Fish farming is not always environmentally friendly, especially when it involves the use of large quantities of agricultural pesticides.
In Scotland, intensive salmon farms use large quantities of pesticides to keep fish pests, notably sea lice under control. The sea lice are now developing resistance, and the plan is to actually increase pesticide use.
The problem is that, in an aquatic environment, the chemicals do not stay put. A chemical that is toxic to one sort of invertebrate, in this case sea lice (a type of tiny crustacean), is going to damage many others, in particular related species such as crabs.
Increasing pesticide use is also counter-productive – the pests develop resistance. More chemicals are not the answer and will only harm both the marine environment and the long term future of aquaculture.
Ask the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to stop an increase in the use of sea pesticides.
We the undersigned ask that you ensure that the response to the increase in pesticide-resistant “super” sea lice is not to increase pesticide use. This is completely counter-productive, as it will just lead to more resistance in the pest species while damaging marine ecosystems.
The use of chemicals on fish farms needs to be reduced, not increased, to protect the long-term future of the industry as well as Scotland’s marine environment. If this means that production won’t increase as rapidly as planned, that is something that has to be accepted.
As copepods, of which the sea louse is an example, are crustaceans, substances toxic to them are also toxic to a great variety of other marine organisms, ranging from other copepods, which form an essential part of the food chain, to important food species such as crabs and lobsters.
Resistant pests and a damaged environment are not worth the very short-term profit.
Thank you for your attention
