A growth of 22% over the past two years in consumption of Scottish farmed salmon has seen Scottish Aquaculture take second place behind only beef farming in Scottish agriculture, ahead of sheep and pig farming , The Times reported on 9 November 2008.
The report explains how, in 1980, only 9% of fish consumed came from aquaculture – now it is 46%.
However, the report also pointed out that this form of fish farming has been “accused of polluting the sea bed and spreading disease.” Something about which many interested in wild salmon fishing – and the many related industries – have great concerns.
Anglers spend many thousands of pounds on access to salmon runs, which provides jobs for ghillies who in turn work on habitat preservation and maintaining river banks: access which is often enjoyed by walkers and tourists to Salmon rivers.
Further, angling, in particular fly fishing, is a sport which sustains many small and medium sized businesses up and down the country through tackle shops, magazines, tutorial courses and a host of other related products and services.
While aquaculture might be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, the size and scale of salmon and sea trout angling in the UK mustn’t be underestimated: The Environment agency of England and Wales figures show that over 4 million people went fishing in 2005. Those figures do not include Scotland. If we said that, in the course of an entire year, those anglers spent on average, at least £100 on their sport (a small amount considering tackle, transport, accommodation, fishery fees, rod licence and more) then one can see that angling easily outstrips Scottish Aquaculture in terms of spend, yet we fishermen can often feel our needs are an afterthought.
However, there aren’t many press releases which explain how far angling goes to contribute to a better economy for a great many more businesses than aquaculture. This is something which may be worthy of redress.
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