Graphic images showing death and disease rife on one Scottish salmon farm are deeply concerning.
The footage and pictures obtained by the Record reveal skips full of dead rotten fish at the Shuna Point site in Loch Linnhe, near Oban.
Underwater filming shows mutilated salmon missing eyes and flanks due to lice and disease, with some floating dead in the water.
More troubling still is that the operator running this farm is also the exclusive supplier of M&S.
Industry bosses can wring their hands and complain that the activists who embarked on covert filming at this facility are picking out the worst cases to make their case against salmon farming.
But the camera doesn’t lie. And what it shows is evidence of widespread lice infestations, fish riddled with disease and lesions - and incinerators working overtime to discard the dead.
It’s grim, and we know it’s not an isolated issue. Latest stats show more than 16million salmon died prematurely on farms last year.
Scotland’s salmon industry is world-renowned, a crucial cog in our economy and responsible for thousands of jobs. But these mass mortalities are untenable and must be addressed.
Why this is happening is a major bone of contention.
Campaigners claim it’s down to overcrowding and welfare neglect, while sector voices insist there’s more to it - such as swarms of micro-jellyfish parasites plaguing caged salmon, thought to be linked to climate change.
Whatever the case, whatever the excuses, everyone with a stake in this issue must now get around a table to figure out a solution. Quickly.
It’s time for this industry to clean up its act - because Scotland’s reputation as a home of quality produce is under threat.
Polarised Politics
Politics is now far too polarised
It’s fair to say there is a lot of heat in Scottish politics but not always enough light.
Joani Reid, the granddaughter of the famous trade union leader Jimmy, says he would be saddened by the state of public debate in 2023.
As a shop steward during the celebrated 1971 work-in on the Clyde, he had to win a public relations battle with an uncaring Tory government in London.
That meant talking to people who were not Reid’s natural political allies.
It’s a principle that too few people in politics today seem to forget.
Scottish politics has become increasingly polarised over the last decade.
And not just on the big constitutional question.
Too many issues see parties choose to go it their own way instead of trying to build consensus.
Devolution was meant to usher-in a new era of collaborative working.
Maybe it’s time to finally give it a try.
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