SCOTTISH salmon firms could lose their organic status over declining standards and growing fish welfare concerns, an industry regulator has warned.
The Soil Association, a charity that certifies organic salmon farms on behalf of the Scottish Government, said it will decide whether it will depart ways with the sector or stay and help try and improve standards.
The organisation threatened to strip firms of their organic status and walk away from the industry as it said standards had dipped so low that it now poses a “reputational risk”.
The regulator has become increasingly frustrated over the salmon industry's “unacceptable” mortality rates, lack of sustainability and its environmental impact with polluting practices.
The organic status is granted to farms that adhere to a number of strict guidelines by the association, including allowing fish sufficient space within sea pens, limiting the use of antiparasitic drugs, which help with tackling the likes of sea lice but pollute seawater and following ethical slaughter methods.
Firms that adhere to the Soil Association’s guidance, which is Britain’s oldest and largest organic certification body, are then allowed to label their products “organic” and carry the regulator's logo.
The organisation regulates 75% of UK organic food and 100% of its salmon.
However, Helen Browning, the chief executive of the Soil Association, has questioned if the organisation should continue working with the industry, which would leave the government having to find another organisation to certify salmon farms as organic, according to The Times.
She said: “The big question for us is what is our best role in this?
“Are we better setting higher standards and driving the industry forward as quickly as we possibly can, or should we worry about the reputational risks and pull out?”
In an update, the Soil Association said it will meet with industry representatives and campaigners next month as they hear arguments for either the continued organic certification or a withdrawal.
Dale Vince, the renewable energy tycoon and founder of the Green Britain Foundation, has criticised the Soil Association, saying that they helped “rubber-stamping” what he described as “factory farming”.
“People that buy farmed salmon labelled as organic are being misled by the oldest and most trusted stewards of the organic movement,” he said.
“The Soil Association has spent 80 years earning the public’s trust, they should walk away from factory-farmed salmon now before they lose that trust for good.”
