CONTAINMENT SPECIAL
ATLANTIC HALIBUT
that we use a seine net to catch the bulk of the fish and only lift the cage itself when coming towards the end of the harvesting process.’
Activists Yet, despite the training, the equipment and the positioning of the halibut cages, Kames has suffered from one very seri- ous escape incident, which they could have done little about. It was caused by some ill-informed animal rights activists who in 2006 removed all the nets from 5 cages, leading to the loss of 60 tonnes of 5-6 kg fish – ‘a horrendous experience that undid four years of hard work,’ Stuart reflects, ‘and which was a dis- aster from an animal welfare point of view too.’ ‘As the fish had been raised in captivity they were not aware of the tides,’ he recalls, ‘so each time the tide went out thousands of them were left stranded on dry land. As a result tonnes and tonnes of the fish were later found dead on the beach and the local otters, herons and seagulls had a field day. The vandals not only removed all the nets, but also trashed boats, cranes and computers, causing a vast amount of damage. And they also posted footage of their handiwork on the internet within hours of the attack.’
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com
‘The people involved were the stooges of the Animal Libera- tion Front, which is essentially a terrorist organisation. We have since increased our security systems to ensure a greater pos- sibility of detecting intruders, but the damage had already been done. Economically and in terms of animal welfare the incident was a disaster, but – thankfully – the event should not have had too great an impact on the wider environment. For, unlike es- caped farmed salmon which may possibly interbreed with their wild cousins and escaped trout, which may have a minor impact on the food chain in lochs and rivers, it is not thought that the flatfish did a great deal of harm to their surroundings. We have considered the possibility of a certain degree of genetic pollu- tion, but I don’t think it’s too much of a risk given our location, as there are very few – if any – wild halibut in the area of the escape.’ Kames is now only using all female halibut, which further reduces the risk of any genetic pollution. So, despite their one major setback, they are now looking to expand their halibut production, ‘hopefully to around 1000 tonnes per annum within the next 6-8 years,’ Stuart muses, ‘which would put it roughly at the same level or higher than the current levels of wild halibut landings in UK ports. And, given that landings were as high as 16,000 tonnes in the late 1960s, the market potential for farm- ing them seems to be growing as the capture fishery declines.’ If expansion does go ahead as planned it will only be a good thing, as Scotland’s aquaculture industry will be stronger if it is diverse, and – discounting the threat of further terrorist attacks – from a containment point of view halibut appear to offer a comparatively risk-free aquacultural option.
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