Aquaculture Co-ordination Meetings Begin

9/26/2011 12:00:00 PM

The Company has been supporting an aquaculture co-ordination initiative involving the principal freshwater fish and fisheries management bodies in Scotland.

The initiative, chaired by Andrew Wallace, involves: the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland (RAFTS), the Association of Salmon Fisheries Boards (ASFB), the Salmon and Trout Association (S&TA), FishLegal (FL), and the Atlantic Salmon Trust (AST). These organisations plan to meet 4 times a year and are in regular contact with each other on aquaculture and wild fish management matters. The group has recently been in discussions with the Scottish Government about a Government initiated mediation process with the salmon farming industry to establish whether any mitigation measures can be agreed on to help further our understanding of the potential for salmon farming to impact wild fisheries and to take appropriate action where these impacts are felt.

The group has recently had a successful meeting with the Scottish Environment Minister, Stewart Stevenson, who is enthusiastic about these mediation discussions. Representatives of wild fisheries bodies will be meeting with industry and Government officials in the autumn to open these discussions with a provisional target of making progress on a variety of fronts in advance of a future “Aquaculture and Freshwater Fisheries” Bill planned for the Scottish Parliament in the Spring of 2012.

It is hoped that that these discussion could lead to a new and more positive relationship between the two parties and early discussions indicate positive attitudes to this initiative from both sides.

Further news on this and other matters is available on the RAFTS/ASFB websites:
www.rafts.org.uk. It is also possible to sign up to the RAFTS/ASFB newsletter through this site at: www.rafts.org.uk/newsletter.