The salmon industry warmly welcomed the Conservative government’s decision in April 2024 to support their bid to replace the existing PGI for “Scottish farmed salmon”.

Wild Scottish salmon is no longer available for sale in supermarkets following decades of exploitation, habitat loss, pollution, and climate change.

The change in the PGI does not affect the statutory requirement for packaging to make clear that the salmon is farm-raised.

However, a group of NGOs led by WildFish and Animal Equality appealed the decision to change the PGI, accusing the government of “greenwashing” and obscuring the origin of Scottish salmon.

Lawyers for the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) defended the move before the tribunal in a hearing in London last November and suggested that the word “farmed” was a “pejorative” term which should not be included in the PGI.

The NGOs’ appeal was dismissed this week after the tribunal found there was no risk of consumers being confused about the origin of the fish.

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.”