Maimed fish captured on film at salmon farm in west Highlands of Scotland, sparking fears over animal welfare

Activists have raised concerns over animal welfare and health and safety at the site in in Loch Carron

Gruesome underwater footage of disfigured salmon swimming in cages at a fish farm in the west Highlands has emerged.

The video, taken last week, is among several shot in Loch Carron, Wester Ross, at a site owned by Faroese firm Bakkafrost Scotland in the past two months.

Footage recorded last week shows live fish being sucked out of pens alongside dead ones and poured into a bucket, ready for disposal, with workers looking on.

Drone shots from October have captured mort bins – where dead fish are stored before being dumped – without lids, allowing seagulls to scavenge on the contents.

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Activists have raised concerns over animal welfare and health and safety at the fish farm and are writing to agencies including Police Scotland’s Wildlife Crime Unit, the Animal and Plant Health Agency, Marine Scotland, Highland Council, industry body Salmon Scotland and the RSPCA, which certifies salmon from the company.

Campaign groups $camon $cotland and Abolish Salmon Farming believe the videos show evidence of breaches of the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 – specifically in relation to Section 19 (Unnecessary Suffering) and Section 24 (Ensuring Welfare of Animals).

This image is taken from drone footage of operations to remove dead fish from cages, but the video shows live fish moving among the corpses. Picture: Jamie Moyes

Abolish Salmon Farming founder Jamie Moyes, a former fish farm worker who lives in the area, captured the videos with drones and underwater camera equipment.

He described the state of some of the fish he recorded as “absolutely shocking” and questioned practices at the West Strome site.

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“It’s the worst condition I’ve ever seen any salmon in – it’s horrific,” he said.

Abolish Salmon Farming founder Jamie Moyes, a former fish farm worker who lives near Bakkafrost's West Strome salmon farm, has been out filming with drones and underwater camera equipment at the site

He added: “As you can see in the footage, these salmon farmers show absolutely no care for the salmon in the brail net who are slowly suffocating to death in front of them.

“This horrific unnecessary animal abuse must be stopped, and that can only happen with local opposition.”

After seeing some of the footage, Iain MacIntyre, director of marine operations for Bakkafrost Scotland, said: “It is not normal to see live fish – two fish in this case, one appears moribund – while our team was conducting our daily pen cleaning.

“Mortalities are not unique to fish farming and, like other farmers, we take pride in our stock and our facilities.

This video, captured in October, shows mort bins without lids – allowing seagulls to scavenge. Picture: Jamie Moyes

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“We are experts in salmon husbandry and are committed to the welfare and health of our salmon, and regularly review our procedures aligned with best practice and veterinary guidance.”

The videos come shortly after publication of the latest industry mortality figures, which show 4.82 per cent of stock died before harvest at fish farms across Scotland in October – the highest monthly death rate since reporting began in 2018.

Some of the worst-hit operations lost between a fifth and two fifths of their stock.

Diseases, jellyfish, plankton and predators were among the causes listed.

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Underwater footage shot at Bakkafrost's West Strome fish farm, in Wester Ross, shows this disfigured fish in one of the site's cages. Picture: Jamie Moyes

The previous highest monthly losses were recorded last year, with a death rate of 4.65 per cent in September 2022 and 4.64 per cent in November 2022.

This is considerably higher than the worst month in 2018, which saw 1.57 per cent of stock lost in September.

Bakkafrost has just been ranked at number six in a global league table of sustainable food producers.

The Coller FAIRR Protein Producer Index assesses firms on environmental, social and governance factors – including climate emissions, waste, pollution and animal welfare.