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Off The Table
Aerial view of an open-net salmon farm in Scottish coastal water

Off The Table · A WildFish campaign

17 million reasons to take farmed salmon off the table.

The Scottish salmon farming industry reported over 17 million fish deaths in 2023 alone. On average, over one in four farmed salmon die in the cages before they reach harvest.

Open-net salmon farming damages wild fish, marine ecosystems and fish welfare. We are building a movement of chefs, restaurants, caterers, writers and diners choosing not to support it.

Take It Off Your MenuFind a Participating Restaurant
See the evidence

  • 1 in 4+

    Scottish farmed salmon die before harvest.

    WildFish, Get the facts: on average over 25% die before harvest.

  • 1kg+

    Wild fish caught to produce 1kg of farmed Scottish salmon.

    WildFish, Get the facts: it takes much more than 1kg of wild fish per 1kg of farmed salmon.

  • 90%

    Of those wild fish could be eaten directly by people.

    WildFish, Get the facts: anchovies, mackerel and sardines used in feed are edible.

Hero photograph: Scottish open-net salmon farm, copyright Corin Smith. All figures and sources on Get the facts.

303 chefs, restaurants and food businesses have already said no.

See who has joined
  • Angela Hartnett
  • Luke Holder
  • Jan Ostle · Wilsons
  • THE PIG hotels
  • Carina Contini
  • Rick Stein
  • Wildflower, Bristol
  • Ottolenghi alumni
  • The Sportsman, Kent
  • Sessions Arts Club
  • Erpingham House
  • Root, Bristol
  • Tare, Bristol
  • Cafe Cecilia
  • Angela Hartnett
  • Luke Holder
  • Jan Ostle · Wilsons
  • THE PIG hotels
  • Carina Contini
  • Rick Stein
  • Wildflower, Bristol
  • Ottolenghi alumni
  • The Sportsman, Kent
  • Sessions Arts Club
  • Erpingham House
  • Root, Bristol
  • Tare, Bristol
  • Cafe Cecilia

The problem

Farmed salmon is sold as sustainable. The evidence says otherwise.

Off The Table exists because the story on the menu and the reality in the water have come apart. Open-net salmon farming in Scotland consumes wild fish, damages coastal ecosystems and kills a staggering share of its own stock, while marketing itself as a responsible choice.

Every claim on this page is drawn from the campaign's published evidence base, compiled by WildFish from industry mortality reporting, government statistics and peer-reviewed science.

Get the facts
  • Open-net salmon farm cages at Glenan Bay on the Scottish coast01
    Glenan Bay farm. Photo © Corin Smith.

    Wild fish are paying for it

    It takes more than a kilo of wild-caught fish (anchovies, sardines, mackerel) to grow a kilo of farmed salmon. Around 90% of that catch could have been eaten directly by people.

  • Salmon farm pens sited close to the shoreline at Soay, Scotland02
    Soay farm. Photo © Corin Smith.

    Wild salmon are collapsing

    Atlantic salmon numbers in Scottish rivers have fallen by around 70% since 2000. Sea lice and escapes from open-net farms are among the pressures driving wild fish towards the brink.

  • Farmed salmon with visible disease and physical damage03
    Photo © Abolish Salmon Farming.

    Welfare is not incidental

    More than 17 million farmed salmon died prematurely in Scotland in 2023. Disease, lice treatments and gill damage are routine, not rare. This is what open-net production looks like at scale.

For chefs and hospitality

Take farmed salmon off your menu.

You decide what your kitchen stands for. Chefs, restaurants, caterers, suppliers and food writers are signing up to leave farmed salmon off the table, and telling their guests why.

  1. 1

    Add your name

    Tell us your restaurant, kitchen, catering business or byline. It takes under two minutes.

  2. 2

    Get your pack

    Window sticker, menu notes, staff briefing and the evidence behind the campaign, free.

  3. 3

    Appear in the directory

    Diners looking for salmon-farm-free menus find you in the public supporter directory.

Add My BusinessDownload factsheet
Do I have to drop every fish dish?
No. The commitment is specifically not to serve farmed salmon. Wild, line-caught and lower-impact species stay on the menu.
What do I tell guests who ask for salmon?
The pack includes short, confident wording for front-of-house and menu copy so the answer is consistent and easy.
Will this cost me anything?
Nothing. Joining is free, and the materials are supplied by WildFish as part of the campaign.
A chef holding an Off The Table campaign card in their kitchen
Chefs across the UK are displaying the campaign in their kitchens and dining rooms.

“Chefs have enormous influence over what people eat. Leaving farmed salmon off the menu is one of the simplest, clearest choices we can make.”

Read what joining involves

Momentum

The claim was “sustainable”. The public is no longer buying it.

From national restaurant groups to single-site kitchens, from food writers to hotel chains, the campaign has grown by word of mouth in professional kitchens, and it is starting to shape what suppliers stock.

Supporters listed in the public directory
303Supporters listed in the public directory
Regions represented across the UK and Ireland
12+Regions represented across the UK and Ireland
Farmed salmon deaths reported in Scotland in 2023
17mFarmed salmon deaths reported in Scotland in 2023
See the full supporter list
Chef Darren Broom, an Off The Table campaign supporter, in his kitchen
Chefs featured on the campaign have taken farmed salmon off their menus permanently.

The movement

303 places that have taken it off the table.

Search the live supporter directory. Every listing is a business or individual that has publicly committed not to serve farmed salmon.

Open the Full Directory

303 of 303 shown

Showing 12 of 303 matches. See them all in the directory.

For diners

You don't need a kitchen to change a menu.

Restaurants respond to what guests ask for. Three simple actions, asking, choosing and spreading the word, are how this campaign spreads from one dining room to the next.

  • Off The Table campaign leaflet explaining the case against farmed salmon

    Ask the question

    “Is your salmon farmed?” Four words, asked in a restaurant, shop or fishmonger, change what gets ordered next week.

    Get the asking guide
  • Off The Table window sticker displayed in a restaurant window

    Eat where it is already off

    Use the supporter directory to choose from hundreds of restaurants, cafés and caterers that have made the commitment.

    Browse the directory
  • Campaign volunteers handing out Off The Table flyers on the street

    Campaign in your own street

    Leaflets, stickers, social assets and letter templates: everything you need to talk to venues near you.

    Get the campaign toolkit
Find a Restaurant Near YouCampaign With Us
Off The Table campaign graphic reading time is up for Scottish salmon farming

Evidence and news

Everything we say is sourced.

WildFish maintains the evidence base behind Off The Table: mortality data, feed-fish research, sea lice and escape records, and the peer-reviewed science on wild salmon decline. Read it, download it, and use it.

Get the factsResource libraryFilm library
All campaign news

Time is up

One menu at a time, we can end the demand for farmed salmon.

Over 300 chefs, restaurants, caterers and food writers have already committed. Every menu that drops farmed salmon reduces the demand that keeps the cages full.

If you run a kitchen

Take it off your menu

Free to join. Free materials. Your business listed in the public supporter directory.

Join the Campaign

If you eat out

Ask, choose, share

Find venues that have already committed, and get the toolkit to talk to the ones that haven't.

Take Action as a Diner