Charities disappointed at failure to crack down on greenwashing of salmon farming industry

A Tribunal has dismissed the appeal brought by WildFish and Animal Equality against the decision taken last year by DEFRA to allow the Scottish salmon farming industry to drop the word “farmed” from its Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) name.
WildFish and Animal Equality (alongside several other NGOs [1]) objected to the name change from ‘Scottish Farmed Salmon’ to just ‘Scottish Salmon’ on the basis that it amounted to further greenwashing (when a company or entity makes false or misleading claims about its environmental impact) of the industry.
Indeed, during the hearing held on 27 November 2024 in London, DEFRA’s legal team implied that the word “farmed” might be considered by some to be “pejorative”.
Commenting on the outcome, Rachel Mulrenan, Scotland Director at WildFish, said: “We are very disappointed. This name change is just a continuation of the industry trying to make misleading claims about the reputation of Scottish farmed salmon in the eyes of consumers. And what’s worse, the law is allowing this to happen.
“Objectively, referring to this intensively farmed product as “Scottish Salmon” instead of “Scottish Farmed Salmon”, gives consumers less information about how that fish was brought to supermarket shelves and plates.
“This is a clear case of greenwashing. However, the law on PGIs was not drafted with attempts at greenwashing in mind. While we were able at the Tribunal to get over many of the legal hurdles, sadly we could not clear them all. Nevertheless, we thank the Tribunal for its work in examining our appeal.”
Background to the appeal
We appealed against the decision taken by Defra in April 2024 to allow the Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) name change from ‘Scottish Farmed Salmon’ to simply ‘Scottish Salmon’, citing concerns that the change would likely mislead consumers as to the true origin of the products they are purchasing (learn more).
The appeal was supported by Dale Vince, founder of energy firm Ecotricity, who said: “Fundamentally we need to know what we’re eating. We could all make better choices when we know where the food we’re choosing comes from. I am disappointed with the result, but the fight will continue.”
Mr Vince has spoken previously about the negative environmental and welfare impacts of Scotland’s industrial salmon farming industry commenting: “People may think they are being offered wild salmon, but the reality is that all supermarket salmon produced in Scotland is farmed in pens in cramped conditions, infested with lice and diseased and dying fish. Salmon farming also plays havoc with the wider environment.”
The negative impacts of open-net salmon farming
In salmon farms, Atlantic salmon, naturally migratory animals, are kept in crowded cages, unable to carry out many of their basic natural behaviours, including upstream migration. Salmon farms in Scotland have been increasingly under scrutiny in recent years, following a stream of exposés demonstrating poor welfare, lice infestations and ongoing negative environmental impacts. According to official Scottish Government reports, in 2023 more than 17 million salmon died on Scottish salmon farms and figures revealed a mortality rate of more than 30%.
Concerns have also long been raised about the detrimental impacts of the salmon farming industry on wild Atlantic salmon populations. Last year, in its latest species reassessment, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reclassified the UK population of wild Atlantic salmon as “endangered”.
An inquiry carried out by the Scottish Parliament in 2024 last week issued its Report which concluded that environmental and welfare progress in the salmon farming industry in Scotland has been far too slow. The reporting Committee said that they would explore recommending a moratorium of industry growth if the related issues are not addressed in the next 12 months.
Abigail Penny, Executive Director of Animal Equality UK, said: “There is loud and growing discontent with the Scottish farmed salmon industry. Consumer trust has been severely dented by continued evidence of welfare abuses, lice and disease outbreaks, and Government data revealing that millions of fish died on farms last year.
“With the evidence piled up high, and the industry’s reputation in tatters, it’s unsurprising that salmon execs proposed that the word ‘farmed’ be removed from the PGI. Consumers deserve more information, not less. In a world of growing misinformation and confusion, we need even greater transparency than ever before.
“We are disappointed that this awful decision has not been overturned, but we also see this as a clear indication that our work must continue to show the realities of this industry to consumers across the UK and around the world.”
Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) names explained
PGI labels are used in the UK, EU and wider export market to communicate to consumers the authenticity of products known for the region in which they are made, such as Cornish pasties, Melton Mowbray pork pies and Stornoway black pudding.
The application for the amendment to the PGI name of “Scottish Farmed Salmon” was made in July 2023 by Salmon Scotland, the trade body for the salmon farming industry in Scotland. DEFRA received 22 objections to the amendment but deemed them all as “inadmissible”. WildFish and Animal Equality appealed against both that decision and the substantive decision made by DEFRA to permit the PGI name change to “Scottish Salmon”.
[1] https://theferret.scot/greenwashing-objections-farmed-salmon-name-change/