Largest Farmed Salmon Escape Uncovered in Scotland

A significant escape of nearly 80,000 farmed salmon from a transport vessel in Scotland, which occurred in February 2023, has only come to light following a Freedom of Information request. The fish were being transported from Loch Shin to Lochinver when they escaped through an unsecured hatch, raising concerns over the threats they pose to wild salmon populations, including disease transmission and genetic interbreeding. This incident, the largest of its kind in a decade, has sparked criticism of environmental monitoring practices in the salmon farming industry, with calls for better regulation and transparency. The Green Britain Foundation, which uncovered the escape, has described it as a 'wake-up call' for the industry, emphasizing the urgent need for reassessment of monitoring systems. The genetic differences between farmed and wild salmon could lead to poor survival rates for hybrids, further endangering Scotland's already vulnerable wild salmon population. The Scottish Government has indicated that it is reviewing reporting requirements for such escapes but maintains that the incident was not reported as it did not occur at a farm site.