The Scottish Government’s wild fisheries review has been dismissed as a “private gentlemen’s club”.
Pressure groups, Protect Wild Salmon and the North Atlantic Salmond Fund, claim the process – launched in January – is being hampered by a lack of transparency and public engagement.
The review was introduced in response to concerted demands from angling and conservation organisations which blame fish farms for destroying stocks of wild salmon and sea trout.
The Scottish Government has been promoting farmed salmon as a high-quality export but opponents say aquaculture is causing the spread of parasitic lice which attack wild fish. The second in a series of invitation-only “roundtable discussions” of the issues is due to be held on Deeside tomorrow.
However, Jenny Scobie, director of Ullapool-based Protect Wild Salmon, said questions needed to be aired more widely.
“The review reeks of a private gentlemen’s club dictating the fate of Scotland’s wild fisheries.”
A government spokes-man insisted the review of wild fisheries would focus on what is needed to ensure the management system is fit for purpose in the 21st century.
