Exclusive:Claims 'dark money' from overseas being used to lobby against Scottish salmon farming
Salmon Scotland says donors do not fully understand where their money is going.
“Dark money” from abroad is being used to fund campaigns to shut down Scottish salmon farms, according an industry body.
Salmon Scotland claims there is a multi-million pound network funding various efforts to thwart the production.
They say public grant records show at least £1.2 million of campaign funding can be traced back to organisations targeting the sector, including “substantial” overseas backing that is not always clearly disclosed.
However, the body says it believes the true scale is likely to be far higher as many organisations do not publish detailed spending breakdowns, and because funding can move through different foundations, charities and grant-making bodies before it reaches campaigners.
But one charity defended the funding saying the grants are publicly listed and hit back about the conditions facing farmed salmon.
Salmon is the UK’s top food export and supports 11,000 jobs in Scotland. Salmon Scotland says trustees backing campaigns to shut their farms down need to explain how this is in the public good.
Tavish Scott, chief executive of Salmon Scotland, said: “People have every right to scrutinise salmon farming, but they should also know who is paying for these campaigns and what they want to achieve.
“What we are seeing is dark money coming into Scotland through international funders and campaign groups, with the public often left unclear about where it comes from and what it is paying for.
“Donations to charities and supposedly philanthropic causes are made in good faith, whether they come from individuals, foundations or businesses.
“Those giving deserve to know where their money ends up and whether it is funding political pressure, covert surveillance or campaigns to shut Scottish farms.
“Charities exist for public benefit. If trustees are funding campaigns to shut farms and put Scottish jobs at risk, they should explain how that serves the public good.
“Scottish salmon supports thousands of jobs in rural, coastal and island communities and is the country’s biggest food export. If organisations from elsewhere want to influence its future, there should be full transparency about where the money comes from and what it is paying for.”
Tim Eagle, Conservative MSP for the Highlands and Islands, added: “These shady campaigning groups should come clean about what exactly their intentions are here.
“I have no issue with the activities of salmon farming being robustly monitored to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare are always being met.
“However, this industry remains crucial for jobs in the area I represent and this money should not distort any debate surrounding its future.”
According to Salmon Scotland, WildFish, an environmental charity rooted in the angling community, received £845,000 through two major grants linked to its salmon farming campaigns.
A further £295,000 was given to increase policy support and reform open-net salmon farming, followed by £550,000 towards costs to “end the environmentally unsustainable practice of open-net salmon farming”.
WildFish also runs Off the Table, which encourages restaurants, chefs and consumers to stop serving and eating farmed salmon. It has also received overseas funding through the Global Salmon Farming Resistance.
The US-backed Animal Agriculture Alliance says the animal rights organisations it tracks have combined annual revenues of more than $1.07 billion (£795m).
The Effective Altruism Animal Welfare Fund, which is behind several grants linked to UK salmon farming, says it has awarded more than $30m (£22m) through more than 370 worldwide grants.
Animal Equality UK, which is campaigning to halt the expansion of Scottish salmon farming, received $164,684 (around £122,000) from the fund in 2025, including work to stop UK salmon sector expansion.
This followed an earlier award of $45,852 (around £34,000) for campaigning, legal advocacy and lobbying, and efforts to halt sector expansion.
A prominent anti-salmon farming campaigner was separately awarded $60,000 (£45,000) by the same fund for “covert surveillance of salmon farms”.
The Undercover Fish Collective, formerly known as Scamon Scotland, received $38,000 (£28,000) from US-based Animal Charity Evaluators in 2024. Salmon Scotland says this group carried out undercover investigations, supplied footage to the media, and gave evidence to MSPs scrutinising salmon farming.
Global Salmon Farming Resistance, which operates as an Argentinian NGO called Por el Mar, has funded a number of campaigns in Scotland to target Holyrood’s rural affairs committee ahead of the May 2026 election. The group also awarded $12,000 (£9,000) to WildFish for campaigning in Scottish communities.
In 2025, Farmed Animal Funders brought major donors together through an aquatic animal funding circle, awarding more than $1.5m (£1.1m) to 10 organisations. There were 18 further proposals, including one to “prevent open-net salmon farming expansion and eliminate existing operations” and another proposing legal advocacy and undercover investigations to slow the growth of aquaculture.
Not all were funded, but donors were invited to consider grants of $50,000 (£37,000) or more.
But Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality UK, said: "This isn't the 'gotcha' moment Tavish Scott seems to think it is.
“If the industry believes publicly listed grants amount to dark money, it clearly doesn't understand how charities are funded.
“No doubt people would be far more disturbed to learn that one-third of farmed salmon perish at sea, having spent their miserable lives in crowded cages where they are exposed to sea lice, disease, and ever-warming waters."
She added there is “real irony” in the claims from Scottish Salmon adding “those same companies have benefited from millions of pounds of public support”.
Ms Penny said: “The fact that they are now targeting charities shows how desperate this industry truly is. People are paying attention to the shameful levels of suffering it causes, and Scotland's animals, environment and coastal communities deserve far better."
Nick Measham, CEO of WildFish, said: “WildFish campaigns to protect wild fish and their habitats from threats - including salmon farming, which, where it exists, is recognised as the single greatest threat to wild Atlantic salmon and sea trout.
“WildFish is regulated by the Office of the Charity Regulator in Scotland and by the Charity Commission in England and Wales. We comply with their exacting rules across all we do including our funding.
“We receive funding from a range of sources including charitable trusts, foundations and individual donations as is the case with other charities. We publish fully audited accounts. Good governance lies at the core of our being.”
Anthony Field, head of Compassion in World Farming UK, said: “Our campaigns, which are informed by the latest available scientific evidence on animal welfare, promote higher welfare practices and sustainable solutions.
“This includes working with the food industry to strengthen fish welfare policies and address the welfare and environmental challenges associated with intensive aquaculture. These challenges include pollution and carnivorous aquaculture’s reliance on feed made with huge numbers of wild-caught fish, increasing pressure on fragile marine ecosystems.
“Our work is funded by the generosity of individuals, trusts, foundations, and legacies – with the majority of our UK funding coming from individual supporters in the UK who give generously to improve the lives of all farmed animals, including fish."
A Scottish Parliament spokesperson said: “Last session’s rural affairs and islands committee heard from a wide range of stakeholders to ensure their work was informed by diverse perspectives.
“The current rural affairs committee will continue to consider evidence from all relevant interests as part of its scrutiny.”
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