Photo by Paul Carroll
Plans to establish large-scale salmon farming in the Falkland Islands have divided the archipelago’s 3,500-strong population, with opponents now calling for a referendum after losing confidence in a government consultation they say is skewed towards the industry.
What’s being proposed
Unity Marine, a joint venture between local fishing company Fortuna and Danish firm F-land ApS, wants to farm 50,000 tonnes of salmon annually across 16 locations, in what would be the largest industrial inshore development in the islands’ history. An assessment commissioned by the Falkland Islands government found that farming 30,000 tonnes a year could add £35m annually to the territory’s economy, equivalent to 11% of GDP, and create 133 jobs.
The current public consultation began on 7 August and runs until 30 October 2026. It follows a long-running dispute: the government initially rejected the salmon farm proposal in 2022, after which Unity Marine sought and won a judicial review challenge arguing an island-wide consultation should have preceded that decision. Both parties then agreed a consent order quashing the 2022 decision and setting out the consultation process now under way.
Why campaigners want a referendum
Salmon Free Falklands (SFF), a group set up by local residents to oppose the proposal, argues a referendum would let residents settle the question decisively. “It is then the people who will get to decide what happens in their own country,” said Sally Poncet of SFF, who said she had lost confidence in the consultation process. She said reports commissioned by the government as part of the consultation rely on unverifiable data supplied by Unity Marine, and that there is “insufficient information” on the industry’s likely impact on the islands. She raised particular concern about salmon waste affecting kelp, a spawning ground for squid, a commercially important species, and other wildlife.
SFF describes itself as a community group founded in 2020, “striving to prevent this inappropriate development.” Its own materials describe the potential scale of the industry more expansively than the current Unity Marine proposal, stating that “a majority overseas-owned company sees a potential to farm 200,000 tonnes annually” in Falklands waters – considerably higher than the 50,000-tonne figure attributed to Unity Marine in the Guardian’s reporting on the current consultation. This may reflect SFF’s assessment of the industry’s longer-term maximum scale rather than the scope of what’s currently being consulted on; I have not been able to reconcile the two figures against a single primary source, so both should be treated as distinct claims rather than consistent numbers.
Louise Cherrie, a former member of Tasmania’s environmental protection authority who now advises SFF, was blunter about the quality of the underlying reports, describing them as “bordering on worthless.” “The carrying capacity has not yet been determined by a rigorous scientific process,” she said, referring to how many farmed salmon the area could sustainably support. “The regulation and impacts have not yet been costed, so it is not a cost-benefit analysis that the Falklands Islanders can make an informed choice on.” She noted the environmental report did not address how mass fish mortalities, a common occurrence in the salmon industry elsewhere, would be disposed of on the remote islands.
Dr Tom Appleby, head of legal affairs at the NGO Blue Marine Foundation, was similarly critical of the evidence base. “It is extraordinary that the Falklands Islands government have got themselves in a position where they are providing reports to the public in this consultation that do not use independently verified primary data,” he said. “The reports are so littered with disclaimers as to the sources of information as to be meaningless.”
The company and government response
James Wallace, managing director of Fortuna, pushed back on the characterisation of the process, noting Unity Marine had not applied for an operating licence but had instead been given time by the government to investigate the feasibility of commercial-scale salmon farming, including its social, environmental and economic impacts. “We are now in that investigative process, with independent preliminary reports published and public consultations happening,” he said. “It is our expectation that an informed decision-making process about whether salmon farming at scale is right for the Falkland Islands must include a robust environmental impact assessment, that can answer the specific questions raised by local residents in public consultations to help determine if the risks can be successfully mitigated and that the benefits are truly realised.”
A Falkland Islands government spokesperson said it was “neither advocating for nor opposing salmon farming,” and that the commissioned reports were intended “to inform public discussion by examining possible outcomes and impacts under different assumptions, rather than to provide final approvals for any specific project.” The government rejected suggestions that environmental impacts had not been clearly presented, saying the carrying capacity report had been commissioned “purely for demonstrating how the modelling process would be applied to a potential project” rather than as a determination of the islands’ actual carrying capacity. It said a separate report on socioeconomic impacts did not quantify future regulatory costs because these “cannot be accurately estimated” at this stage.
Wider context
The Falklands’ coastal waters are rich in krill and squid, attracting sea lions, elephant seals, dolphins and whales, and support five local penguin species. Public meetings held as part of the consultation have also raised questions about marine mammal entanglement risk, drawing comparisons with British Columbia’s salmon farming industry, where rare humpback whale entanglements have occurred alongside more frequent incidents involving seals and sea lions.
Where to find the consultation documents
The Falkland Islands Government has published the full consultation documentation online, including a summary document, the environmental impacts and mitigation report, the carrying capacity report, a legislative review comparing regulation in four other jurisdictions, the socio-economic impact assessment, a report on regulatory findings from a fact-finding trip to the Faroe Islands, and Unity Marine’s own project description. The public consultation survey remains open until 30 October 2026.