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I cannot believe that, as the senior representative, you do not know those figures off the top of your head, given that you are saying that mortality is the most important thing.

I have read the Official Report very carefully and you never mentioned the Faroes in anything that you said.

Secondly, you said:

“Having worked in the industry in a scientific and farming capacity for 18 years, my observation is that if you farm in the seawater stage, which lasts about 18 to 20 months, and you have below 5 per cent mortality, you can count yourself as among the best in class.”—[Official Report, Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, 2 May 2018; c 41.]

That is exactly what you said—you did not quantify anything or say where that was in the world. At the time, we were talking about 5 or 7 per cent, and I think that, in 2024, the industry was talking about somewhere between 21 and 25 per cent. Therefore, the figures have risen from between 5 and 7 per cent to almost four times that.

In fairness, Mr. Hadfield, the figures that I am giving you are the figures that you gave the REC Committee on 2 May 2018 for its inquiry into aquaculture in Scotland—not the Faroes or anywhere else.

Lastly, on the issue of spatial separation that you were talking about, recommendations 45 to 49 in the REC Committee’s report in 2018 were about moving fish farming away from areas where it would conflict with wild salmon. Since 2018, how many farms have been moved away from areas where there is such a conflict? I can think of one, if it helps you, but I cannot think of any more.

Well, Poolewe is, I think, one example. I cannot see any more.

So, how many farms has the industry, which you are representing now, moved?

I will ask one more question, if I may, just so that I understand this. Despite the problems at the Kishorn A, B and C sites with disease, deaths and mortality, they continue to operate. The report says that, in areas where there are high mortality rates, re-siting or removal should be the chosen option. You mentioned Loch Duich as an example of where you thought about doing that but have got on top of the issues. Across the industry, how many sites have closed because of constantly high mortality?

That is not what I asked. The question that I asked—

I have not been given an example of a fish farm that has moved or closed because of high mortality. That was the question. I will happily meet Ben Hadfield any time that he wants to come into my office. I am happy to say on the record that I have invited him, so that he does not need to make a declaration on the lobbying register. I am happy to meet him and to discuss those issues, because it does not appear that I am getting an answer.

I remind committee members that I have an interest in a wild salmon fishery on the River Spey, which is on the east coast of Scotland. It is not directly—as far as I can see—affected by salmon farming.

I should also say that, in November of last year, I was voted on to the board of Fisheries Management Scotland as a director. However, as I am sure Dr Wells can confirm, I have had no input into any policy, decision or discussion on aquaculture, because I recuse myself from any such discussions and will continue to do so until the end of the parliamentary session.

It is always frustrating to come in at the end, having listened to all the evidence, because you know that you are going to go back to questions that have already been asked.

I must just make one or two comments at the start, if I may, convener. One is on the issue of Loch Carron, which has been mentioned. The Carron is a very small river with three proprietors that does not need a fishery board, and the proprietors are heavily stocking.

The other issue is one that, as a farmer, I find really difficult. I support farming and aquaculture—Ben Hadfield might be surprised to hear that—but where there is farming, there is always an element of dying. It is not fair to say that salmon die in greater numbers in farms than anywhere else. In the wild, there are wild problems such as predation, flooding, drought and water temperatures, to mention but a few, and that is why there are huge numbers of deaths. In hatcheries and fish farms, however, all those things are controlled, so there should not be the same level of death, and it is slightly disingenuous to compare the two.

Ben Hadfield, if I may, I want to take you back to 2 May 2018. I have no doubt that you re-read the evidence that you gave to the committee in those days—I love looking back. I want to look at the figures that we mentioned at that stage when we were talking about numbers and reporting. You said:

“I work globally in Marine Harvest, where a 7 per cent mortality rate in the seawater phase would be top of the pile”.—[Official Report, Rural Economy and Connectivity Committee, 2 May 2018; c 34.]

Could you give me the figure for mortality in the seawater phase in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for Mowi?