A well known salmon farming company was told by Scottish Government inspectors to cut lice numbers at three of its sites in Sutherland. It responded by suggesting that other salmon farmers were failing to report lice numbers accurately.
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A well known salmon farming company was told by Scottish Government inspectors to cut lice numbers at three of its sites in Sutherland. It responded by suggesting that other salmon farmers were failing to report lice numbers accurately.
One of Scotland’s high-profile salmon companies has accused other producers of failing to report lice infestations at fish farms “honestly”, according to emails obtained by The Ferret.
Loch Duart Salmon, named as a seafood producer of the year in 2025, was defending itself against a legal crackdown by Scottish Government inspectors on excessive lice levels at three of its sites in Sutherland.
In an email to the Fish Health Inspectorate in December 2025, Loch Duart claimed that it was one of the smaller companies which reported lice infestations accurately, implying that larger firms did not. This was “frustrating” as public relations about lice problems was “very damaging”, said a company manager.
Campaigners argued that salmon companies were “effectively left to self-report and mark their own homework”. Regulation of the industry was flawed and the lice problem “continues to spiral out of control”, they said.
Loch Duart pointed out that it was the only Scottish salmon farm to have its fish health data independently audited. The salmon industry said information on lice was “reported transparently and overseen by regulators.”
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Plagues of sea lice have long been one of the most intractable issues facing Scotland’s salmon farming industry, which was estimated in 2025 to add £1bn to the Scottish economy. Lice eat, damage and kill caged fish, and can spread to wild salmon.
Under pressure from MSPs, the Scottish Government has in recent years been ramping up attempts to monitor and control lice numbers. Its Fish Health Inspectorate has statutory powers aimed at forcing companies to reduce lice levels.
To date, though, there has been little known about what enforcement actions have actually been taken. Now, files released under freedom of information law have uncovered an unprecedented series of legal moves against Loch Duart.
In November 2025 the inspectorate served three enforcement notices on the company saying that reported lice levels were at least three times higher than the limit of two female lice per fish. They covered farms at Badcall Bay, Calva Bay and Clashnessie Bay in Sutherland.
The notices said that measures in place for controlling lice were “not currently deemed satisfactory”. They required Loch Duart to reduce lice numbers using pesticides, lice-eating fish or other treatments within four weeks.
Rob Edwards
Before issuing the enforcement notices, the Fish Health Inspectorate also sent Loch Duart five warning letters in September and October 2025, two each for Badcall and Calva and one for Clashnessie.
A sixth warning letter was sent to Loch Duart on 3 December 2025 about another salmon farm at Loch A Chairn Bhain in Sutherland. Two enforcement notices and a warning letter about lice had been previously served on the Clashnessie salmon farm in 2021.
According to the inspectorate, “conditions of the enforcement notices issued have been met to a satisfactory standard.”
The files released in response to The Ferret’s freedom of information request also included emails between Loch Duart and the inspectorate in the last three months of 2025. The company repeatedly outlined the measures it was taking to reduce lice numbers in response to the enforcement actions and warning letters.
The company said it was facing “multiple challenges at multiple times”, and had to leave “rest time” between lice treatments to avoid “self-inflicted and undue mortality”. Staff were working long hours to combat the problem, it added.
In an email on 10 December 2025, a company manager whose name has been redacted, complained that getting help from other companies was “very difficult” because “everyone else is seeing the same problems and challenges this year.”
The sea lice problem continues to spiral out of control. Yet the industry continues to downplay the problem without justification. – Nick Underdown, WildFish
The email continued: “If you look at the main reporters in the top list publicised online it’s the smaller companies, who are reporting honestly, which is frustrating as the PR from this is very damaging for a smaller business.”
In a reply later that same day, the Fish Health Inspectorate’s technical manager, whose name has also been redacted, said: “I am intrigued and a bit perturbed by your statement regarding the honesty of sea lice reporting.”
“As a regulator of the industry it creates difficulties in investigating potential breaches of regulatory requirements when we are in receipt of such a statement, without being afforded the ability to investigate the insinuation,” the email continued.
“Could you please provide further information to either explain or substantiate the comment, or an explanation as to why you have made this unsubstantiated comment and whether you would prefer to retract it.”
On 26 January, the inspectorate told The Ferret that it had yet to receive a reply.
The Herald has reported that Loch Duart was one of the salmon farming companies that suffered a high number of fish deaths in October 2025. Its Badcall farm had a mortality rate of 13 per cent, while at Loch A Chairn Bhain more than 20 per cent of fish died – deaths that were partly blamed on lice infestations.
Sea lice levels reported at several times the limit pose serious risks not just to farmed fish, but to wild salmon and the wider marine environment. – Ariane Burgess MSP
The campaign group, WildFish, argued there was a “fundamental flaw” in the regulation of salmon farms. “Salmon farm businesses are effectively left to self-report and mark their own homework,” said Scotland director, Nick Underdown.
“The Fish Health Inspectorate has limited practical powers for independent auditing. Until there are tighter regulations around the monitoring of sea lice, we do not have confidence in the industry data.”
The enforcement notices on Loch Duart signalled that “the sea lice problem continues to spiral out of control” and was affecting the whole industry, Underdown added.
“Yet the industry continues to downplay the problem without justification. And it is actively resisting stronger regulation, by its mass appeal against the Scottish Environment Protection Agency’s sea lice licensing conditions.”
Rob Edwards
The Scottish Greens reiterated their call for a pause on the approval of new salmon farms. “These enforcement notices are deeply concerning,” said Green MSP Ariane Burgess.
“Sea lice levels reported at several times the limit pose serious risks not just to farmed fish, but to wild salmon and the wider marine environment. We can't continue to rely on enforcement action after standards have already been exceeded.”
Loch Duart declined to comment directly on its suggestion that other firms hadn’t reported lice levels honestly. “Loch Duart is in regular contact with regulatory bodies, including the Fish Health Inspectorate,” a spokesperson told The Ferret.
“It is the only Scottish salmon farm to have its fish health data independently audited by a local fisheries trust.”
The Scottish Government confirmed that enforcement action had been taken against Loch Duart. “The operator met the requirements of these enforcement notices and no further enforcement action was required,” said a spokesperson.
The industry body, Salmon Scotland, includes Loch Duart along with major salmon farming multinationals such as Mowi, Bakkafrost and Scottish Sea Farms, as its members. It said that lice levels were on a “steady downward trend” and were the “lowest since records began”.
A spokesperson added: “Scottish salmon farmers monitor their salmon every day and invest heavily in preventative measures to protect fish health, with lice data reported transparently and overseen by regulators.”
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