Animals and Wildlife (Scotland) Act, included a ban on licensed shooting of seals to protect farmed salmon within aquaculture facilities. Also included within the Act (Section 15) was a requirement on the Scottish Parliament to report on the aquaculture sectors use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADDs). ADDs emit sound with the intention of scaring away seals, but they also impact non-target species, specifically cetaceans (i.e. porpoises, dolphins and whales).
There is clear evidence that ADDs can cause injury, disturbance and displacement of harbour porpoise and minke whales, which was confirmed by the Scottish Parliament report. The report suggests that further research on ADD use is required, and highlights the need for further investigation into non-lethal alternatives. Subsequently, the Scottish Government published a second report on non-lethal seal control options, which provides a comprehensive review of alternative, non-acoustic methods. The report recommends that the use of anti-predator nets and/or new netting material should be prioritised.
Some members of the aquaculture industry have already taken the step away from ADDs (e.g. Scottish Sea Farms) and adopted tensioned nets, anti-predator nets and more robust netting materials. This move has led to a reduction in seal predation in some areas.Recently the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (who represent all salmon farming companies in Scotland) announced that they would no longer use ADDs that “may have been considered to cause disturbance to European Protected Species” (i.e. cetaceans).
It is now three years since two parliamentary inquiries into salmon farming in Scotland took place. Concerns around ADD use were raised and to date little action on the issue has taken place. It is LINK’s view that all acoustic devices designed for scaring seals should be urgently phased out in favour of benign alternatives. Some salmon farmers in Scotland have already proven that non-acoustic and non-lethal alternatives can be effective in deterring predators. Therefore, LINK believe that the Scottish Government should, in line with its own report, prioritise the wide-scale deployment of these alternative methods.
No Comment