The new work which was done in collaboration with the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), Oban, will help crack this problem.

Fish scales are formed from the same chemicals as bones and teeth and grow like tree rings, preserving a chemical record of the water the fish lived in throughout its whole life. Scales are easy to collect, and can be removed from fish without harming them – which is important when studying an endangered population. The team discovered that levels of the trace metal manganese were always much higher in fish of farmed origin.

"This is probably caused by manganese supplements in fish food, and also because conditions underneath the fish cages promote recycling of manganese in the water column," says Dr Elizabeth Adey from SAMS, lead author on the research.