Fears for jobs as salmon industry faces growing crisis

A SENIOR corporate recovery specialist has warned that Scotland’s salmon industry faces decimation unless steps are taken very soon to change the dynamics of the beleaguered £300m business.

Bruce Cartwright, head of the business recovery unit at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Scotland, has handled two of four company receiverships that have hit the sector in as many months.

He said: "I fear this represents the tip of the iceberg and that many more casualties are on the way."

Cartwright claimed the industry is suffering from a severe shakeout that it might never recover from, caused by a combination of a slide in the price of salmon and a succession of toxicity health scares.

"Within this rapidly worsening situation, Shetland - not a particularly big industry in its own right in the worldwide scheme of things - is being hit the hardest.

"With their knowledge and skills, local salmon farmers are trying to diversify into the likes of halibut and cod. But the underlying economics of excess international production are working against them."

A conference is being staged by the Shetland Salmon Farmers’ Association on February 26, when the Scottish Executive will be called upon to step into the growing crisis.

The Shetland industry, which is estimated to be worth around £110m a year to the local economy, employs more than 10% of the islands’ working population. It is feared that more than 400 jobs could be lost over the next two years as more firms close down.

Cartwright said: "Six months ago [salmon] was around £1.90 a kilo. Now it’s standing at between £1.45 and £1.50."

Last week, Inverness-based economist Mackay Consultants warned that many small fish farms in Scotland could close because of the falling price of their product.