The UK Government has been accused of acting as the “promotional wing” of the multinational salmon farming industry, after a minister appeared to bow to pressure to serve more farmed salmon at government receptions.
The Ferret can reveal that industry leaders lobbied the Scotland Office minister, Kirsty McNeill, at a meeting in September 2024 for “greater supply of Scottish salmon” at government events. She replied she was “keen to see this”.
Minutes of the meeting released under freedom of information law also show salmon company bosses complaining about “fractured” regulation and delays to export health certificates. They called for “a more enlightened approach on immigration” to attract fish farm workers to Scotland.
The Scotland Office’s role in helping to “spin a glossy PR story” was described as “deeply troubling” by the Scottish Greens. They said farmed salmon should “stay off the menu” at government events.
Campaigners argued that farmed salmon were frequently dosed with “highly toxic chemicals” and had “an appalling environmental record”. It was “bizarre” the UK Government wanted to serve a product subject to “systematic greenwashing”, they claimed.
But the industry insisted that the government was right to “showcase” Scottish salmon and help to boost sales. The product was an “extraordinary success story” enjoyed in nearly 50 countries, it argued.
The Scotland Office defended its support for the salmon industry as a vital part of its plan for economic growth. It said Scottish salmon was the “jewel in the crown” of Scotland’s produce.
As part of its major investigation – Who Runs Scotland – The Ferret revealed on 8 April the extent to which oil, whisky and other industries lobbied the Scotland Office. We have also reported in detail on the public relations firms that help businesses influence ministers.
On 11 September 2024 in London, McNeill and two of her senior officials met Atholl Duncan and Tavish Scott, respectively the chair and chief executive of the industry body, Salmon Scotland. Also present were executives from two big salmon farming companies, Mowi and Bakkafrost, as well as Alan Roden from the PR firm, Quantum Communications.
The official minute of the meeting released by the Scotland Office disclosed that it ended with the industry pressing for more of its salmon to be served at government events.
“Finally Salmon Scotland said that they would welcome greater supply of Scottish salmon at UK Government/Scotland Office events,” the minute recorded.
“Minister McNeill said that she was keen to see this but that catering procurement across government was not centralised and so the Scotland Office would need to see how best to take that away.”
Scottish salmon has been served at government events in the past, including the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021 and at St Andrews Day receptions at Holyrood and the British Embassy in Paris in 2023.
Earlier in the meeting, Bakkafrost said that “the regulatory environment for salmon production in Scotland was too fractured”, and didn’t include incentives for investment. The company argued that “there should be good regulation, not more regulation”.
The industry also complained that problems with export health certificates were delaying salmon exports. According to the minute, Bakkafrost said “the international competitiveness of Scotland has eroded” and “its share of the global market has diminished”.
In addition, salmon companies highlighted a need for foreign workers. “The industry is looking for a more enlightened approach on immigration, to make Scotland more attractive to workers from elsewhere,” Salmon Scotland’s Tavish Scott was reported to have said.
The meeting with the Scotland Office was on the same day as a salmon industry “breakfast briefing” for MPs at Westminster, hosted by the Labour MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Torcuil Crichton.
The Scottish Greens blamed salmon farming for pollution, mass mortalities and damaging the coastal environment. “It’s deeply troubling to see the UK Government’s Scotland Office acting as a promotional wing for the salmon farming industry,” said Green MSP, Ariane Burgess.
“Instead of helping to spin a glossy PR story about Scottish salmon, ministers should be listening to the scientists, communities, and campaigners who are calling for a pause in expansion until the serious animal welfare and environmental issues are addressed.”
Burgess added: “Salmon must stay off the menu for government events. Any encouragement to serve salmon at more government events will only embolden these fish farmers to continue harming the environment and the animals for profit.”
Campaign to get salmon ‘off the table’
The campaign group, WildFish, has been urging restaurants to keep farmed salmon “off the table”. The campaign has been backed by more than 350 chefs, restaurants, community groups, charities and campaign groups, it said.
“It is quite bizarre that the UK and Scottish governments are apparently keen to serve up salmon farmed in Scotland to illustrious and, one imagines, discerning guests,” said WildFish interim director, Andrew Graham-Stewart.
“This is hardly a product that UK plc or Scotland plc can be proud of, despite the industry’s efforts at systematic greenwashing. The more aware guests will likely appreciate that farmed salmon has an appalling environmental record, and it is frequently dosed with highly toxic chemicals, which kill other marine life and compromise fragile marine ecosystems.”
A spokesperson for Salmon Scotland said: “With such a strong global reputation for quality, it’s absolutely right that governments showcase Scotland’s fantastic food and drink, and help grow a sector that creates thousands of jobs and brings in hundreds of millions of pounds for the economy.
“Scottish salmon is an extraordinary success story and everyone in Scotland can take immense pride that we produce the UK’s largest food export here, which is enjoyed in nearly 50 countries worldwide.”
A Scotland Office spokesperson said: “Scottish salmon, and our support for the food and drink sector, is a vital element of our plan for change to drive economic growth.”
Salmon was “the jewel in the crown of Scotland’s world-class produce” providing “well paid, high skilled jobs in Scotland’s rural communities,” they added.
Minutes of meetings with the farmed salmon industry released by the Scotland Office
Cover image thanks to iStock/semenovp.
The official – and only – justification for letting this rogue industry trash the West Coast’s otherwise beautiful lochs has always been the provision of local employment. So how come these multinational money-launderers are now demanding “a more enlightened approach on immigration to attract fish farm workers to Scotland”?
Answers on a manila envelope …