A Scottish salmon farm lost in excess of 52,000 juvenile fish in what has been described as a major seal attack. During the incident, seals ripped open nets and killed "many" fish, while others escaped, according to a closely associated industry body.
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The attack occurred at a farm based at Portree on Skye managed by The Scottish Salmon Company (SSC). The business was due to have new anti-predator netting technology installed by the end of this month.
"Our Portree site has recently been subject to persistent attacks from a large group of seals which, despite our best efforts, caused significant damage to one of our nets", according to an SSC spokesperson, speaking to BBC News.
"Our staff moved quickly to repair this damage but unfortunately a number of fish escaped."
The company added it was now working closely with the local fisheries trust to record any sightings and recapture stock wherever possible. The fish died either from a physical attack or "indirectly from stress".
The Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) says that predation attacks continued to have a significant impact on fish health and welfare.
It reported that more than 500,000 Scottish farmed salmon died as a result of seal attacks over the year to May 2020.
The organisation said recent legislation had reduced the methods available to fish farmers to manage the problem, including a ban on the use of "lethal controls", a change which came into effect in full at the end of January.
For more information, visit the BBC News website HERE
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