Yesterday, the Soil Association Certification announced that it will withdraw from setting standards so that salmon farms can be certified as “organic”. The decision follows a two-year review, triggered in 2024 by WildFish’s request to see its organic salmon farm inspection reports.
The much-delayed review found a lack of evidence that the standards, established twenty years ago, were delivering sufficiently strong animal welfare and environmental outcomes.
Nick Measham, CEO of WildFish, said:
“It is welcome news that the Soil Association Certification has finally seen sense and decided to stop providing an organic fig leaf for the industrial salmon farming industry.
In 2024, Soil Association Certification refused our request to disclose inspection reports for Scottish salmon farms, documents that could lift the lid on the shocking environmental and animal welfare problems routinely unfolding at supposedly “organic” salmon farms.
The Information Commissioner subsequently upheld our appeal, but the Soil Association Certification is now challenging that decision in an attempt to prevent these documents from being disclosed.
While we welcome today’s announcement, the Soil Association must still be held accountable for its role in certifying these operations. We will continue pressing for the release of these inspection reports. The public deserves to know what was happening behind the organic label.”
Soil Association Certification continues to appeal the decision that it must disclose inspection reports for Scottish salmon farms. A hearing date has been set for February 2027.
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