Fish farms on alert after activists release thousands of halibut

FISH farms across Scotland were put on alert by police yesterday after hard-line animal rights activists claimed responsibility for an attack on a halibut farm in which thousands of fish were released into the wild.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of damage was caused at the farm near Kilmelford, Argyll, and marine experts said it was highly unlikely the escaped fish could survive in the wild.

During the incident, ALF (Animal Liberation Front) was spray-painted on a wall and a Scotsman investigation revealed a statement has been released anonymously to a United States magazine boasting: "All the pens were destroyed and sunk and we saw hundreds, if not thousands, of fish swimming free."

After The Scotsman contacted police yesterday to inform them of the claim made on a website, police said they would warn fish farms to step up security amid fears that groups such as the ALF are planning further attacks.

Police are looking for a two-tonne Leyland DAF minibus, painted blue and possibly burgundy, seen near the farm around the time of the attack, which happened overnight last Wednesday. The raiders also wrecked a boat, an office and a crane at the farm.

The latest incident fuels fears that anglers and fish farms are becoming the new hate figures for animal rights groups following the ban on fox hunting.

A trout farm and deer park near Lanark was attacked in March and 60 lobster pots at Port Logan, near Stranaer, were destroyed by a group calling itself the Lobster Liberation Front.

Last night, Richard Slaski, a marine biologist and secretary of the British Marine Finfish Association, which represents fish farmers across the UK, said: "There is no animal experimentation going on. This is farming for food. Our members farm fish, just as other farms farm livestock and crops."

The environmental impact of large-scale escapes of farmed fish is unclear. A spokesman for the Scottish Executive said: "Concerns largely focus on the fact that escaped fish may occupy valuable habitat to the exclusion of wild fish, interbreed with wild fish, and represent a disease threat."

Across Scotland 70,000 jobs are connected to fish farming. It generates more than 500 million a year and accounts for 50 per cent of money raised by food exports from Scotland.