THIS month the editor had asked me to write about the Scottish Government's response to the Salmon Interactions Working Group (SIWG). From day one I was never a great fan of this forum, especially because its remit began with acceptance that salmon farming has an impact on wild fish numbers. I think there is still much to debate before subscribing to this theory. For example, I am still waiting for anyone from to explain how the graph below demonstrates salmon farming is responsible for the decline of, in this case, sea trout numbers.The graph is constructed from official government catch data for sea trout from 1952 when records first began. It is clear that sea trout catches were in decline for the 30 years prior to the commercialisation of salmon farming. Could it be that the decline after the 1980s was due to the same causes as before the arrival of salmon farming. It seems no one wants to discuss such possibilities simply because they do not support the "salmon farming is to blame" narrative.
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