19 minute read
Sandy Neil
Steps to a better future
Assessing a year’s progress since the publication of Scottish Salmon’s Sustainability Charter, A Better Future For Us All
BY SANDY NEIL
SCOTLAND’S salmon sector “stands on the cusp of something truly great,” states the Sco� sh Salmon Sustainability Charter. Hailed as a “groundbreaking” roadmap for Sco� sh salmon, the country’s number-one food export, this ambi� ous document was published a year ago.
The charter sets out the sector’s grand plan to lead the world in providing healthy, tasty, nutri� ous food, produced in the most responsible and sustainable way.
“What began a li� le over 50 years ago as a simple cro� ing sideline has grown into a billion-pound-a-year na� onal success story,” wrote Tavish Sco� , CEO of Salmon Scotland (which at the � me was known as the Sco� sh Salmon Producers Organisa� on, or SSPO).
“Ahead of us stands the opportunity to be a key contributor to Scotland’s target of net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045 – and aid the country’s post-Covid recovery and renewal.”
Salmon Scotland’s Sustainability Charter sets out how the sector intends to realise those benefi ts, with fi ve key pledges and 41 diff erent ac� ons.
“The charter is just the start,” the charter affi rms: “There is much work to be done now to establish a baseline, to put in place short-, medium- and long-term targets, and agree how and when to measure the progress made. But we’re ready to rise to the challenge.”
The charter is divided into fi ve sec� ons covering animal welfare, environment, food, people and community, each with an overarching pledge: • “We will apply the highest standards of animal welfare;
• We will work con� nuously to minimise our impact and ensure a healthy environment; • We will produce healthy, nutri� ous food with full traceability every step of the way; • We will become the sector of choice for people looking to make a posi� ve diff erence; and • We will be good neighbours in every way, increasing our posi� ve social impact.”
Under each of these broad commitments lie many specifi c and bold pledges, such as sourcing 100% of fi sh feed ingredients from sustainable sources with full traceability of all ingredients, and improving pen structures to make sure all fi sh are prevented from escaping.
So, one year on, what progress has been made? In November, Salmon Scotland published an update on progress.
Protec� ng the environment
Following November’s COP26 climate crisis summit in Glasgow, environmental pledges are right at the top of the agenda.
“Raising healthy fi sh relies on a healthy habitat,” the charter says, “so it’s in all our interests to protect the environment: from adop� ng greener energies and working towards zero waste to achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions in our own opera� ons before 2045.”
One pledge vows that Scotland’s salmon farmers will “pursue ways to divert poten� al waste, be it organic ma� er from freshwater hatcheries or obsolete farm infrastructure, into valuable byproducts”. In Argyll, there is progress to report.
At its Barcaldine hatchery near Oban, Sco� sh Sea Farms has been using environmentally friendly technologies to transform nutrient-rich fi sh waste into fer� liser for agricultural land. The waste is tested by the Sco� sh Agricultural College to be cer� fi ed safe for agricultural use before being spread onto the land to enrich the soil.
The company is working on ways to remove the remaining water from the sludge to produce dry pellets. This would reduce the volume of waste material and the road miles needed to transport it to farms. For land farmers, dry pellets would off er an even more nutri� onal natural fer� liser alterna� ve that’s easy to handle.
Another environmental pledge declares the sector will “take every step possible to avoid marine debris from our farms and recover any items promptly regardless of their origin”.
There is progress to report here too, says Janice Macgregor, Head of Communica� ons at Salmon Scotland: “We have a system in place where people can report marine debris and exactly where it was seen. Salmon Scotland then log this with the nearby salmon farms to request it is picked up.”
Within this sec� on sits a third eye-catching pledge: “We will work towards 100% renewable energy use.”
Opposite from top: Tavish Sco� , Salmon Scotland; Barcaldine see across Loch Creran This page from top: Barcaldine growing area; Smolt at the Barcaldine Hatchery; The hybrid vessel Laurence Knight
Here, again, we can see progress. In October, for example, Sco� sh Sea Here, again, we can see progress. In October, for example, Sco� sh Sea Farms took delivery of a hybrid power workboat, the fi rst vessel of its kind to be used in Scotland’s aquaculture sector. The 15m catamaran, Laurence Knight, was commissioned by Mull-based boat operator Inverlussa Marine Services from Norwegian yard Moen Marin and went into service on Scotland’s west coast.
The boat, which runs primarily on its ba� eries, marked a “massive milestone” in both carbon reduc� on and cost savings, says Inverlussa Managing Director Ben Wilson. It can perform on-farm du� es for fi ve to six hours without recharging its ba� eries from either of the two generators on board.
The ba� eries have a typical life expectancy of 16 years and are also 100% recyclable. And in another clever eco-friendly measure, the water used to cool the ba� eries is recycled to help heat the four cabins.
For Sco� sh Sea Farms, the new vessel will help achieve CO2 savings of around 234 tonnes a year, as well as poten� ally cut fuel costs by up to 50%. Sco� sh Sea Farms’ Regional Director for the Mainland, Innes Weir, says the boat would ins� l confi dence in the future of hybrid technology across the business.
Fish welfare
Introducing the sec� on on animal welfare, Salmon Scotland explained: “As farmers, everything revolves around good biology. This means high standards of fi sh health and welfare throughout a life cycle. We feel a similar duty of care towards other wildlife.”
The Charter promises con� nued investment in recircula� ng aquaculture systems (RAS), well-boats and farm infrastructure. Major advances are happening in Applecross, where the Sco� sh Salmon Company is developing a £49m state-of-the-art RAS facility.
Greater control of the freshwater rearing environment means that
farmers can produce larger smolt, which will reduce the marine produc� on cycle and reduce the biological risk of rearing in the marine environment.
The innova� ve RAS will be powered by 100% renewable energy and forms part of the company’s long-term plan to transfer all freshwater produc� on to land, with increased produc� on volumes, be� er and stronger fi sh, reduced mortali� es, and greater consistency and quality for customers.
Another pledge in the animal welfare sec� on affi rms: “We will con� nue to respond to consulta� ons and engage with stakeholders towards a plan for wild salmon.”
There is progress to report here too. In August, Salmon Scotland announced that than £70,000 had so far been awarded to organisa� ons across Scotland working to enhance and protect wild fi sheries and habitats.
The awards were made by the Wild Salmonid Support Fund, a brandnew fund created by the SSPO and fi nanced directly from Scotland’s salmon farm companies.
The fund is part of a fi ve-year programme that will see £1.5m invested in suppor� ng the status of wild salmon and sea trout stocks in Sco� sh rivers.
Projects include the Argyll Fisheries Trust, which received £18,600 to invest in habitat restora� on for sea trout in the Dalvuie Burn near Oban; the Flow Country River Trust, in the Highlands, which is inves� ng a £10,070 award into research into river macroinvertebrates, important indicator species and part of the food chain; and in the Outer Hebrides, Urras Oighreachd Chàrlabhaigh (Carloway Estate Trust) received a grant of £9,251 to undertake a project that will aim to improve salmon spawning grounds on the Carloway river.
Traceability
Coming under the “traceability” heading, one rela� vely easy win was to “commission up-todate, evidence-based research into the nutri� onal values of Sco� sh farmed salmon”.
A nutri� onal study was commissioned to fi nd out how healthy farmed salmon really is, and, the charter update reveals, the results were surprising and very encouraging.
“The study found that just one serving of Sco� sh salmon provides 70% of daily vitamin D needs, half an adult’s protein needs, 40% of recommended vitamin E intake and four-and-a half � mes the marine omega-3 fats recommenda� on.
“What this means for health is now clear: vitamin D helps immune func� on and bone health, vitamin E protects cells, protein is good for muscle building, and healthy bones and omega-3 fats support vision and healthy heart func� on.”
Another pledge in the traceability sec� on seeks to “support the increased provision of farmed salmon in care homes, schools, hospitals, prisons and staff restaurants, enabling more people to enjoy a healthier diet”.
Salmon Scotland is working with S� rling Council on an ini� a� ve to make fresh Sco� sh salmon available to all secondary school pupils in the council area once a week for two months.
The aim is to fi nd out what barriers stand in the way of providing locally sourced, healthy
This page from top: Construc� on starts on a site for aff ordable housing on Colonsay, near Mowi’s farm (Photo: Kevin Byrne); Mowi staff housing on Rum Opposite page from top: Sco� sh salmon farm; Orca; O� er; Wild salmon
nutri� ous food to public sector establishments like schools with the aim of rolling out the project more widely in the future.
The project has been delayed twice because of Covid restric� ons, but organisers are confi dent it will go ahead in the spring of 2022. The salmon is being provided by S� rling-based Sco� sh Sea Farms, and the project is being evaluated by the Sco� sh Associa� on for Marine Science near Oban.
Looking after the people
In the section titled “Our People”, a key pledge is to “increase provision of high-quality, affordable housing in remote communities”. Progress can be seen on the Isles of Colonsay, Rum and Muck.
“A 12-unit aff ordable housing se� lement is being built on the Isle of Colonsay near to the Mowi salmon farm,” Salmon Scotland says. “This represents a £2.4m investment by the salmon company in partnership with the Sco� sh Government Land Fund, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Argyll and Bute Council.”
Mowi has also built two new environmentally friendly houses for staff on the nearby island of Rum, with the salmon company clearing and servicing two addi� onal plots for community use. The company had previously built four housing units on the Isle of Muck to assist with employee accommoda� on at this island farm.
The update reports: “Across our farming regions, member companies are exploring different ways of dealing with the increasingly scarce provision of affordable housing in rural Scotland.”
Playing a part in the community
Using waste to collect waste: that is the forward-looking green project being pioneered by Sco� sh Salmon Company in the Western Isles. The ini� a� ve diverts material that would otherwise go to landfi ll – including fi sh waste – into an anaerobic digester. This then provides biogas, which goes to the council’s combined heat and power plant to be turned into electricity. The electricity is used to make hydrogen and oxygen through an electrolyser, with the hydrogen being used to power a hybrid bin lorry to operate in Lewis and Harris – collec� ng waste. A major pledge commits that the sector will “support the delivery of marine wildlife surveys… publish our farms’ wildlife surveys for the benefi t of all”. This year, Sco� sh Sea Farms rolled out a new wildlife recording app so that farmers’ wildlife observa� ons can be shared with the Biological Record Centre for use by conserva� onists, scien� sts and NGOs. Three farms par� cipated in the pilot, in which monthly paper records were replaced with the app-based system. The informa� on can be collected quickly on a phone or laptop, acquiring automa� c co-ordinates from GPS signals for loca� on. Driving the ini� a� ve was Anna Price, from Sco� sh Sea Farms’ quality control team, who checked in monthly with the farms par� cipa� ng in the trial: Loch Nevis A, Bloody Bay and Creran. Their feedback helped inform any changes that needed to be made, such as providing training in iden� fying less-common species, before the app was rolled out across all farms. “The app is straigh� orward and anyone on the farm can use it,’ said Price. ‘Any species can be recorded, from orcas to o� ers, and seagulls to sea eagles, and photographs or videos can also be uploaded. “I really want to get as many people as possible engaged with it because these observa� ons are a valuable resource for the public and the wider science community.”
“We have to keep up this pace,” Tavish Sco� concluded in the 2021 Sustainability Charter Annual Update. “Our sector is already a world leader in terms of sustainability, but we have to work harder to keep ahead of our compe� tors and, crucially, to meet the increasingly rigorous demands from our customers.
“So this annual update – regardless of the progress it champions – is just the start. There will be more, much more, to report on next year.” FF
Faroes in
green pledge
A consortium of businesses in the Faroes are working together to promote more sustainable practices
BY SANDY NEIL
TWELVE companies in the Faroe Islands, such as fi sh farmer Bakkafrost and aquaculture supplier Vónin, are progressing their own sustainability charter, including a pledge to halve CO2 emissions by 2030.
Burðardygt Vinnulív, the Faroese Sustainable Business Ini� a� ve, is a network of a dozen businesses in the Faroes aiming to advance sustainable business prac� ces in response to three challenges: climate change, ocean health and biodiversity loss.
The group “aims to contribute towards UN Sustainable Development Goals 13: Climate Ac� on, 14: Life Below Water, and 15: Life on Land, with greater speed and impact than would be possible for individual companies”.
In January 2021, the founding members commi� ed to work together for at least three years to address the key risks and opportuni� es arising from these issues. A recent report presented the fi rst phase of its plan and included a commitment from each of the 12 CEOs.
“Through our Climate Change workstream, our fi rst job has been to understand our individual opera� onal footprints,” it said. “In the fi rst six months working together, we have mapped our scope 1 (direct) and scope 2 (indirect) CO2e emissions and set a target (aligned with scien� fi c recommenda� ons) to at least halve scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030.
“In 2022, we will con� nue working to understand our scope 3 (indirect) emissions, working with our wider value chains to set further reduc� on targets. Scope 3 is where the largest emissions tend to be for a company and o� en much harder to control. We will also look to be ambi� ous in this area.
“Over the next two years we will also begin increasing our focus on adapta� on as well as mi� ga� on. We will report our progress every year and will look for third-party assurance and verifi ca� on where possible.
“We an� cipate that once we have calculated our indirect CO2e scope 3 emissions, our carbon footprint will grow considerably. Many of us have ambi� ous growth plans, so decoupling emissions from our growth is going to be a big challenge, par� cularly in areas where we do not have as much control of our value chain. As many of us already work together, we have already iden� fi ed some ways we can do this.
“To achieve our scope 1 and 2 reduc� on targets, we will also be relying on our na� onal electricity provider to meet its commitment to provide 100% renewable electricity by 2030.
“Aff ordability of clean energy as we electrify and explore other fuel sources will be another challenge – one also faced by other island communi� es and by others who don’t benefi t from liberalised energy markets.
“Many of us will also be relying on our customers and suppliers to come on this
Left: Trout farm Above: Faroes fi sh farms Below: Puffi ns on Mykines Opposite: Regin Jacobsen, Bakkafrost
journey with us if we are to be successful.”
The document includes a plan to safeguard oceans and biodiversity. “Island life is dependent on a strong rela� onship with nature,” it says. “While the Faroe Islands benefi t from a seemingly pris� ne environment, we are acutely aware of the degrada� on of natural systems around the world. Many of us source raw materials and products from other countries, and we understand our responsibility to address impacts on the environment both here and in our global value chains. As large mul� na� onal businesses increasingly priori� se their impacts on ocean health and biodiversity loss, so will we.
“Our work will support Sustainable Development Goals 14: Life Below Water and 15: Life on Land. We will be looking for ways to signifi cantly reduce marine pollu� on, to promote sustainable use of marine and terrestrial ecosystems and to reduce and reverse biodiversity loss.
“We have had seminars to understand more about global threats to biodiversity and conducted a top-level materiality analysis of our impacts, deepening our understanding of our task to reduce and reverse any poten� al nega� ve impacts on nature.
“Through our Biodiversity and Ocean Health workstream, we have selected one area to focus on ini� ally. Here we will follow a process with expert support to set at least one net posi� ve goal by 2030. In 2022, we will con� nue working on developing this goal, se� ng further targets to help us reach it, and thinking about how we may extend this approach to other areas within our control. We will report our progress annually.
“Some of us are s� ll at the start of the journey in understanding and responding to the biodiversity crisis, and we recognise we have a long way to go, not only in deepening our knowledge but also in fi nding solu� ons.
“The resources and infrastructure in a country of around 54,000 people are not the same even as our neighbouring island communi� es, so we are restricted in many decisions we make, from sourcing to waste management.
“We hope that through our stakeholder engagement we may be able to overcome some of these diffi cul� es and will also be able to infl uence other sectors in our society to take up this agenda with an equal level of ambi� on and speed.”
Regin Jacobsen, CEO of Bakkafrost,says: “We are pleased to be part of a group making progress against these urgent, shared issues. We have come further in the fi rst few months of this ini� a� ve than I think any of us would have expected and we are already star� ng to see meaningful collabora� on opportuni� es between us. I am sure these will accelerate our progress on these issues.” FF
