With filming set to begin on the highly anticipated next series of The Traitors, we have written to the show’s makers urging them not to serve Scottish farmed salmon at The Traitors breakfast table.
The show’s runaway success has drawn millions of viewers to marvel at the glorious (and sometimes rainy) Scottish landscapes, with Ardross castle nestled among the lochs and rolling hills of the eastern Highlands.
But serving Scottish farmed salmon at the breakfast table is at odds with the show’s celebration of Scotland’s natural heritage, as the product has long been known for having a devastating impact on the country’s rivers and coastal wildlife.
Why The Traitors Shouldn’t Serve Salmon
Almost all Scottish salmon sold to consumers comes from salmon farms, which are widely criticised for polluting the environment and harming wildlife. Crowded pens of farmed salmon breed sea lice parasites and disease that spread to wild fish passing through the same waters, while escaped farmed salmon interbreed with wild stocks and weaken their genetic resilience.
In our letter, we explained that salmon farming in Scotland’s lochs and coastal waters is a significant driver behind the collapsing population of the country’s iconic wild salmon. The species is now listed as critically endangered, and last year’s catch of wild salmon was the lowest since records began in 1952.
Many chefs, restaurants and hotels in Scotland and across the UK have already pledged not to serve farmed salmon as part of the Off The Table initiative. We are now inviting the BBC to add The Traitors production to the growing list of businesses refusing to serve the product.
“Amongst the faithful Scottish public, we’ve uncovered a real traitor: Scottish farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is wreaking havoc within Scotland’s rivers and coastal waters and the wildlife that depend on them. Yet this traitorous industry continues to deceive consumers by greenwashing its environmental harms: weak industry regulation means that there are no effective controls over sea-lice outbreaks and use of antibiotics on farms, while producers even successfully lobbied the government to drop the word “farmed” from the product’s label”.
“The BBC and Studio Lambert have an opportunity to banish farmed salmon from The Traitors breakfast table – and in doing so, prove they are true faithfuls when it comes to protecting Scotland’s natural heritage.”
Sondhya Gupta, campaign manager for Off The Table
We know the real traitor – and with your help, we’re taking it Off The Table. Click the button below to join us in calling on the BBC and Traitors production company Studio Lambert to take farmed salmon off The Traitors’ breakfast table.
Composite by WildFish, using images from Alamy and Getty Images via Canva
