The announcement was made in a letter from Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon MSP to the convener of the Rural Affairs and Islands committee.

Scotland is the world’s third largest salmon producer, farming around 37.7 million salmon each year across 200 farms. These animals are raised in intensive systems where overcrowding, barren environments, and disease are persistent concerns.

While the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 requires that animals’ needs are met and that they are spared unnecessary suffering, enforcement on fish farms has been “non-existent”, The Animal Law Foundation said.

No prosecutions have ever been brought for welfare breaches on Scottish fish farms and no official care notices under the Act have ever been issued.

The Animal Law Foundation has argued that the absence of official government guidance has been a key barrier to protecting fish, leaving farmers without clear instructions on how to comply with the law and regulators without the tools to enforce it. Until now, the industry has relied solely on its own guidance, which does not address legal compliance. 

The new official guidance will set out clearly what the law requires and how farmers must meet those standards.

Edie Bowles, executive director at The Animal Law Foundation, said: “This is a huge step in giving practical effect to the legal protections that exist and protecting millions of fish more effectively. We are glad to see the Scottish government taking the welfare of fish seriously and responding to repeated calls for clear, enforceable welfare standards. We look forward to working with the government to produce robust and workable guidance.”

Emma Roddick, MSP for Highlands and Islands, said: “We are pleased that the Scottish government has finally recognised that official guidance is needed to protect farmed fish and cleaner fish throughout their entire lifecycle. This guidance must clearly explain what the welfare laws mean to assist farmers and enforcement agents alike – it should never have taken so long to ensure that the welfare laws that protect fish are understood and enforced in practice.

“There is, however, much more work to be done to protect the welfare of fish in Scotland, not just the salmon that are being farmed, but also the cleaner fish that are used to remove the sea lice.”