DAVID MCPHEE
dmcphee@obantimes.co.uk
LOCAL fishery trusts and boards are calling for an immediate moratorium on new open cage marine salmon farms or any expansion of existing sites. Save Seil Sound, Argyll District Salmon Fishery Board, Argyll Fisheries Trust, Friends of Loch Etive and Friends of the Sound of Jura have joined 22 other non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to back the call by Salmon and Trout Conservation Scotland (S&TC Scotland). The move comes as the Scottish Parliament investigates the environmental impact of Atlantic salmon farming in Scotland. The Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform (ECCLR) Committee gathered evidence ahead of the current inquiry by the Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee (RECC).
Friends of the Sound of Jura was one of the organisations that gave evidence to the ECCLR last month, and in February the committee took evidence from the Dunbeg-based Scottish Association for Marine Science.