1977
30 years of Scottish Aquaculture 1980
1990
2000
FISH FARMER TIMELINE 2010
2008 Global financial gloom Chile con carnage
The global financial meltdown was matched, in Chile, by the decimation of the salmon farming industry, due to a severe outbreak of ISA, which first appeared in July 2007. After two decades of rapid growth the disease caused an industry that had provided much-needed jobs and profits in the south of the country, go into serious decline. Indeed, while the South Americans had been producing over
400,000 tonnes of salmon per annum before the outbreak (at a value of some $2.2 billion)
No Catch, no more
No Catch, Shetland’s pio- neering organic cod-farming conglomerate, went into ad- ministration in February. The
Thanks largely to the incom- petence of a wunch of bank- ers it looked as if Britain, along with much of the world, was facing a finan- cial crisis on a scale not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s. How- ever, in contrast to many other sectors, Scottish salmon farmers were beginning to see some signs for opti- mism.
company, which employed 130 people and operated 27 cages in 12 different locations around the islands, declared it had ‘underestimated’ the costs of running the busi- ness and had ‘reached its funding limits’. Man- aging Director, Karol Rzepkowski, however, dismissed widespread ru- mours that the company was in crisis.
The outfit took over the cod farming business of
Fish-speak
A sign of the industry’s in- creasing emphasis on envi- ronmental responsibility was reflected by the arrival of the WWF-inspired Salmon Aquac- ulture Dialogue in Edinburgh. Consisting of a mixture of pro- ducers, scientists, NGOs, feed manufacturers and others, the Dialogue demonstrated that sustainability issues were be- ing taken seriously. It also was a reflection of the comparative openness of the industry by this stage – a stark contrast to the early days, in which producers tried to keep their methods top secret.
In the words of Alan Suth-
www.fishfarmer-magazine.com 85
erland, Managing Director of Marine Harvest Scotland, ‘Ma- rine Harvest has participated in the Dialogue since it began and we are excited about the
next meeting being in our country. Being involved helps us ensure that the standards are good for the industry and the environment.’
brothers Ivor and Angus John- son in 2003 and had won praise from many quarters as well as considerable outside investment including £1.1 mil- lion from the Shetland Devel- opment Trust. A high-profile marketing campaign had seen the company showered with awards for quality, sustain- ability and innovation, and its products had become wide- spread in UK supermarkets, as well as supplying outlets overseas.
it is thought that this will be reduced to about 90,000 in 2010. While this may have helped to boost salmon prices in Norway and Scotland it caused, and is still causing, considerable social unrest in Chile’s X region and the fol- lowing year saw riots break out in Quellon. While the social and financial cost has been immense, the episode will, we hope, help to highlight the need for better practice mod-
els, such as are currently in place in Scotland.
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