ANGLERS have lodged an official complaint with Europe over what they claim is the Scottish Government's failure to protect wild salmon and sea trout.

They claim that they have been left with "no choice" but to ask the European Commission to intervene in the row over the control of sea lice from fish farms.

The anglers say that the marine parasites produced on fish farms harm wild species and they believe the problem is getting worse.

Salmon & Trout Conservation Scotland, which represents anglers and fishery owners, has lodged a formal complaint at the Commission arguing that the Edinburgh administration’s approach constitutes a breach of European environmental legislation.

It comes after one study suggested that almost 60 per cent of Scottish salmon production was failing to adhere to thresholds set out in the industry's voluntary code of good practice for numbers of sea lice, which occur naturally on different species of fish.

Andrew Graham-Stewart, director of Salmon & Trout Conservation Scotland, said: “The response of the Scottish Government to these threats has been and remains inadequate.

"Despite our best efforts over many years, the Scottish Government has not been persuaded of the need to act robustly to deal with the sea lice issue.

"S&TCS has been left with no choice but to ask the European Commission to intervene.”

Recreational angling bodies have repeatedly called on the government to come down harder on the sector.

But it is an industry which directly employs more than 2,200 people, many in remote fragile communities, and around three times that in the supply chain.

Mr Graham-Stewart said European law, in the form of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), required the Government to publish a programme of measures necessary for good environmental status in marine and coastal waters by 2020, and “to put those measures into effect by the end of this year.”

This required protection of wild salmon and sea trout from the threat of sea lice from fish farms.

However, the published programme was inadequate to achieve the objectives of the directive, he said.

He said he believed the Commission would conclude the Scottish Government's actions were "insufficient and inadequate to comply with European law designed to protect the marine environment."

The complaint is being submitted ahead of an international meeting in Germany next month on salmon conservation, which will consider the impacts of farming on wild fish.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said it had only been informed by the S&TCS of its complaint to Europe earlier this week.

She added: “Scotland has a robust legislative and regulatory framework in place which continues to provide the right balance between growing aquaculture and protecting the environment.

"The Scottish Government acknowledges that sea lice management presents a challenge for the aquaculture industry which is why we have invested significantly in science, research and innovation to enhance the environmental sustainability of the sector."

She said the government would continue to work with the industry to address the issue, investing in biological management techniques such as the use of cleaner fish as well as trialling other new technologies.

Scott Landsburgh, chief executive of industry body Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, said fish health was fundamental to successful salmon farming.

“The jobs, economic benefits and export success rely on a robust, professional farming process," he said.

The industry was investing heavily in new technologies and equipment to protect fish health.