Daniel Shailer

"It’s a fine shame to all involved."

Britain's biggest salmon farm has the greenlight off Shetland, and it's making unlikely bedfellows of fishers and environmentalists.

w/ Karen McVeigh for Seascapes:

Delighted that my scribblings about fish, wind and whisky won a clutch of gongs at the Highlands and Islands Media Awards last week. Especially proud to have taken best feature and be picked journalist of the year. Shetland is a bustling patch and I'm lucky to cover it!

Aerial view of circular salmon fish farm pens in dark water. Overlaid text reads: “REVEALED: A fish farm breached animal welfare rules. The regulator still took firms there on a PR tour.” Smaller text explains that the Aquaculture Stewardship Council showcased a Scottish farm that had breached sea lice rules 11 times.

🔴NEW: A body which sets environmental and welfare standards for fish farms took wholesale buyers to a Scottish salmon farm which broke its rules for 11 consecutive weeks.

Our latest investigation: www.theferret.scot/a...

Warming water, disease killed 250,000 farmed Salmon in October Farmers blamed “exceptional environmental pressures”; campaigners said the figures were “a clear symptom of system problems

Shetland's farmers say they reacted quickly to "exceptional" conditions; campaigners say waters are warming and "the writing is on the wall".

Either way, because of how fish deaths are reported, our figure is likely an underestimate.

Council slushed £750k of government climate funding into general coffers Money from government nature and coastal adaption funds has been spent on council “vehicles, ICT [and] maintenance”, officials confirmed.

While other Scottish councils spent their share of nature/coastal adaptation funds on... nature/the coast, Shetland slushed the money into its general coffers for stuff like IT and vehicle maintenance.

"Completely unacceptable" said
@scotwildlife.bsky.social's @ruchirlives.bsky.social.

Thanks, Shanna!

Facing Climate Gentrification, an Historic African American Community Outside Charleston, S.C., Embraces Conservation - Inside Climate News After emancipation, freed slaves bought marshy land along the coast that white landowners weren’t interested in. Now, big developers covet such waterfront property, despite rising sea levels, threaten...

Thanks Vernon! The first in our series on climate change in coastal South Carolina, from Ten Mile: insideclimatenews.org/news/0707202....

I'm particularly grateful to the editors who trusted me with the stories this award recognised, and whipped them into shape:
@vernonloeb.bsky.social w @insideclimatenews.org, @sarahexplains.bsky.social w @sciam.bsky.social and @shannabaker.bsky.social w Hakai, now @biographic.bsky.social.

I'm thrilled to share that I’ve been picked as a winner of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications (@scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org).

www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/10...

Releases of toxic delousing chemical doubled at salmon farms last year Releases of a delousing chemical which “desertifies” the seafloor more than doubled at Scottish Sea Farm sites last year.

HUGE (if mixed) news week for Shetland's crabs 🦀

First beachcombers find a rare Columbus crab the size of a 50p coin. Then a scientific fracas about whether subsea cables "mesmerise" crustaceans.

And we found some less good news:

www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/release...

Broken equipment at Sullom Voe caused decade-long peak in emissions Shetland's methane emissions reached their highest level in a decade last year, driven by broken kit at EnQuest’s Sullom Voe terminal.

A compressor at Shetland's oil terminal broke for *nine* straight months last year, pushing the isles' entire methane emissions to a near decade high.

"It's an embarrassment for the whole community."

@alexjarmitage.bsky.social @r-dixon.bsky.social

www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/broken-...

🔴 NEW: Lochs in Orkney, the Highlands and the Outer Hebrides are among waters containing high levels of toxic pollutants with health risks known as ‘forever chemicals’.

Our latest investigation: theferret.scot/orkne...

View of salmon farming cages floating in the sea near a rocky coastline. Overlaid text reads: “Consultancy firm’s review of fast-track salmon farm pilot branded ‘sham’.”

🔴 NEW: A consultancy firm which took part in a government pilot for fast-tracking salmon farm applications did an “independent” evaluation of that same pilot — prompting critics to call it a “sham” and claim a conflict of interest could threaten the marine environment 🧵

New with @theferret.scot:

How one boat’s engine trouble exposed a broader breakdown in fishing rules and the government’s investigation.

Glad to contribute a little bit of shoe leather to this great report from @desmog.com's @ellen-ormesher.bsky.social.

Norwegian firm's plan for UK’s first deep-sea salmon farm off Shetland prompts concerns A Norwegian firm has plans for Britain’s first deep-sea salmon farm, off Shetland, prompting concerns it could damage the environment.

NEW: A Norwegian company has drawn up plans for Britain’s first deep-sea salmon farm in waters off Shetland, prompting concerns it is an “experiment in factory farming” that could damage the environment. theferret.scot/norwe...