Views sought on tougher organic salmon standards.
The Soil Association has launched a public consultation on proposed changes to its organic salmon standards, including tougher welfare requirements and a potential ban on the veterinary medicine deltamethrin.
The consultation follows a warning issued by the charity last year that it could withdraw from the organic salmon sector if “meaningful progress” on welfare and environmental performance is not delivered by summer 2026.
The proposed reforms focus on reducing mortality, improving fish welfare, enhancing feed sustainability and limiting the release of harmful veterinary medicines into the marine environment. The Soil Association said its organic salmon standards are already the strictest in the sector and have also influenced practices on non-organic sites.
According to the charity, the proposals are based on extensive research and engagement with aquaculture and welfare experts, and are intended to inform future updates to its certification standards.
Sarah Compson, standards director at the Soil Association, said: “The message from our research into organic salmon farming was clear – animal welfare and environmental outcomes must improve. Our standards have contributed to improvements on Scottish salmon farms for more than 20 years, but we know there is more we can do.”
She added that the consultation would help assess whether the proposed changes could deliver “the wide-ranging impacts we are seeking”, while also gathering further information on key welfare and environmental challenges.
Among the measures under consideration are stricter preventative management approaches to reduce injuries and mortality linked to handling, disease and pests, as well as enhanced monitoring and reporting of welfare outcomes. The consultation also seeks views on a possible ban on deltamethrin, currently permitted only as a last-resort treatment for sea lice. Emamectin benzoate and azamethiphos are already prohibited under Soil Association standards.
The proposals also include exploring additional protections for sensitive marine habitats near farm sites.
The consultation will close on 15 March.
Alongside the standards review, the Soil Association said it is engaging with the Scottish Government and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency on policy and regulation, including work on a framework to identify persistently high mortality at production sites. An expert group will also be convened this year to examine barriers to more sustainable aquaculture feed.
Further details and the consultation documents are available via the Soil Association’s website.
