Scottish Farmed Salmon Vs Scottish Wild Salmon

Scottish Wild Salmon has won protected status, just like Melton Mowbray Pork Pies. The fish  have been granted protected geographical indication status, meaning it has a particular quality attributable to it's place of origin. It also means that salmon caught in other countries cannot be packaged, sold or advertised as Scottish Wild Salmon. Salmon joins the list of about 1,000 products which are protected by legislation, including Scottish beef and lamb.

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Photographer: Tim Hill

Wild Scottish Salmon lives for part of it's life in the high quality freshwater streams and rivers of Scotland and then spends most of it's life growing into adulthood in the Atlantic Ocean. It returns to the same freshwater tributary where it hatched, then it mates and spawns. Most adults die after this epic journey, only one in two hundred and fifty females return to the sea and repeat the process the following year. 

Wild salmon is expensive, so during the early 1970's salmon farming began. Research and development has kept pace with production allowing salmon farmers to improve standards of fish welfare, while preserving the Scottish environment. This is vital to the health and quality of the fish growing within it. Scotland is now the largest farmed salmon producing country in the EU, which is only 40% self sufficient in the supply of seafood.

The words "Scottish Farmed Salmon" on a label is your reassurance that the fish you are buying has been produced to the highest standards of welfare and environmental care. The RSPCA's freedom food scheme is a charity dedicated to farm animal welfare. When you see the freedom food label, you know that animals have been kept to strict RSPCA welfare standards. These standards cover the whole animals life, not just their time on the farm.

So make one small change to your shopping and one big change to farm animal welfare.