SCOTTISH SALMON PRODUCERS’ ORGANISATION
30 years of Scottish Aquaculture Salmon – the impact of climate change
PHIL THOMAS, CHAIRMAN OF SCOTTISH SALMON PRODUCERS’ ORGANISATION, COMMENTS ON THE PRESENT AND FUTURE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE SCOTTISH SALMON SECTORS.
Phil Thomas A
lthough temporar- ily eased out of the headlines by the global economic crisis, climate change remains a huge and pressing challenge, which has implications for all industries, including those founded on the iconic Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).
In Scotland, Atlantic salmon underpins three distinctive economic sectors. Game angling makes an annual contribution of over £90m to the economy, mainly through the visitors and tourism; com- mercial salmon netting can be valued at £5-7m; and the salmon farming industry has a farm gate value of about
£400m, with a wider multi- plier effect that more than doubles its economic impact. To date, much public policy debate has been focused on climate mitigation, on reducing global production of greenhouse gases (GHG) and the progressive achievement of ‘carbon neutrality’ through use of renewable resources. In this area salmon farming is in a good position since its emissions of CO2-equivalents per kg of product are amongst the lowest for any animal protein source – comparable, indeed, with the most efficient systems of poultry production. Whilst it is important to further reduce its carbon footprint, the salmon industry is starting from a good basic position. However, there is another aspect of climate change that has received less public atten- tion – namely the adaptation that needs to be made to cope with climate change impacts that are already ‘in play’. Climate change effects are al- ready evident in more unpre- dictable weather patterns and ‘freak storms’ – and these are already having influences on the salmon farming industry’s thinking about pen designs
and containment facilities.
Subtle changes However, the longer-term impacts of the more subtle changes, particularly the increasing sea surface tem- peratures (SST) and freshwa- ter temperatures, are more difficult to predict. Evidence from the Irish Sea suggests that SST is increasing by about 0.6o
C per decade and there are widely reported increases in river temperatures. By common consent these tem- perature changes could have direct impacts on fish physiol- ogy and pose threats to fish health.
In the Scottish angling and salmon netting sectors the impact of climate change is already firmly evident. Recent research has clearly shown the devastating impacts that SST increases in the Northeast Atlantic are having on the first year survival of migratory salmon and on the reduction in numbers of salmon return- ing to Scottish rivers. The economic effects of this on ‘angling visits’ has at present been masked. Rod and line catch numbers have in fact increased by about 20% since the 1960s. However, this in- crease has been facilitated by two factors. One is the intro- duction of catch and release salmon angling, which now accounts for some 62% of all salmon that are caught. The other is a massive 95% reduc- tion in commercial netting activity – in no small way re- lated to the huge commercial success of salmon farming. The long-term impacts of climate change on salmon an- gling are difficult to judge, but a glimmer of hope has been created by the significant
26
Increasing sea surface temperatures could have direct impacts on fish physiology.
success of the salmon restock- ing programme in the River Carron in Wester Ross. This suggests that salmon aquacul- ture, applied through restock- ing of rivers under threat, may have a new and important role to play in supporting the future of Scottish salmon angling.
Salmon farming is in a good position with low emissions of CO2 equivalents
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100