are regular food scares, PGI is without doubt a great boon for the industry,” he said.

“A Norwegian once said to us that Norway was seen as the economic home of salmon farming, whereas Scotland was seen as its spiritual home.”

Withers said that there are three main factors underpinning a food and drink brand: premiumisation; provenance and the health market and that salmon is a product which meets all three.

“Japan has one of the oldest popula-tions on earth; they invest hugely in the over 65 and health market, whilst in China, with its one child policy, there is no limit on what parents will spend on healthy food for their children, aligned with an incredible rise in the middle class,” he said.

“There’s this perfect storm of those factors coming together that I haven’t seen at any point in my generation which makes Scottish salmon farming a sector that is better placed than at any time in its history to create a step change.”

What are the issues that are inhibiting that growth?Karen Hamilton suggested that the importance of having a supportive and

The latest Times Scotland Business Forum met to discuss the issues confronting Scotland’s booming salmon farming sector, reports Graham Lironi

The panel considers the unique qualities of Scottish salmon

developed a global reputation for the quality, provenance and reputation of its offering on the back of the Scotch whis-ky industry and suggested that Scottish salmon could emulate that.

Gray agreed, observing that the actual volume of whisky exports has not risen significantly, but the success over recent years has centred around the premiumi-sation of Scotch whisky, suggesting that there were parallels with Scottish salmon.

“We’ll never be a huge commod-ity player; we’re really at that niche, premium end, and that’s where we’ve got an opportunity because there’s a hugely growing demand for that type of prod-uct,” he said.

Nick Joy noted that whilst Scottish salmon competed very effectively on the plate with other types of protein, the prob-lem is that, whilst it is immensely popular abroad, at home there are a number of is-sues in the way of growing the sector.

“We have to think about what the in-dustry is for,” he said. “It’s not just a profit-

generating industry; it’s also key in em-ploying people in areas where there are no other alternatives — and that should underpin everything else.”

How do you make the distinction between Scottish salmon and other competing products? How successful are we at that?Joy commented that the sector is enor-mously successful globally and suggested that the importance of Scottish salmon achieving the Label Rouge mark of qual-ity cannot be overstated.

“To qualify for Label Rouge you have to be able to demonstrate a difference in taste and the quality of the product that the customer eats, so it is hugely important,” he said. “We are also the only salmon farming industry in the world that has a dedicated welfare standard such as the RSPCA’s Freedom Food.” James Withers suggested that the last decade has seen a sea-change in the way Scottish salmon has been marketed and perceived internationally, noting that the important points of difference vary

Around the tableThe Business Forum was chaired by Magnus Linklater CBE, columnist for The Times Scotland, who was joined by:�� James Withers, CEO, Scotland Food & Drink�� William Gray, Head of food and drink, Scottish Development International�� Scott Landsburgh, CEO, Scottish Salmon Producers’ Association�� Rory Conn, UK sales and commercial manager, Scottish Sea Farms�� Nick Joy, Managing Director, Loch Duart�� Robert Wilson, Financial Director, Scottish Salmon Company�� John Avizienius, deputy head of farm animals, RSPCA, �� Steve Bracken, Business Support Manager, Marine Harvest�� Karen Hamilton, partner, Brodies LLP


Rory Conn pointed out that demand for salmon outstrips supply

Back row: left to right: Rory Conn, William Gray, Robert Wilson, Nick Joy, John Avizienius, Steve Bracken, James Withers.Front row, left to right: Karen Hamilton, Magnus Linklater CBE, Scott Landsburgh

stable policy framework which clearly gives a message that the Government is supporting growth in the industry cannot be emphasised strongly enough.

“It’s very important for the industry to work with the government at a national and local level to make sure that the plan-ning system is working efficiently and ef-fectively to facilitate planning consents coming through the system,” she said. “It’s important that the planning system is deemed as an enabler rather than a sys-tem that’s putting obstacles in place.”

Are local authorities becoming more hostile to these planning applications?Hamilton said that there is sometimes a mismatch between the approach taken at the level of national government filtering down to decisions at the local level and that a major problem for developers is in-consistency of decision-making.

Landsburgh expressed frustration that various prejudices and preconceived po-sitions from detractors gained traction online and in the media globally. I think local authorities should re-think how the information received from objectors is handled to recognise the global co-ordination and standardisation of anti-farming messages.

Emphasising the importance that local authorities represent the views of their local communities and that it was incumbent on the industry to get in-volved in the pre-application process to demonstrate the benefits of farming, he urged greater scrutiny of the objectors’ perceived issues.

Has the introduction of Freedom Foods standards and considerations about the welfare of the fish affected the industry?John Avizienius noted that the RSPCA’s standards have been in place for the salmon farming sector for over 10 years and that, in his experience, the engage-ment of the Scottish salmon industry has

been the exemplar of any sector species.“If these standards had just been

aspirational, I don’t think they would be as successful as they are,” he said. “We have the world’s largest animal welfare or-ganisation working with the industry and willing to put its name to Scottish farmed salmon — and we’re very happy to do that, because over this time we have seen tan-gible welfare improvements with the fish.”

Wilson said that this has helped regi-ment best practice. “It has given us stand-ards to grow fish efficiently — and the fish are healthier and growing better, therefore, ultimately, there is an econom-ic benefit, so it improves our efficiencies at farm level. That’s where we see the benefit and that’s why we’re all so keen to improve the welfare of our fish.”

Do environmental considerations loom large in planning applications?Hamilton said that all applications have to go through an environmental impact assessment process, that this represents a big investment of time and money involv-ing various experts across a range of is-sues and that the local authority will have to be satisfied that it has sufficient infor-mation across all of those areas to enable it to determine a planning application.

“Whereas the environmental impact assessment is very much evidence-led, based on science, what we sometimes find when objections raise perceived issues or concerns, is that these may be taken at face value by the local authority without the same level of scrutiny that should be being applied to the information which the applicants themselves are producing, and that can be a problem,” she said.

Avizienius noted that there seems to be a vocal minority that is desperately wor-ried about what’s going to happen to the environment as a result of the expansion of the Scottish salmon farming industry but that there is no evidence to show that such protests are valid.

Joy suggested that, as salmon farming is competing alongside traditional industries, it is perhaps to be expected that some peo-ple will perceive it as a threat, though he does not accept that the threat is real.

Conn suggested that it was worth re-membering that every day there are a million consumers eating fresh salmon in the UK and that retailers too were content to stock Scottish salmon, con-fident in the working practices of the sector.

Withers noted that salmon farming is a sector which is delivering a whole range of public benefits and the irony is that many of the groups in opposition to plan-ning consent for new farms are also those that claim to be most concerned about rural communities, of which the salmon farming industry is a huge underpinning force in some of our most fragile and pe-ripheral communities.

It is ironic, too, that these same groups express concern about an increasingly food insecure world, for which aquacul-

ture has to be one of the best solutions.Avizienius observed that, according to

SEPA reports, the vast majority of fish farms are well run and expressed dismay that if a problem is identified at a fish farm, then there are often calls for it to be scrapped, which seems to be a rather illogical approach. “It is far better to work with farmers to improve animal welfare if problems arise,” he said.

“We consistently have around 25 per cent of the national dairy herd lame at any one time: year on year, that’s 500,000 animals, yet nobody’s calling for scrap-ping the dairy industry!” he said.

Do producers enjoy good relations with the government?Bracken said that that government’s at-titude towards the sector had completely changed over the course of the last dec-ade and it is now very supportive.

Landsburgh acknowledged the support of the Scottish government “The sector has enjoyed cross-party national and regional political support for a number of years now and the current government is support-ive of the industry’s strategic plan to grow sustainably. I believe this is because the research and development that has been undertaken by government, industry and academia to address the major challenges supports the development of the sector.

Joy suggested that the difficulty that all rural industries face is that there are very few politicians who understand how the countryside works.

“It’s very important that we start to

look at how traditional fishing and farm-ing sectors can co-exist with modern agriculture and aquaculture,” he said. “It’s important to link the two because ulti-mately this is about food production.”

Withers said devolution was the best thing that has happened to Scottish agriculture because there is a greater understanding around the Scottish cham-ber over rural issues than there is in the Houses of Parliament.

What is the long-term outlook for the industry?Joy suggested that salmon represents the beginning of aquaculture in the west.

“Salmon has given us a species that’s relatively easy to rear and relatively easy to understand,” he said. “Salmon is teach-ing us how to farm the sea, and for those detractors who suggest that we should not be here, we have to answer a much more fundamental question: we all know the fish gap is coming; how are we going to fill that if we don’t learn how to farm the sea?”

Landsburgh referenced Dr. Brian Lee Crowley, a Canadian academic who notes that, in the next 50 years, the world will consume more food than the total food consumption in its entire history to date, and suggested that salmon farmers have to be part of the answer to that.

Bracken made the point that, by 2050, there will be nine billion people on the planet. “We’ve got a planet that is 70 per cent water; it makes sense that that’s where we go for our food production rath-er than do everything on land,” he said.

Enlightening the Constitutional Debate

The Royal Society of Edinburgh,in partnership with

the British Academy,is hosting a series of discussion

events to open up and enlightenthe public debate on Scotland’s

constitutional future

Further information about the seriesis available at:

www.royalsoced.org.uk

MarchMayJuneAugustSeptemberOctoberNovember

This series of events being held in Scotland is:

Scotland and the EU Defence & International RelationsThe Real EconomyCulture & BroadcastingBorders, Immigration & CitizenshipScience & Higher EducationPublic Services & Welfare

The Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's National Academy, is Scottish Charity No. SC000470

The British Academy is a registered Charity. No. 233176

james glossop for the times


Business Insight6

COMMERCIAL REPORT: SCOTTISH SEA FARMS

Scottish Sea Farms is keen to put its money where its communities are, reports Rick Wilson

Many people might say that, with its piscatorial exports reaching no fewer than 19 countries, looking outward has

been the key to success for Scottish Sea Farms since its founding almost 40 years ago; but they would be wrongly dismissing the equal importance the company places on looking inward to the wellbeing and spirit of its working communities.

It operates within some of the most beautiful yet remote regions of Scotland and is often the major employer in those areas where most of its employees live after being born and brought up there.

“We want to give something back to the communities in which our employees live and work,” says manag-ing director Jim Gallagher, referring to a scheme that has quickly won much admiration by doing just that.

As the second largest salmon farmer in Scotland, the company currently has 380 such people working at hatch-eries, freshwater and marine locations in the west coast, Orkney, Shetland and (in processing plants) in South Shian, Argyll and Scalloway; and for them and their families Scottish Sea Farms is the beating heart of the com-munity.

What better name, then, for the life-enhancing project initiated by the fi rm in 2011 than Heart of the Community Trust? Since its launch, it has made £100,000 available to a total of 29 charities and rural community projects benefi ting, either directly or indirectly, nearly 12,000 people from its grants.

The broad aim of the trust is to provide fi nancial support for projects that deliver lasting change to local

communities within the regions in which the company operates, “to allow them to grow and develop”.

Already this year some ener-getic community groups – including Lochcarron Sailing Club, Oban Lorne Rugby Football Club and a par-ent carers group in Oban – have been the happy recipients of Heart of the Community grants in a fi rst round of fi nancial benevolence.

Any townies tempted to call such local initia-tives a touch remote would only need to attend (or even participate in) the forthcoming Cape Wrath Challenge to quickly eat their words. Part-funded by £1500 from the trust, and organised entirely by volunteers, the Challenge anticipates hundreds of sporting types taking part in a series of running, sporting and community events throughout the week – this year, from May 12 to 18.

Held during May since 2002, it was established following the around Brit-ain Island Race which visited Durness, mainland Britain’s most north-west-erly community. The local economy benefi ts hugely from the event and it also raises funds for good causes locally. But it also boasts remarkable global appeal.

“It attracts runners from throughout Britain and Europe and as far away as America and New Zealand,” says Kevin Arrowsmith, of the Cape Wrath Challenge Committee. “The social events are also a huge part of the week and our presentations and ceilidh are always sold out. The sponsorship from Scottish Sea Farms will help with the signifi cant cost of hosting the Chal-lenge and we are hugely grateful for its support.”

SSF executives fi eld such expres-sions of gratitude every day, and Rich-ard Darbyshire, Scottish Sea Farms’ regional manager, responds: “This

is a prestigious running event held amid some of the fantastic wilderness around our Loch Eriboll site. We are absolutely delighted to be supporting such a unique event.”

Another big thank-you comes from Jim Cormack, chairman of the Orkney Youth Development Group (OYDG), speaking for Orkney Youth Football after it received £2800 from the trust late last year. “The best young football-ers in Orkney represent their county in these squads and being picked for the county is very prestigious for them,” he said. “We are really grateful to Scottish Sea Farms for its support.”

Richard Darbyshire said: “This do-nation will allow OYDG to provide a new training jacket to around 80 local boys and we are delighted to be able to offer our support to these talented young players. We are confi dent that the trust will make a big difference to lots of community groups in the months to come.”

But it’s not all about the young. “We spoke to a range of people, including staff, community councils and parent councils about what would be most benefi cial way to help,” says Rory Conn, UK sales and commercial man-ager, recalling the trust’s embryonic days; and accordingly, recipients of the awards have included playgroups, pipe bands, learning centres and hospices. A care home in Oban has benefi ted from new technology that helps elderly residents with their memory. “And we also funded wireless broadband and iP-

ads for a residential home in Shetland which enabled elderly residents to start using Skype and talk to their families.”

For Mr Conn, the whole exercise is about “the long-term future of these communities, which is really important

not just for their own sake but also be-cause they will provide our workforce in the future; and it’s about enhancing general awareness of our name among the public and getting balanced views on what we do.”

A big-� sh exporter that keeps its heart at home

Young SSF-sponsored sporting types: Orkney Youth FC (top) and Oban Lorne rugby clubRory Conn, UK sales and commercial

manager, Scottish Sea Farms

They are native to Scotland but – until now – wrasse have been quite shy and low-profi le, congregating around kelp-rich cliff crevices and emerging only to grab a bite to eat.

And their dietary predilection for sea lice is the key to their new career with Scottish Sea Farms, which has been leading the way in their husbandry and development as a natural method of removing the parasite that attaches itself to wild and farmed salmon.

Now introduced as cohabitees in the company’s salmon pens, several varieties of the creel-caught fi sh live in wrasse ‘hotels’ – honeycombs of pipe and artifi cial strips of kelp that mimic their natural habitat – while they actively clean the salmon of any lice.

So far, they have signifi cantly reduced its abundance – and John Rea, farming director, one of a team of SSF production manag-ers devoted to the trials, says he is “delighted to see that the vision we had is coming true”.

How can they measure that suc-cess of trails that began at one site in 2010 but extended to seven in 2011 and 13 in 2012?

“It’s easy,” he says. “Salmon farmers are obliged to count sea lice on salmon every week, so we can judge success on a fi sh by fi sh, pen by pen basis, and transfer the wrasse where we see more for them to eat. And they prefer to eat female sealice with eggs - reducing sealice reproduction.”

So what is the ratio between farmed salmon and introduced wrasse? “There are fewer wrasse than you would think – two to every 100 salmon.”

The salmon are clearly benefi t-ing from the arrangement, with pen bath treatments on one site in Argyll reduced by 76 per cent compared to the previous crop; and, importantly, use of wrasse minimises medicine release into the marine environment and avoids undesirable stress to salmon – creating stronger, happier, cleaner fi sh.

Fish friends’ healthy partnership




































There’s never been a better time to raise a glass and toast the achievements of Scotland’s salmon industry. This is not only our largest food export, with the glob-al retail value of Scot-tish farmed salmon

now more than £1 billion, but we’re also ideally placed to exploit an increasing de-mand in emerging markets for high qual-ity, premium products.

Just make sure it’s a drop of our na-tional drink in that glass, as the incredible achievements of Scotland’s whisky indus-try — having reached its target to increase exports to £5.1 billion by 2017 in 2011 — provides a blueprint for global success.

Can Scottish farmed salmon, with Pro-tected Geographical Indication status awarded by the European Commission alongside Champagne, Arbroath Smokies and Parma Ham, make that same leap?

In line with the Scottish government’s aim to grow farmed fish production year on year for an increase of 50 per cent by 2020, the Scottish salmon industry’s aim is to boost current procession levels of around 150,00 tonnes to 210,000 tonnes over that same period. The way forward is through the industry’s growing UK and export demand, and with enormous glob-al untapped potential for salmon, Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of industry body Scottish Salmon Producers’ Or-ganisation (SSPO), recognises there are important parallels.

“Salmon, like Scotch whisky, has a great heritage and provenance story,” says Landsburgh. “The UK remains the single largest market for Scottish salmon, but when we’re at international trade fairs, whisky is the flag bearer for Scot-tish produce, but salmon is second. While we accept we’ll never close that gap, salm-on clearly represents a growth sector in our economy, and we are well placed to learn lessons from the whisky industry to achieve greater global market penetra-tion. There is significant export potential and we can maximise value and provide greater long-term resilience for the indus-try while helping to maintain and create sustainable jobs in Scotland.”

As levels of affluence and disposable in-come continue to rise in these target mar-kets, products and brands have the oppor-tunity to upgrade, and to “premiumise”.

Consumers in these areas are increas-ingly willing to pay a premium price for products that are considered healthy, or make them feel good about themselves, says Landsburgh.

“We’re seeing a complete sea change in the global footprint for the Scottish food market,” agrees James Withers, chief executive of Scotland Food and Drink. “The UK has been the dominant market for many years, but now it’s become Scot-land’s fastest growing export sector.

“Scottish food exports are up by 63 per

cent over the last four years, and the total value has now crossed £1 billion per year. Within that, salmon is the star player. In fact, salmon and seafood now represent more than half of all exported food.”

Scottish salmon is sold in 64 differ-ent countries, with the US still the larg-est market, and France the single largest market in the EU. However, the fastest growing export areas are those emerging markets of the Far East. Figures show ex-ports of salmon to the Far East went up from 682 tonnes in 2010 to 8,675 tonnes in the first 10 months of 2012, with that period last year being worth £37 million to the Scottish fish-farming industry, com-pared to £28 million for the same period in 2011. The figures are still rising.

However, this is just the start of the story, and it is within these emerging markets where Scotland’s food and drink sector, and the Scottish salmon industry in particular, can learn lessons from their whisky counterparts in order to achieve greater global market penetration

With around 95 per cent of these ex-ports sent overseas as whole fresh fish, the industry believes there is an addition-al potential to benefit significantly from added value and “premiumisation”, just as Scotch whisky has done.

“We believe there is great potential to benefit from premiumisation, by add-ing value to both our fresh and smoked salmon products, increasing demand for the latter, and differentiating from other countries of origin,” said Landsburgh. “It is happening in our sector, but it has been done in the whisky industry to great ef-fect over a longer period of time. It has led to greater economic rewards for all involved.

“Economic growth in emerging mar-kets outstrips ours. For example, China is averaging 8 per cent GDP growth a year. Supplying markets that want a better quality, lifestyle food is a real opportunity.

“Scottish salmon is also striking a chord in terms of differentiating on wel-fare grounds, with around 70 per cent of production conforming to the world’s only independently audited salmon wel-fare scheme, the RSPCA’s Freedom Food programme. This covers every aspect of a farmed animal’s life, from husbandry, stocking density and handling to trans-portation and harvesting. In 2011 at the seafood show in Brussels, seafood buyers from around the world voted Scotland’s farmed salmon as the best in the world.”

Brand Scotland clearly has a sig-nificant role to play. “Scotland has a reputation as a land of food and drink, and that is grow-ing year by year,” says Withers.

“What all the research shows us is that demand is driven by three specific ele-ments: premium quality, health and prov-enance. Scottish salmon ticks all three boxes.

“We were in China and Japan last November. We found the top Japanese sushi restaurants are now serving Scottish salmon because it is carving this reputa-tion for unrivalled quality. In China,

100,000 people a week are moving into the city from the rural areas, with a grow-ing appetite for high quality food and drink. I was also in Dubai recently and at the Grand Hyatt hotel all the salmon used was Scottish — chefs everywhere are crying out for this product.

“What all these countries recognise are the elements that make Scottish produce so distinctive; that we have a fantastic natural environment with pristine water, but that we also have a reputation for innovation.”

Scotch whisky has certainly opened doors but now Scottish salmon is forging its own global path. “Different countries put different emphasis on the qualities salmon has to offer,” adds Withers. “In Ja-pan, post Fukushima, the environmental aspect is a priority, while in China, where food safety had been an issue, the quality-assured Scottish salmon is leading the way.

“In the Far East and the Middle East it is the premium, lifestyle aspect that is important. There’s not one message here, but those three elements are attractive to the emerging markets.

“What has also changed is that five years ago Scottish food and drink was not telling its story; Ireland did, New Zealand did, Canada did, but we didn’t. Now we’re out there.”

Landsburgh’s task is not just delivering that message, but in helping to ensure his SSPO members, who have invested more than £205 million in capital projects over the past four years, are able to make the most of these opportunities.

“There is such great potential at home and abroad,” he says. “We want to be part of that story. We will not satisfy global demand, which is colossal, but we have a significant role to play in providing a high-quality, sustainable, healthy food, while also helping to grow the Scottish economy.”

Cover story

Multi million boost to economyThe SSPO members represent around 98 per cent of Scottish salmon farming production, and they have invested over £205 million in capital projects over the last four years. Scotland’s salmon farmers, most of whom are based in the Highlands and Islands, create around an annual

£500 million for the economy. Scottish farmed salmon is recog-nised as a high-quality product throughout the world, and has held the French Government’s top quality award, Label Rouge, for the past 20 years — the first non-French food to be given the accolade.

‘Flag bearer for produce’A natural environment, pristine water and a reputation for innovation are raising the profile of Scottish salmon, writes Ginny Clark

Scottish salmon is forging a global path

in the premium lifestyle market

Scott Landsburgh sees lessons to be learned from the whisky industry






































































Business Insight8

And Marine Harvest is racing to keep up, says Rick Wilson

Executives of Marine Harvest (Scot-land) Ltd have a problem – perhaps better characterised as a challenge, as it’s stretching them in a positive way: how to meet the Far East’s surge in demand for their salmon since the

door to the vast, growing Chinese market was thrown open to them a couple of years ago.

And that’s what the fi rm has been doing ever since: racing to keep up with this new Far East demand, which now also includes South Korea and Taiwan.

In the last two years, the value of the com-pany’s exports to mainland China has increased from £9million to £11million, a feat recently rec-ognised by the Scottish Council for Development and Industry which – at its annual Highlands and Islands dinner – presented it with the Benromach Award for Excellence in International Business.

Business support manager Steve Bracken says the company became Scotland’s fi rst to export farmed salmon to mainland China’s huge population of 1.2billion and burgeoning mid-dle class of 250million potential customers: “As it is a fast-growing economy and the world’s largest seafood market, we knew the quality of our Scottish salmon would appeal to discerning consumers.

“Opening the door to the market has provided a major boost to our company and it is helping to bring addition-al benefi ts to the west coast of Scotland.”

Already accounting for one-third of Scotland’s annual 150,000 tonnes of fresh farmed salmon output, Marine Harvest recently announced a fi ve-year plan for an £80million capital invest-ment in Scotland up to 2016. It was the fi rst company in Scotland to farm Atlantic salmon, producing the fi rst fi sh in 1971. It now has 36 fi sh farms supporting around 460 jobs.

“Clearly Marine Harvest is set to play a key role in our ambitions for growth in the industry, including our aim of increasing production by 50 per cent on 2009 levels by 2020,” said First Min-ister Alex Salmond welcoming the company’s investment programme last year.

And Anne MacColl, chief executive of Scot-tish Development International, said: “The deci-sion by Marine Harvest to commit to a fi ve-year investment plan in Scottish rural communities is testament to the international reputation Scotland currently has in the sustainable salmon farming industry.”

Reputation… that could well be the vital factor that has made China so ready to turn to a Scottish operation and why is it so hungry for more, says Fort William-based Bracken, who has been with the company for 36 years.

“Scottish salmon is fast acquiring an iconic reputation in the Far East, rather like that of Scotch whisky, which to some extent we’re riding

on the back of,” he says. “We’re very fortunate to have such a strong brand image for our food and drink, though it has to be said that we are still very much a niche supplier – there’s a much big-ger dent yet to be made in the Far East market.”

Assuming that the Scottish intervention goes on apace, how will resources at home be found to fully respond to the popularity of our salmon in China, which is happening despite its being more expensive than locally produced fi sh? Environ-mental work is underway to identify the best locations for potential new farms based on water quality, carrying capacity and tidal strengths in more exposed locations off the west coast.

“We are looking further afi eld into more re-mote areas and we set up two new farms in Barra and South Uist last year, creating 12 new jobs in areas where there is little other private employ-ment,” says Bracken.

The next farm to be opened will be on Muck, which has a population of 32 and a school with only two pupils. With a view to attracting new staff members and families to the island, the company has proposed initiatives such as building houses, starting a smokehouse and setting up a community fund. All these were agreed with the local community and landowners, resulting in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding which states exactly what each party will commit

to the development.It is hoped this model will be subsequently

rolled out to other islands – such as Colonsay where planning permission is now to be sought after the 120-strong residents were asked to vote on whether to support plans for a farm off the coast of the island. An emphatic 60 per cent said yes to the development – and the six full-time and two seasonal jobs that should follow, as well as the boost to the local economy from year-round trade for accommodation providers.

“Although we are the largest salmon farming company in Scotland, we are in a very fortunate position as demand for our fi sh far outstrips our supply,” says Bracken. “Our established customers and those in new emerging markets simply can’t get enough of our fi sh – our main issue is fulfi lling the increasing appetite.

“The fast-growing markets in the Far East have helped to give us the confi dence to make major investment commitments, which are starting to produce much-needed jobs in some remote, rural economies.”

And Bracken himself is deeply appreciative of the job the industry has given him. “After 36 years I still love working here in the west coast,” he says. “I never tire of the scenery and I consider myself highly privileged to live and work in such a beautiful part of the world.”

COMMERCIAL REPORT: MARINE HARVEST

The Far East is hungry for Scottish salmon

Marine Harvest’s Sound of Hellisay � sh farm by Barra

Marine Harvest’s new £16m Lochailort hatchery which is the size of two football pitches

Steve Bracken, business support

manager at Marine Harvest

Eating � sh for our health’s sake For the 40-plus volunteers selected so far, it is hardly the toughest of tests – indeed, it’s a tasty delight: having to chew through two salmon fi llets twice a week for 18 weeks.

Any risk of boredom? Just in case, they are even being offered a recipe book to vary their preparations.

The meals come courtesy of Aberdeen University’s Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health where Dr Baukje de Roos is leading “the Fish Dish Study to compare the long-term health effects of eating farmed Scottish salmon raised on a traditional fi sh-based diet versus eating Scottish salmon raised on a more sustainable fi sh diet”.

The scientists – commissioned by the Scottish Government’s Rural and Envi-ronment Science and Analytical Services Division – want to see whether the differ-ent fi sh feeds have any impact on potential health benefi ts for consumers.

Though the exact way that eating fi sh benefi ts human health is not fully under-stood, it is widely acknowledged that it can lower the risk of strokes and coronary heart disease. Accordingly, the volunteer team now chalking up its fi rst month is a mix of at-risk people with a family history of heart problems, senior citizens, and those with obesity and cholesterol issues.

The salmon used in the study are grown on Loch Ailort fi sh farm on the west coast by Marine Harvest (see main story), and the different fi sh feeds are developed and prepared by BioMar, a leading supplier of high-performance fi sh feed to the industry.

The study should help the feed manufac-turers, fi sh-farmers, researchers and health professionals understand how consumption of differently-fed salmon could affect the overall health of the population.

Dr de Roos says: “Fish consists of a complex mixture of omega-3 fatty acids and micronutrients, such as vitamin D and selenium, which could be individually, or collectively, responsible for the benefi cial effects. Oily fi sh, such as salmon, is the most important dietary source of omega-3 fatty acids as well as vitamin D.

“Fish farming in Scotland is playing an increasingly important role in the provision of fi sh for human consumption. Farmed fi sh have the potential to take the pressure off wild fi sh stocks, while meeting the dietary needs of the population for omega 3 fatty acids and other key nutrients such as vitamin D.

“But issues with sustainability of raw ma-terials for fi sh feeds mean that – depending on what can be proved – fi sh farmers may have to reformulate their fi sh feeds to know that health benefi ts will be protected.”












































































Home shores

City legal team goes rural with success, finds Rick Wilson

Some might consider it unu-sual for a city-based law firm to wade into the chilly rural waters of Scotland’s west coast, but Morisons – with prestigious offices in elegant

areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh – was happy to don its metaphorical wellies and do just that when called on by the Scottish Salmon Company (SSC).

Why Morisons? Are its staff experts in the fish trade? “Not particularly,” admits solicitor Lucy Gannon, “but in all modesty we admit to being experts in the law, and we have significant experience in applying that expertise in the sector.”

So what exactly was this commis-sion? “We were instructed to act on behalf of the SSC on its proposed pur-chase of fish farm sites at East Tarbert Bay and Druimyeon Bay on the Isle of Gigha.”

What was so unusual about that? “Standard property transactions would involve lease or purchase from a pri-

vate company or individual. However, with fish farms we have the added complexity of dealing with The Crown Estate Commission which handles the foreshore and seabed owned by the Crown.”

The relevant shore base was owned by a limited company and the Mori-sons team arranged to also have that made over to the fish-farm company, which was keen to keep growing apace, having been awarded that same year the title of Best Marine Aquaculture Company for sustainable practice, business performance, investment, staff management practices and local com-munity involvement.

It has 35 salmon farms located around the Hebrides and west coast, with a current potential harvest of around 24,000 tonnes.

“As the company operates in the Gigha case to a large extent on the Crown’s land, with regard to foreshore and seabed, this was clearly not a ‘nor-mal’ transaction where the purchaser operates from land it owns.

“It was a quirky exercise. Nothing like the kind of city-based commercial property deal we are accustomed to. Going rural, into aquaculture down by the sea, talking about ownership of

the sea bed… when it comes to these people and the areas they’re in, it demands different nuances and re-sponses. But the law is ultimately the law wherever you are, and you just have to adapt your skills to difficult sectors and challenges and get on with it.”

Does a successful resolution take much longer with such complexities? “Not if all parties are up for it and eve-ryone knows what they’re doing.”

Lucy’s frank reporting reflects the spirit of the company as expressed on its internet presence, and it’s no doubt a far cry from its stiff-collared Edinburgh beginnings, back in the mid-19th century. Now it says with something of a smile: “One thing common to every department is our at-titude: open, honest, friendly and fresh. After all, there is no law that says the law has to be stuffy.”

A key colleague instrumental in the Gigha deal stresses the adaptability point. “Our solutions are based on the

real-world needs of the client,” points out Peter Duff, one of 21 Morisons partners offering wide-ranging exper-tise in corporate law, litigation, lending and recoveries, private client and estates, and commercial property.

“We work to their agenda, not to our own. We endeavour to tell it how it is. If you’re looking for considered legal recommendations delivered with confidence we’d be delighted to talk. But if it’s mince you’re after we politely suggest you visit a butcher.”

Morisons has also recently advised

on an agreement with Dulas Hydro Generation in relation to a hydro sys-tem at SSC’s freshwater site at Apple-cross around Loch Coire nan Arr and Russell Burn down to Loch Kishorn. It involved the renegotiation of a lease and operation and power sales agree-ment governing the operation of the hydro and grid interconnection.

Apart from negotiations on commer-cial property, Morisons also provides advice to SSC on corporate govern-ance matters, litigation and disputes, and corporate finance and banking.

We do like to adapt beside the seaside

commercial report: moriSoNS llp

Xxx

lucy Gannon, an associate at morisons

peter Duff, one of morisons’ 21 partners

At a time of slow growth in the global economy, the Scottish salmon sector continues to be a source of major capital invest-ment and new opportunities.

Over the past four years Scotland’s salm-on farmers have injected over £1.4 billion into suppliers and services, and invested over £205 million in capital projects.

Employment figures in the sector re-main buoyant too, with 500 new jobs created between 2008 and 2011. Iain Sutherland, Senior Key Industries Man-ager at Highlands and Islands Enterprise, says: “Aquaculture is one of the most significant industries to emerge in the Highlands and Islands in the last quarter century. An industry dependent on a high quality natural environment, it has gen-

erated significant income and employ-ment opportunities in many of our most remote and fragile areas, giving us world leading businesses on our doorstep.

“The Scottish salmon industry is ex-tremely important for local communities, especially around the west coast of Scot-land and the northern isles, where it pro-vides sustainable year round employment in areas where job options are few and fre-quently limited to low paid seasonal work.

“Also nationally significant and one of our biggest exports, it employs over 2,000 people directly in the Highlands and Is-lands with thousands more in processing and service businesses across Scotland.”

The micro economic effects of the salmon farming sector, particularly in the rural communities, goes much fur-ther than positive employment figures. Marine Harvest, for example, may be the world’s largest producer of farmed salm-on but it is also aware of the significant economic and social role aquaculture has to play in these communities and takes initiatives to develop positive relation-ships in the communities. One way in which Marine Harvest takes an active role in the community is through its 25 year support for the sport of shinty and

their sponsorship of the Camanachd As-sociation, the sport’s governing body.

Steve Bracken, business support man-ager with Marine Harvest, explains the vital link: “Shinty is just one activity we sponsor which fits in well with the com-munities where we operate. It’s great to be part of the changes that have been seen in shinty, like more kids playing, youth development and ladies shinty.”

The aptly-named Heart of the Com-munity initiative, established by Scottish Sea Farms (see page 6) is another exam-ple of the sector supporting local commu-nities in non economic ways. The initia-tive, which awards grants to community based projects has funded a range of ac-tivities including sports teams, firework displays, care homes and hospices.

Rory Conn, UK sales and commer-cial manager, says the need for such an initiative was clear. He said: “We work

in very rural and isolated communities and, in many cases, we’re the major em-ployers within these communities. While providing salaries is very important to that economy we were also supporting charitable donations and supporting ad hoc requests as they came in. We felt we wanted to do something a little bit more structured which could prompt more people to approach us and to understand a bit more about what we did.”

In the Hebrides, The Scottish Salmon Company — the largest private employer in the area — has given a huge boost to a range of suppliers, including Inverlussa Marine Services. The company recently signed a 12-month contract with The Scottish Salmon Company to supply a work vessel, creating two local jobs.

The family-owned business, based on the Isle of Mull, will supply a 21-metre purpose built vessel, Margaret Sinclair, to support The Scottish Salmon Company’s site service work across the west coast of Scotland. Starting in April, the charter will provide a vessel with a total crew of four, who will work to help with a range of activities including net changes, feed deliveries as well as the care of salmon.

Ben Wilson, who runs Inverlussa with his father Douglas, says: “This is a big boost and reinforces our position as one of the leading operators in Scotland. A long-term contract like this enables us to develop the business and gives us the confidence to commit further to the aq-uaculture industry. We’ve been able to recruit two new members of the team, taking our staff count to 23, all of who are from the local area.”

Support means more than salary

Inverlussa Marine Services’ Margaret Sinclair, a vessel supporting the Scottish Salmon Company’s site service work

The industry is hugely important to our remoter local communities, says Barry McDonald
















































































































City legal team goes rural with success, finds Rick Wilson

Some might consider it unu-sual for a city-based law firm to wade into the chilly rural waters of Scotland’s west coast, but Morisons – with prestigious offices in elegant

areas of Glasgow and Edinburgh – was happy to don its metaphorical wellies and do just that when called on by the Scottish Salmon Company (SSC).

Why Morisons? Are its staff experts in the fish trade? “Not particularly,” admits solicitor Lucy Gannon, “but in all modesty we admit to being experts in the law, and we have significant experience in applying that expertise in the sector.”

So what exactly was this commis-sion? “We were instructed to act on behalf of the SSC on its proposed pur-chase of fish farm sites at East Tarbert Bay and Druimyeon Bay on the Isle of Gigha.”

What was so unusual about that? “Standard property transactions would involve lease or purchase from a pri-

vate company or individual. However, with fish farms we have the added complexity of dealing with The Crown Estate Commission which handles the foreshore and seabed owned by the Crown.”

The relevant shore base was owned by a limited company and the Mori-sons team arranged to also have that made over to the fish-farm company, which was keen to keep growing apace, having been awarded that same year the title of Best Marine Aquaculture Company for sustainable practice, business performance, investment, staff management practices and local com-munity involvement.

It has 35 salmon farms located around the Hebrides and west coast, with a current potential harvest of around 24,000 tonnes.

“As the company operates in the Gigha case to a large extent on the Crown’s land, with regard to foreshore and seabed, this was clearly not a ‘nor-mal’ transaction where the purchaser operates from land it owns.

“It was a quirky exercise. Nothing like the kind of city-based commercial property deal we are accustomed to. Going rural, into aquaculture down by the sea, talking about ownership of

the sea bed… when it comes to these people and the areas they’re in, it demands different nuances and re-sponses. But the law is ultimately the law wherever you are, and you just have to adapt your skills to difficult sectors and challenges and get on with it.”

Does a successful resolution take much longer with such complexities? “Not if all parties are up for it and eve-ryone knows what they’re doing.”

Lucy’s frank reporting reflects the spirit of the company as expressed on its internet presence, and it’s no doubt a far cry from its stiff-collared Edinburgh beginnings, back in the mid-19th century. Now it says with something of a smile: “One thing common to every department is our at-titude: open, honest, friendly and fresh. After all, there is no law that says the law has to be stuffy.”

A key colleague instrumental in the Gigha deal stresses the adaptability point. “Our solutions are based on the

real-world needs of the client,” points out Peter Duff, one of 21 Morisons partners offering wide-ranging exper-tise in corporate law, litigation, lending and recoveries, private client and estates, and commercial property.

“We work to their agenda, not to our own. We endeavour to tell it how it is. If you’re looking for considered legal recommendations delivered with confidence we’d be delighted to talk. But if it’s mince you’re after we politely suggest you visit a butcher.”

Morisons has also recently advised

on an agreement with Dulas Hydro Generation in relation to a hydro sys-tem at SSC’s freshwater site at Apple-cross around Loch Coire nan Arr and Russell Burn down to Loch Kishorn. It involved the renegotiation of a lease and operation and power sales agree-ment governing the operation of the hydro and grid interconnection.

Apart from negotiations on commer-cial property, Morisons also provides advice to SSC on corporate govern-ance matters, litigation and disputes, and corporate finance and banking.

We do like to adapt beside the seaside

commercial report: moriSoNS llp

Xxx

lucy Gannon, an associate at morisons

peter Duff, one of morisons’ 21 partners


Business Insight10

Scottish salmon produc-ers have just returned en masse from the United States, where they were nurturing existing and po-tential clients that make the US the most important export market for farmed Atlantic salmon from Scotland.

Their mission to the International Bos-ton Seafood Show, the largest seafood trade exhibition in North America, was the latest overseas trip in a hectic export pro-motion schedule for salmon farmers facili-tated by industry organisations and Scot-tish government agencies such as Scottish Development International (SDI).

Scotland accounted for 9.6 per cent of the global harvest of farmed Atlantic salmon in 2011 when the worldwide to-tal was 1.62 million tonnes of whole fish equivalent (wfe), according to Norway’s Kontali Analyse, the leading analysts of the global industry and whose estimates for 2012 were due as Business Insight went to press. Scotland’s 155,000 tonnes was a third behind Norway (1 million tonnes, 63 per cent) and Chile (221,000 tonnes, 13.8 per cent)

Scotland’s 2011 export sales were around £486 million for whole fresh and whole frozen farmed Atlantic salm-on, and fresh fillet. Norway led the way (around £3 billion) with Chile in second (about £497 million) for these categories.

Scottish farmed salmon producers stress high quality, taste, traceability, and environment through promotional litera-ture and websites using phrases such as “crystal clear water”.

These propositions are potent. The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO) estimates exports of fresh salmon from the UK, nearly all from Scotland, rose 22 per cent in 2011. Export growth probably slowed in 2012 as Chilean har-vesting recovered from a slump, though overseas sales historically fluctuate for Scottish producers.

Take Wester Ross Salmon, whose 60 employees make it the largest commer-cial employer in the Ross & Cromarty fishing village (population 1,300) of Ul-lapool. At times in its 35-year history, 50 per cent of turnover was from exports. In 2012, these were 30 per cent of total sales around £8 million and had risen to 45 per cent in early 2013, according to managing director Gilpin Bradley.

“It’s a conscious decision to focus over-seas because the UK economy is going nowhere fast, the pound will likely reflect that, and a weak pound helps exporters,” he said. “Export markets that we deal with are very receptive to what’s different about our salmon.”

The company wants anyone eating its fish to know where it comes from. “We’re happy working only with distributors who will promote our brand through the supply chain to the restaurant menu or retail point-of-sale,” Bradley said.

“Currently, most are in American and

Asian markets. We want waiters at top New York restaurants to be equipped to recommend our salmon to customers by telling them that it has just been flown in from Scotland and is different. We’re the only 100 per cent owner-operated salmon farm in Scotland left selling its own prod-ucts, and our customers love that.”

Loch Duart Ltd, based at Scourie, Sutherland, employs 100 on turnover around £20 million producing some 5,000 tonnes wfe annually and with ex-ports holding in excess of 50 per cent of sales for a product aspiring to be ‘the best tasting salmon’ and priced accordingly online and through distributors.

The company’s most significant export markets are France, Germany, Japan, Ita-ly, Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, Swit-zerland, and the USA.

Loch Duart grows salmon for three years, guts, cleans, washes, selects and grades them, puts them in icing packs and delivers the whole fish that the pre-mium chef is after.

“A sushi chef in Asia wants to be able to see the eyes, the gills, and to handle the whole fish,” said Andy Bing, sales di-rector. “We have exports at a level where we want them.We want to maintain a sig-nificant presence in the UK market. If we went over 60 per cent (on exports), we couldn’t do that.”

Bing was in Boston last week. “America is probably the most brand aware of our markets,” he said. “More menus with the Loch Duart name on them appear in America than elsewhere.”

Loch Duart demonstrates how high-end salmon firms seek to maintain sus-tainability credentials with end-consum-ers that take an ethical position on food. The world is a small place, the internet a largely free platform for critics ranging from reasoned to rabid, and the salmon farming industry still a baby compared with meat production.

In 2002, Loch Duart became the first UK salmon producer validated under the Royal Society For the Prevention of Ani-mal’s Freedom Foods scheme (Page 12) which audits companies against RSPCA’s animal welfare criteria.

Loch Duart introduced Freedom Foods to aquaculture, pioneered poly-culture (a more “natural” ecosystem where organ-isms such as sea urchins and seaweed are reared alongside salmon), and was the first to have all its feed validated as being from sustainable sources.

“Salmon farming has a lot to learn,” Bing observed. “Loch Duart was also first to use drum-filters to catch any sea lice (parasites) when moving salmon between pens. We are one of the smallest com-panies in world aquaculture but punch

well above our weight when it comes to research and development.”

America takes the lion’s share (46 per cent of tonnage in 2011) of UK fresh salmon exports followed by France (23 per cent). However, Asia has delivered explosive export growth.

Exports of Scottish salmon to the Far East are at record levels after three con-secutive years of increases. Official data show 8,675 tonnes of salmon were ex-ported there in the first ten months of 2012, greater than in the whole of 2011.

China took virtually nothing from the UK in 2010 but accounted for 5 per cent (4,942 tonnes) of UK fresh salmon exports by tonnage in 2011 after the Scot-tish government struck a deal in 2010, signed in January 2011, to allow direct ex-ports of Scottish salmon to China.

Shipments to Taiwan soared from near

Overseas salesScottish salmon is one of our most successful export markets and one that is at record levels after growing for three years in succession, finds Rob Stokes

Andy Bing says he has exports at a level where Loch Duart wants them

Things go swimmingly in global marketplace

Export markets we deal with are very receptive to what’s different about our salmon


zero to 929 tonnes (1 per cent of total ex-ports) in 2011 and those to Japan rose 54 per cent to reach 1 per cent of the total at around 900 tonnes.

This is reflected in SDI support for salmon exports through: export work-shops run in conjunction with Highlands and Islands Enterprise; market research, networking and introductions provided by SDI in-country teams and by visiting staff; and for trade missions and learning trips.

A Food and Drink Strategy for Asia was developed by SDI with organisations including, among others, SSPO and Scot-land Food and Drink, an industry-led quango supported by government and which organises shared sales pavilions at leading Asian trade shows.

The Scotland Food & Drink/SDI/SSPO presence at Boston Seafood will be followed by a visit to Brussels in late April for European Seafood Exposition and Seafood Processing Europe, the world’s largest seafood trade fair, and then off to Hong Kong in May for HOFEX, the larg-est food and hospitality tradeshow in the Asia-Pacific area.

“We are committed to keeping Scot-land’s message and presence high in that marketplace,” said Margaret McGinlay, director of food and drink at Scottish Enterprise, the state development agency which is a joint venture partner with fel-low public agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the Scottish government in SDI.

On strategy, McGinlay said: “We realised Scottish salmon would best play in high-end food service and narrowed that down to cities in China and to Japan where market intelligence suggested op-portunity would be greatest.”

There is a huge demand for fish in both countries but there are nuances to each.

“Japan has mature markets and long-standing awareness and appreciation of

Scotland and Scottish products. It’s all about high-end, quality image,” McGinlay said. “Scottish salmon is healthy, has full traceability, and has a strong provenance.”

The market is less established in Chi-na. “It’s more a case of a creeping desire among consumers for imported Western products, but quality, safety and trace-ability remain important,” she said.

A trade mission last November to Shanghai, China and Tokyo, Japan al-lowed salmon exporters to meet import-ers, distributors and chefs. Producers also went on an SDI organised trip to the 2012 China Fisheries & Seafood Expo in Da-lian, China, for direct talks with buyers.

Japan is important to Loch Duart. “Our customers there appreciate our salmon and price is not so much of a considera-tion. We’re making tiny scratches on the surface of what Japan can manage,” said Andy Bing, who was on the trade mission to Japan and China last autumn.

“We have development opportunities within the Chinese market. The volume opportunities are hugely significant but we have yet to be convinced that the quality buy-in is as significant as the Japanese.”

Quality remains key. Scottish salmon was named ‘best farmed salmon in the world’ by seafood buyers from 20 leading international retail and food service com-panies in a poll conducted by specialist publication Seafood International nearly a year ago.

Longstanding validation comes from France where Scottish farmed salmon has for 20 years held Label Rouge sta-tus, the French government’s top award for superior quality, particularly taste. Scottish producers work with the Master Chefs of France organisation to promote use of high quality produce.

Loch Duart confirms the value of La-bel Rouge. “It helps our sales in France, our largest export market,” said Andy Bing.

The industry was given a fillip last autumn when the Paris-based World Association of Chefs’ Societies (WACS) announced it would source salmon and langoustines exclusively from Scotland for its 2012-2014 Global Chefs Challenge, a series of high-level competitions.

“More than ten million chefs across the world participate in the Challenge,” Margaret McGinlay said. “There are regional competitions in Singapore, Italy, Las Vegas and Hong Kong. We’ll work with SSPO, Seafood Scotland, and Scotland Food and Drink to maximise opportunities.

On a visit to Scotland last week, WACS president Gissur Gudmundsson said: “Witnessing the passion and care put into the product give it a whole different meaning. Scotland is well known for its pioneering approach to responsible fish-ing and farming.”

We examine developments in sustain-ability elsewhere in Business Insight but, for illustration, one notable example is the feed trials conducted by Norway’s Marine Harvest, the largest salmon producer in Scotland and the world and which was set to complete a takeover of rival Morpol as we went to press.

Marine Harvest is a fish farmer, but also depends on marine raw materials for feed. If wild fish stocks are depleted, it will run out of feed, so it presses for bet-ter management of wild fisheries while reducing dependency on marine raw ma-terials in feed.

The proportion of fishmeal in fish feeds for the largest farming region fell from about 60 per cent in 1990 to 15 to 20 per cent today without compromising quality or fish health and welfare, the company claims.

AUDIT & ACCOUNTING • CORPORATE FINANCE • MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SOLUTIONSTAXATION • ACCOUNTING OUTSOURCING • PAYROLL • WEALTH MANAGEMENT

ADDING VALUE THROUGH THE PLUS FACTOR

IT ALL ADDS UP TO A MORE POSITIVE SERVICE

E N T H U S I A S M

C O M M I T M E N T

T E A M W O R K I N V O LV E M E N T

ANDERSON ANDERSON & BROWN LLPC H A R T E R E D A C C O U N T A N T S

www.aab.co.uk

The great leap forwardSalmon is Scotland’s largest food export, sold to 64 countries. In 2011, exports of fresh salmon from the UK (almost all of it from Scotland) jumped 20 per cent to 95,638 tonnes, marking the third consecutive year of increases. Annual sales of fresh salmon overseas are estimated to be worth more than £220 million.

The Scottish farmed salmon harvest rose 1.3 per cent to 157,000 tonnes of whole fish equivalent in 2012, according to a central estimate by Norway’s Kontali Analyse, the world leading independent provider of analysis and information on aquaculture, fisheries, seafood trade and markets.

In a 2011 survey, The Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisa-tion (SSPO) estimated that its members invested more than £205 million in capital projects over six years from 2006 through 2011, with most going to Highlands and Islands locations.

Seafood farming is a growth industry worldwide and 86 per cent of SSPO member compa-nies surveyed in 2011 planned to increase staff over by 2017.

SSPO members provided 2,124 direct jobs in Scotland in 2011, 13 per cent more than a year previ-ously. Aquaculture as a whole supports around 6,200 direct and indirect jobs according to Scottish government estimates. Salmon farming’s importance as an employer is disproportion-ately large in coastal communi-ties in remoter parts of Scotland.

It says it also works with feed manufac-turers, retailers and the UK based Inter-national Fishmeal and Fish Oil Organisa-tion to ensure that fish used in fishmeal and fish oil production is responsibly sourced. “We do not use feed with ingre-dients from illegal, unreported or unregu-

lated fisheries,” Marine Harvest declares.Sustainability issues favour salmon in

Asian markets, Gilpin Bradley at Wester Ross Salmon believes. “The fish of choice for the sashimi chef is bluefin tuna or salmon, but bluefin tuna fillet is four times the price of salmon fillet,” he said.

One reason is strict catching limits for endangered Atlantic bluefin tuna imposed by the 48-nation International Commis-sion for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.

One lament heard frequently from Scottish salmon producers is that they would like to produce more but perceive government at all levels to lack the will to withstand vociferous opposition to fish farming in inshore waters.

The Scottish government’s National Marine Plan grinding through the par-liamentary process envisages production rising 4 per cent per annum from 2010 to reach 210,000 tonnes by 2020. Producers such as Marine Harvest suggest siting fu-ture salmon farms offshore in open sea to counter objections and boost capacity.

The question is: if demand from Asia mushrooms, would Scotland’s salmon producers be able to meet orders?

“Part of Scotland’s USP is that it is not about commodity markets,” Margaret McGinlay answered. “We want to see it grow to meet demand but not at the ex-pense of the product or reputation.”

Said Gilpin Bradley: “The Norwegian salmon farmer grows for profit while we grow ours to taste the best. It is a fun-damentally different approach. Scotland punches well above its weight in export markets. We’re not letting our size inhibit our potential.”

Scottish salmon was named best

farmed salmon in the world in a poll of leading buyers


12

Knowing where salmon comes from and how it has been farmed are increas-ingly important to customers for Scot-tish salmon in global markets. The indus-try has poured mil-lions of pounds into

research and development directed at sustainability down the years.

Satisfying customer questions about these issues is “absolutely critical” in pro-moting sales of higher-quality product, said Gilpin Bradley, managing director of salmon producers Wester Ross Salmon in Ullapool, Ross & Cromarty.

“We have a simple objective: to be as transparent as possible about how our salmon is grown. Our customers enjoy that and generally have a good under-standing about farmed fish so that they can make decisions about the different choices that are available.”

Examples of key research that have changed the way the industry operates include the replacement of as much as possible of the sustainable fish meal and fish oil used in aquaculture feeds with al-ternative sustainable vegetable oils, with-out compromising the health, welfare and growth of fish.

The outcome of a €3.6 million (£2.7 mil-lion) international, European Union sup-ported research project led by the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling between 2001 and 2005 was that farmed salmon are now fed variable amounts of veg-etable oils alongside sufficient essential ome-ga-3 oils from dietary fishmeal to ensure that farmed salmon remains as healthy to eat.

The use of ballan wrasse (Labrus bergyl-ta), another seafish species, to eat naturally occurring salmon lice to keep the salmon as free as possible of these debilitating fish par-asites is a breakthrough in biological control of fish health rather than having to rely on biocidal chemicals. It also contributes to ad-dressing concern about wild salmon being infected by lice from fish farms.

The Scottish salmon farming industry still uses mainly wild wrasse, but doubts over the sustainability of being able to do this on a large scale have seen the tech-nique move on to a new level with the introduction of farmed ballan wrasse to The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC) farm at Stockinish on Harris.

Listed on the Norwegian stock ex-change, SSC operates in Scotland from more than 50 sites on the Hebrides and West Coast, from the Isle of Lewis in the north to Arran in the south, and current-ly produces around 20 per cent of Scot-tish farmed salmon production.

Farmed ballan wrasse now deployed at Stockinish have been developed in a project that began in 2008 at indepen-dently owned Viking Fish Farms’ Ardtoe Marine Laboratory near Acharacle, Ar-gyll: an internationally recognised centre of excellence in aquaculture science and technology.

These were the first commercially farmed wrasse to be grown and trans-ferred to sea pens in Scotland and work is continuing to embed good husbandry practices by the time greater numbers of

population, an increase in standards of living and more people eating proteins such as meat, eggs and seafood, is fore-cast to double the global demand for food by 2050,” notes Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of the Scottish Salmon Produc-ers’ Organisation.

“Salmon is one of the most efficient ways to produce high-quality nutritious protein, leaves a relatively light carbon footprint and does not put extra strain on limited resources. The likes of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisa-tion report that most future growth in seafood supplies will come from aquacul-ture.”

When the European Parliament com-missioned a report into whether feed-ing fishmeal and oil to farmed animals and fish was an efficient way to produce human food the conclusions were positive.

The report, prepared for the Euro-pean Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation by the University of Newcastle upon Tyne and Hampshire-based consultants Poseidon Aquatic Resource Management, stated: “Feed conversion figures for salmon sug-gest that it is more efficient to consume salmon derived from aquaculture than wild caught fish.”

For example, wild salmon need 10kg of fish to put on 1kg in mass. Farmed salmon is at least 7 to 8 times more efficient.

“Farmed seafood is one of the most sustainable sources of protein that can be produced,” said Gilpin Bradley at Wester Ross Salmon. “There’s a limited amount of land, so using it to feed the extra two billion population expected by 2050 will require more genetically modified food, which means terrestrial farmers will be faced with controversial questions. The big untapped resource is using the sea to produce more protein.”


Business Insight12

Fresh eyes look to the future

Green issuesInvestment in innovative research is ensuring high standards of sustainability, writes Rob Stokes

It’s great to be involved in work that will assist fish health in the long term

John Avizienius says a high proportion of the industry works with Freedom Food

farmed wrasse are available, a spokesman for SSC said.

Ardtoe developed a training pro-gramme for staff and key Stockinish site managers have attended training on wrasse welfare and sea husbandry, stock-ing records, mortality records, health checks, design of wrasse nests, feeding methods for wrasse when there are no lice available for them to feed on, and capture technique development.

The Argyll-based Otter Ferry Wrasse Project between SSC, Norwegian owned Meridian Salmon Group, and The Crown Estate aims to see more than 250,000 commercially farmed wrasse deployed in marine sites within the next two years.

The importance of the Ardtoe research to the aquaculture in-dustry was recognised when it was co-opted into the EcoFish project, a wrasse research initia-

tive supported by the European Union’s Northern Periphery Programme, the Highlands and Islands Enterprise state development agency in Scotland, Nor-way’s Nordland Fylkeskommune devel-opment agency, the Bord Iascaigh Mhara state aquaculture and fisheries agency in Ireland, and fish farming member associ-ations. The findings from Scotland, Nor-way and Ireland are to be shared with the entire industry for use in rearing salmon and cod.

“Capturing and using wild wrasse is unsustainable and farmed wrasse has the advantage of being certified as dis-ease free,” said Dale Hill, SSC’s Techni-cal Manager. “The work with Viking Fish Farms will help to improve the cost basis of this method and extend its use and up-take for sea lice management.”

“The wrasse are thriving, said Steven Morrison, SSC’s site manager at Stockin-

ish. “It’s great to be involved in innovative work which will assist fish health long term and which supports environmental excel-lence.”

External validation of the Scottish in-dustry’s efforts to tick the sustainability boxes comes from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), the UK’s leading animal wel-fare charity, which operates in England and Wales.

RSPCA published the world’s first wel-fare standards for Atlantic farmed salm-on some ten years ago. Freedom Food, RSPCA’s farm animal assurance and food labelling scheme began working with the industry at that time.

“Our discussions with Scottish salmon farming participants have been particu-larly exemplary in terms of them taking on board the changes required to meet our strict welfare standards under Free-dom Food,” RSPCA farm animal special-ist John Avizienius told Business Insight.

“A high proportion of the Scottish salmon farming industry now works with Freedom Food, the only indepen-dently audited, dedicated salmon welfare scheme in the world.” In fact, RSPCA es-timates that Freedom Food now covers around 70 per cent of all Scottish farmed Atlantic salmon production.

Elsewhere in Business Insight (Page 10) the RSPCA describes the Scottish Salmon farming industry as Freedom Food’s “biggest success story to date” and explains the annual assessment and ac-creditation method.

Aquaculture in general, and salmon farming within that, can also make a significant contribution to providing a growing world population with protein in a way that is more sustainable than a massive expansion of agriculture.

“Anticipated growth in the world’s

tuesday march 19 2013 business insight - squarespace · tuesday march 19 2013 salmon scales ......

Documents