One of the fish farming industry's most powerful figures has declared that no salmon farms should be sited within sea lochs into which salmon rivers discharge.

The comments made by John Fredriksen, a major shareholder in Marine Harvest, the world's leading fish farming firm, have been welcomed by wild salmon interests.

The Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, the Rivers and Fisheries Trusts of Scotland, the Atlantic Salmon Trust and the Salmon and Trout Association (Scotland) have highlighted an interview in a Norwegian newspaper in which Mr Fredriksen said: "I am concerned about the future for wild salmon. Fish farming should not be allowed in fjords with salmon rivers. The fish farming industry should be allowed to operate in fjords but not where wild salmon are present in local rivers."

Andrew Wallace, director of the Association of Salmon Fishery Boards, said: "This statement from one of the most influential players in the salmon farming industry confirms what many of us have been telling the industry for so many years - that some salmon farming may be in sites which are incompatible with wild salmon and sea trout."