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Soil Association strips British farmed salmon of organic status after 20 years

15h

Summary

  • The Soil Association announced this week it has removed organic certification from farmed salmon after 20 years, citing welfare and environmental failures.
  • Its two-year review found suffering and high mortality on certified farms not significantly better than non-organic ones; 17.4 million salmon died on British farms in 2023.
  • The decision followed pressure from WildFish, which argues the badge amounts to greenwashing and has spent two years seeking the association's salmon farm inspection reports.
  • The British industry produces about 205,000 tonnes a year, is worth £1bn and employs 2,500 people in Scotland; wild Atlantic salmon numbers have fallen more than 70% since farming began.
  • Salmon Scotland rejects the criticism, saying organic certification by the UK government continues and farms face more than 1,600 audits a year.

Reactions

  • Nick Measham of WildFish called the withdrawal 'a start in exposing the environmental, sustainability and welfare disaster that is salmon farming'.
  • WildFish said salmon farming was and always will be antithetical to organic principles, and urged the Soil Association to publish its inspection reports.
  • Chris Packham said the salmon farming industry is catastrophic for fish welfare and the environment.
  • Tom Appleby of Blue Marine said the decision goes to the heart of the salmon farming business model and had given it an odour of sanctity.
  • Salmon Scotland said the sector has invested over £1bn in fish health, survival rates remain high and sea lice levels are on a long-term downward trend.
  • More than 120 chefs from 26 countries signed a WildFish letter saying they will keep farmed salmon off their menus unless practices change.

Timeline newest first

  1. Lerøy Seafood Group said it has introduced ground-up poultry byproducts as feed at all of its offshore salmon farms; Tesco said this helps reduce reliance on marine resources.

Sources newest first

  • ‘An environmental and welfare disaster’: British salmon loses its organic statustheguardian.com· 15h

    A Guardian feature reports that the Soil Association has stripped farmed salmon of its organic certification after 20 years, citing welfare and environmental failures in a review, as the £1bn industry — where 17.4 million fish died in 2023 — faces criticism from chefs and WildFish, which Salmon Scotland rejects.