Jann Garratt of AfftheClyde action group compiled, circulated and has now analysed the local questionnaire eliciting residents’ views on the Dawnfresh trout farm proposal for Ardentinny which are summarised as follows:
Summary of Survey
AFF the Clyde was formed by a group of volunteers, resident in the village of Ardentinny. The group formed to oppose the development of the Industrial Fish Farm proposed by Dawnfresh, the largest producer of trout in the UK.
AFF the Clyde undertook to survey the views of Ardentinny residents regarding the proposed Industrial Fish Farm Developments using a questionnaire devised for this purpose. A total of 130 questionnaires were distributed within the village and 71 were returned. 55% of questionnaires were returned, however it is not possible to calculate an accurate response rate as there are an unknown number of unoccupied second homes and holiday rentals both within the village and caravan park.
Although AFF the Clyde is a campaigning group with a clear remit to oppose the Dawnfresh development proposals, any views expressed in favour of Dawnfresh’s Fish Farm in this survey has been reported in full. The raw data gathered in this survey is available upon request.
The questionnaire looked at whether people were against or in favour of the development. It also looked at the strength of concern around environmental issues connected to the Fish Farm, together with the impact of the Fish Farm on wildlife resident in the loch and the impact upon Ardentinny and its surrounds. Respondents were also invited to identify any other issues of concern to them.
Analysis of the data shows that the overwhelming number of respondents are against the proposed Industrial Fish Farm development, with a total of 90% of respondents being against (85% strongly against and 5% against). Only 3% were in favour of the proposals with no-one being strongly in favour of them. Respondents also reported being very concerned about the wider environmental issues of the fish farm (92%), very concerned about the impact of the Fish Farm on resident wildlife in the loch (86%) and very concerned about the impact of the Fish farm on Ardentinny and its surrounds (87%).
In the final question, respondents were invited to identify any issues of especial concern to them, and many different issues were raised. The most frequently occurring issues of concern to respondents were the range of different impacts upon the quiet and beautiful village of Ardentinny, the impact on mammals and other sea life in the loch with especial reference to the small seal colony resident near to the proposed development site. Concerns about the effects of chemicals added to the sea pens during the farming process and the potential of those pollutants to negatively impact on the health of those using the loch for recreation were also frequently expressed, as were a range of concerns about the company of Dawnfresh as the company developing and operating the Fish Farm.
It is very clear from the questionnaire and the resulting analysis of the data that the overwhelming majority of Ardentinny residents who responded to the survey were strongly against the proposals by Dawnfresh to site an Industrial Fish Farm on the shores of Loch Long next to the Ardentinny village. The view which has clearly emerged is that this development is unwanted, uninvited, unwelcome and should proceed no further. It is intended that this report is to be fed into the planning process. It is hoped that serious weight is given to the depth of feeling against the proposed Fish Farm development by the Ardentinny community.
Introduction
On Monday 11th March Dawnfresh, the largest producer of sea trout in the UK held a public meeting in the village of Ardentinny to discuss their plan to site and develop an Industrial Fish Farm for rainbow trout farm next to the village. Dawnfresh stressed that this meeting was by way of an informal consultation, and that more formal consultation would be held with the village at some later stage in the planning process. To date, we do not know what form that consultation will take.
Dawnfresh are proposing to site 10×38 m (124 ft) pens in an 80 m x80 m (262 ft x 262 ft) mooring grid at a location immediately south of the Ravensrock lighthouse. The maximum biomass is stated at 2127.6 tonnes. A feeding barge with the capacity to hold 200 tonnes of food will also be moored there. There are also plans for some type of shore-based facility which Dawnfresh state they may or may not site in the village itself. The farm that Dawnfresh is proposing to develop in Ardentinny is one of four which are planned, the others being sited off Bute, Great Cumrae and Little Cumbrae.
The public meeting was very well attended by villagers and many issues were raised. These included problems with chemical treatments polluting the water of the loch, the effects of the Industrial Fish Farm on local wildlife, the impact on tourism, the discharge of waste and its impacts in the loch and the impact on Ardentinny village and its surrounds. A show of hands at the end of the meeting revealed that the vast majority of Ardentinny residents who attended were very much against the siting of this complex on the edge of the village.
AFF the Clyde
A group of Ardentinny residents felt strongly that some type of coordinated village response was required to deal with the Dawnfresh application and to have an organised response against it. It was clear from the Dawnfresh initiated meeting that of those who attended there was a strong feeling against the siting of the Industrial Fish Farm by the village. However, it was felt that further work was needed to elicit the village response to the Fish Farm, to look particularly at what issues were of concern to people and to involve as much as the village as possible in this process. AFF the Clyde is a group comprised completely of volunteers and to date, receives no funding.
Design of the AFF the Clyde Ardentinny village Questionnaire and Covering Letter. (See appendix 1 for questionnaire)
Questionnaire design
The questionnaire sent out to every household in Ardentinny was comprised of 5 questions. Question 1 of the questionnaire was posed in order to gain the strength of household opposition against or support for the Fish Farm, and asked people to rate how they felt about the proposed developments. A choice of five options was given, two against, one neutral and two in support of.
Questions 2, 3 and 4 were devised by an analysis of the issues which had been raised by the people who attended the Dawnfresh public meeting, and as a result of this analysis, three broad areas of concern to residents were identified, these being environmental issues, resident wildlife and the village of Ardentinny and its surrounds. Illustrations of the types of practices utilised by the Industrial Fish Farming Industry were included with each question. These were drawn from existing and reputable literature regarding the Fish Farm industry, from a range of different sources.
Question 5 was an open-ended question designed to gather responses to issues that respondents felt they wished to comment upon further.
The questionnaire was designed to be anonymous although some respondents chose to give their names and addresses. It was decided to distribute one questionnaire per household in order to keep cost as low as possible.
AFF the Clyde Covering letter (Please see appendix 2 for covering letter)
The covering letter that went out with the questionnaire contained information about the AFF the Clyde group itself – that we were a group of villagers concerned about the proposed development of the Dawnfresh Industrial Fish Farm on Loch Long. It also gave information about the remit of AFF the Clyde; that we were keen to stop this development taking place in the beautiful village of Ardentinny.
AFF the Clyde had, as part of its research, looked at the experiences of villages in Argyll who had an existing Dawnfresh Industrial Fish Farm on their doorstep. We found information from the Friends of Loch Etive, a group formed in response to the Industrial Fish Farms developed by Dawnfresh on Loch Etive and Loch Awe. We included some of the experiences that the Friends of Loch Etive had had with Dawnfresh in our covering letter, in order to give Ardentinny villagers access to information about what has happened in the communities around Loch Etive and Loch Awe where Dawnfresh has a number of working Industrial Fish Farms, farming rainbow trout. It is fair to state that there have been a significant number of issues of serious concern, including repeat planning applications to keep expanding the farms, breach of SEPA pollution licences, escapee fish into the loch and the issue of numerous planning contravention notices by the local authority.
Distribution and Collection of AFF the Clyde questionnaires
The questionnaire and covering letter were hand delivered to every address in Ardentinny, including both house and caravan residences. (A number of questionnaires were left at the main office at the caravan park for distribution for residences in the caravan park, as many of the caravans don’t have letter boxes). It was decided to distribute 1 questionnaire per household, as opposed to one for each adult in the household. This was decided entirely to keep costs as low as possible. AFF the Clyde has no funding so to date members are meeting the costs of the campaign themselves.
A minimum of two return visits were made in order to collect the questionnaire. Slips were also put through letter boxes where people were out with email and telephone contact details in order to arrange for collection. Respondents were also given an address where they could drop off completed questionnaires.
It is unknown just how many addresses in the village and its surrounds and at the caravan park are rented holiday homes, second homes which are visited infrequently, or empty homes which makes it very difficult to calculate a percentage response rate. However,130 questionnaires were distributed and 71 households in the village returned the questionnaire. On a small number of the questionnaires the respondents ticked twice (one for each person) and asked for both ticks to be counted. This was done as requested.
Results
Table 1. Views on the proposed Dawnfresh Development (Q1 of questionnaire)
Note that 71 questionnaires were returned but on seven of these two respondents were indicated, resulting in a total of 78 respondents. Not categorised refers to one respondent who completed the questionnaire by criticising the methodology
Table 2 Views about the impact of the fish farm on the environment. (Q2 of questionnaire)
Table 3. Views on impact on other wild species using the loch, (Q3 of questionnaire)
Table 4 Views on impact on Ardentinny (Q4 of questionnaire)
Table 5 Analysis of issues raised in any other comments (Q5 of questionnaire)
Discussion and Analysis
Response Rate
55% of distributed questionnaires were returned, although as indicated previously it is impossible to give a percentage response rate because of lack of data regarding holiday rental accommodation, second homes and empty homes, both in the village and at the caravan park. However, given the above, the return of 55% of distributed questionnaires does clearly show a high response rate from village households.
Chosen none response to the questionnaire
During collection, a total of 5 households spoken to stated that they did not wish to fill in a questionnaire. One person voluntarily gave the reason that they did not like to take sides about things, another person reported that they felt the mood at the public meeting towards Dawnfresh had been very hostile. The third person stated that they were against the Fish Farm but were going to make their own objections, the other two gave no reason and the collector of the questionnaires did not attempt to elicit one.
Unable to categorise questionnaire
One respondent stated that they felt that the questions posed by the questionnaire were unfair and sought to elicit a response against the proposed development of the Industrial Fish Farm planned by Dawnfresh. A line was drawn through all the questions, and therefore this questionnaire is recorded in the data as completed but unable to categorise. The methodological issues raised have also been recorded.
(In response to this, it must be highlighted that the AFF the Clyde group clearly stated who we were in the covering letter which accompanied the questionnaire and were very clear about the remit of the group – to try to stop the proposed development of the Fish Farm in the village of Ardentinny. AFF the Clyde also felt that if there were people in the village who strongly believed in the need for the Industrial Fish Farm, it was up to them to do the hard work to gather the data in support of their case.)
The respondent went on to state that we were not to assume s/he was in favour of the proposed development, but that the decision to not complete the questionnaire was made on a methodological basis.
It must, however be clearly stated that whilst it was not part of the AFF the Clyde remit to seek to proactively gather data in support of the Industrial Fish Farm, AFF the Clyde will report on any comments in favour of the Industrial Fish Farm which were made by the respondents to the questionnaire fairly and in full.
The raw data from the questionnaires, used in compiling this report is also available to anyone who would like to examine.
Analysis of question 1 – How do you feel about Dawnfresh proposed fish farm?
85% of the responses to this question were strongly opposed to the Industrial Fish Farm development and 5% were opposed to it. 3% of responses were in favour, and 5% of responses had no opinion either way. It is therefore clear that the vast majority (90%) of Ardentinny residents do not wish for the development on their doorstep.
Analysis of question 2 – How concerned are you about the impact of the fish farm on the environment? (e.g. Issues such as benthic pollution of the loch bed leading to direct loss of biodiversity; the addition of industrial chemical treatments to treat fish diseases such as those used to treat sea lice, traces of which may end up on Ardentinny beach). 92% of responses were very much concerned about environmental issues connected to the Fish Farm, and 5% were concerned. No respondents reported being unconcerned, and 1% didn’t have an opinion. Therefore, environmental issues are clearly a major concern to Ardentinny residents with a total of 97% being expressing concern about the impact of the Industrial Fish Farm on the environment.
Analysis of question 3 – How concerned are you about the impact of the fish farm on the welfare of other wild species found in the loch? (e.g. escapee rainbow trout competing with native fish for resources and predating on species such as juvenile salmon; the possible impact of the fish farm on local seal colonies). 86% of responses were very much concerned about the impact of the Fish Farm on wildlife resident in the loch and 9% were concerned. 1.3% of responses expressed no opinion either way. There were no responses in the lack of concern category. Overall 95% of responses expressed concern regarding the impact of the Industrial Fish Farm on wildlife resident in the loch.
Analysis of question 4 – How concerned are you about the impact of the Fish Farm on Ardentinny and the surrounding environment? (e.g. the visual impact of 10 x 38m sea cage, and associated equipment, the increase on noise and boat traffic for vessels servicing the fish farm).
87% of responses were very concerned about the impact of the Industrial Fish Farm on the village of Ardentinny and its surrounds and 9% of responses were concerned. There were no respondents without an opinion on this, and 3% of responses felt that this was not an issue of concern.
Analysis of question 5 – Do you have any other comments you would like to make? Many respondents completing the questionnaire wished to make further comment on the Dawnfresh application to site their Industrial Fish Farm next to Ardentinny. These comments were analysed and grouped under common themes, although there was obviously some overlap. These themes, together with the thrust of the comments made are discussed below. Where a respondent had made more than 1 comment, each was recorded separately as per the appropriate category.
About Dawnfresh
Several issues were raised specifically regarding Dawnfresh as the company developing and operating the Industrial Fish Farm. These included:
• Issues about the quality of the presentation made to the informal village meeting hosted by Dawnfresh; comments included that Dawnfresh appeared poorly prepared and couldn’t properly answer questions posed by Ardentinny residents.
• A concern was expressed about the long-term viability of Dawnfresh, as the company had posted losses in the millions over the last few years. • Concerns were expressed about the Dawnfresh record with existing Fish Farms it owned, including contravention of planning notices.
• A concern was expressed that financial gain was the only driving force behind the Fish Farm proposals.
Impact of Fish Farm on marine mammals and other loch dwellers
This was an area of great concern to respondents, attracting many comments. These included;
• Concerns about the fate of the small seal colony resident on the point near the lighthouse which is adjacent to the proposed development site.
• Concerns about seabird entanglement in the netting integral to the sea cages.
• Concerns about the user of predator sonar deterrents upon the navigation systems of cetaceans, including the harbour porpoise pod resident in Loch Long and the adjacent Loch Goil and the occasional visiting whale.
• Concerns about sea lice infestations and the effect on resident local fish populations, including decimation of those populations.
Culling of seals
One comment was made;
• Concerns about the potential for seals who persistently attack sea cages to predate upon the farmed fish to be shot, as a policy of last resort.
General effects of chemical pollutants
Comments included;
• General concerns were noted about the effect of chemicals used to treat the farmed fish upon the surrounding wildlife.
• The point was made that farmers are not allowed to discharge chemicals directly into water and that Fish Farms should be treated no differently in this respect.
Tourism, including tourism and wildlife
Several points were made about tourism in the area, as Ardentinny is a very popular tourist village. These included:
• Tourists would find the aesthetics of the Industrial Fish Farm visually unattractive. • Tourists comment on the wildlife of the area, and in particular on the local seal colony at the lighthouse point which will most likely be displaced by the Fish Farm.
• It was impossible to see how the Fish Farm would be other than detrimental to tourism in Ardentinny.
Chemical pollutants and humans
Several concerns were expressed about the effects of the chemicals used in the rearing of the fish at the Fish Farm and their impact upon human health. These included:
• Ardentinny has the only stretch of sandy beach in the area which is heavily used by residents and visitors who will risk exposure to chemical pollutants.
• Concerns were expressed about the detrimental impacts of chemical pollutants on human and animal health, including the use of toxins and carcinogens.
• Concerns were expressed about the impact of chemical pollutants in the water in relation to the Outdoor Education Centre which is based in the village and which regularly takes groups of children out on, and into the loch. It was stated that it was impossible to see how the Fish Farm couldn’t have an impact of the children’s use of the beach.
• The siting of the proposed development was felt to be in the wrong place; the prevailing wind is from the south and pollutants will travel mostly in a northerly direction, ending in and around the village and at the beach at Shepherd’s Point. • Pollution from the fish farm will put an end to people wild swimming in the loch.
Benthic impacts
• Concern was expressed about the impact of benthic waste underneath the fish cages and the degradation of the ecosystem as a result of this.
Potential impact on the village
This was another area attracting many comments. Issues included;
• There were no perceived benefits of the proposed development to the village.
• Ardentinny was a lovely quiet place and this type of development was not needed.
• The aesthetic impact of the sea cages and attendant shore-based facility which Dawnfresh are planning would be negative and spoil the appeal of the area.
• The Fish Farm was inappropriate to activities in the loch including boating.
• There would be an unwanted increase in boat traffic servicing the Fish Farm.
• There would be a negative impact upon house prices in the village.
• The prevailing wind is from the south and therefore unwanted smells from the Fish Farm will travel mostly in a northerly direction, ending in and around the village.
• It was felt that the Dawnfresh proposals were the thin end of the wedge and that further proposals to expand the Industrial Fish Farm would be made over time.
Potential impact on the road
Several concerns were expressed about the one and only road into and out of the village, including:
• Concerns about unwanted increases in road use due to traffic, including lorry traffic associated with the Fish Farm.
• It was noted that the road into the village is single track and already degrading with the traffic which is currently using it and is therefore not suitable for any further demands upon it.
Alternatives to the Fish Farm proposals made by Dawnfresh
Comments made included:
• A suggestion that the fish could be farmed on shore-based facilities in tanks.
• Fish needed to be farmed in a sustainable way without the use of chemicals. (The respondent stated that if Dawnfresh could guarantee this approach s/he would be supportive of the proposed development).
National Park related issues
There were several perceived issues with the siting of the Fish Farm in the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park. Comments made included:
• The proposed Fish Farm would destroy the appeal of the National Park area.
• The proposed Fish Farm does not fit into a National Park area and there is a question as to why it would be considered at all.
• The proposed Fish Farm development is inconsistent with both the ethos of the National Park and of the Land Reform Scotland Act (2003) and will invade and pollute the waters of the loch.
• The Fish Farm would prevent the Right to Roam, which the National Park should be preserving at all costs.
Support for the Fish Farm
There were some comments in support of the development;
• The Fish Farm will provide work for people in the village and the village needs work for young people and people with young families. One respondent who had previous experience of the industry stated that if the Fish Farm development was done correctly and addressed issues of sustainability s/he would support the Dawnfresh proposals, and thus needed more information about the proposals from Dawnfresh themselves.
• The Fish Farm will bring 8 jobs to the village and help slow the decline of the village over the last two decades that the respondent has lived in Ardentinny.
• The presence of the Fish Farm may attract further seals and dolphins to the loch, so increasing the wildlife.
Methodological issues
Several comments were made, including:
• More information should have been provided by AFF the Clyde to enable people to reach an informed decision.
• There were not enough tick box options on some of the questions.
• The questions in the questionnaire were unfair and were geared towards an unfavourable response to the proposed Industrial Fish Farm development.
Fish Farms and Political Issues
Concerns were expressed about the Scottish Government’s stated support for the expansion of fish farming including;
• Pressure brought to bear on SEPA by the Scottish Government to support (specifically) salmon farms, including a Freedom of Information request instructing support prior to a decision having been reached.
Coulport and the MOD
Several comments were made with regards to the siting of the Fish Farm on a loch used extensively by the MOD for the storage of nuclear weapons and associated military activity. This included;
• Increased risks to security, and increased vulnerability of the MOD by the presence of the Fish Farm
• The potential effects of the acoustic predator deterrents that are used in fish farming interfering with the regular mine sweeping activities carried out by the MOD on the loch.
Fish Farms and fish welfare
Comments were made with regarding the wider welfare issues of farmed fish. This included;
• Fish Farming is innately cruel to the species being farmed.
Miscellaneous
• There was a request for Aff the Clyde to host a public meeting.
• Serious safety issues were identified for the groups of children from the Outdoor Centre who are learning canoeing and kayaking skills, as the proposed development site for the Industrial Fish Farm is exactly where they carry out many of these activities.
Concluding Comments
From the data gathered. in what was an extensive and comprehensive village survey, 90% of Ardentinny residents who completed the survey are opposed to the proposed Industrial Fish Farm Development by Dawnfresh. This is an overwhelmingly large majority. Only 3% of responses were in favour of the development (Q1).
Similarly, in Q2, 3, and 4, the overwhelming majority of Ardentinny residents had very serious concerns regarding the impact of the fish farm on the environment, on wildlife in the loch and on the village and its surrounds, with over 95% of respondents expressing concern about these issues. From respondent commentary on the issues of greatest concern to them (Q5), the impact upon wildlife (especially the seal colony) was the issue of greatest concern. The second issue of most concern to respondents was the impact of the Fish Farm upon Ardentinny village itself, aesthetic concerns and concerns about the potential for foul smells being especially highlighted. The pollution associated with the Fish Farm was also an area of great concern for respondents with particularly in relation to human health. Many concerns have also been expressed about Dawnfresh as an operator of Industrial Fish Farms.
Whilst there were some comments made in favour of the Fish Farm, most often with regard to job creation for young people, the view which has clearly emerged from this extensive survey of Ardentinny village responses is clearly one of the Dawnfresh Industrial Fish Farm proposals being uninvited, unwelcome and unwanted. Residents do not wish for the Fish Farm in the beautiful village of Ardentinny.
Appendix 1:
Questionnaire Dawnfresh Fish Farm Proposals: Questionnaire for Ardentinny Residents
Please would you complete the following questions in order that we may have your views and opinions of the Dawnfresh industrial trout farm proposals.
1. How do you feel about Dawnfresh’s proposed fish farm?
2. How concerned are you about the impact of the fish farm on the environment? (e.g. Issues such as benthic pollution of the loch bed leading to direct loss of biodiversity; the addition of industrial chemical treatments to treat fish diseases such as those used to treat sea lice, traces of which may end up on Ardentinny beach and shoreline; possible risk to human and pet health from the use of these chemicals.)
3. How concerned are you about the impact of the fish farm on the welfare of other wild species found in the loch? (e.g. escapee rainbow trout competing with native fish for resources and predating on species such as juvenile salmon; the possible impact of the fish farm on local seal colonies).
4. How concerned are you about the impact of the Fish Farm on Ardentinny and the surrounding environment? (e.g. the visual impact of 10 x 38 m. / 125 ft. sea cages, and associated equipment; the increase of noise and service vessel boat traffic.
5. Do you have any other comments you would like to make?
Appendix 2: Covering letter that accompanied questionnaire Hands aff the Clyde
We are a group of Ardentinny residents concerned about the plans to site an industrial fish farm next to our village. Dawnfresh are proposing to site 10 x 38 m fish pens, a feeding barge and possible shore-based facility. At a recent public meeting most villagers were against the development. We are seeking to further explore your views and opinions and ask that you complete this questionnaire.
Dawnfresh have developed Industrial Trout Farms at sites on Loch Etive and Loch Ewe. The friends of Loch Etive, in their report from the Port na Mine (Etive 3) fish farm, have identified many issues affecting both the loch and communities close by:
• An increase of nearly 500% biomass of fish at Loch Etive since Dawnfresh first started farming on the Loch.
• Investigation by SEPA for breach of pollution licence for overuse of the chemical azamethipos, an insecticide used to treat parasitical infestations e.g. of sea lice (see The Herald 02.05.17).
• Reported deaths of 54 tonnes of fish over 3 months in 2016 (The Herald 02.05.17).
• In 7/12 surveys about the state of the seabed under the cages, according to SEPA, Dawnfresh were graded ‘unsatisfactory’ or ‘minimally met requirements’. SEPA’s definition of ‘unsatisfactory’ is where ‘it is beyond the ability of the local environment to assimilate’ (fish faeces, uneaten food etc).
• Larger cages were used than was granted for by existing planning permission.
• Dumping and leaving of disused old sea cages towed near to loch shore.
• Several incidents of escapee fish, including a recent escape of over 5000 into Loch Ewe. These compete for food and resources with native species.
• Over time, many repeat planning applications to keep enlarging the trout farm and bring in more equipment, including applications to use the shoreline for maintenance and storage of equipment.
• A number of Planning Contravention notices have been issued to Dawnfresh by the local authority. http://lochetive.org/dawnfresh.html
We are very keen to avoid similar experiences in our beautiful village. We will be calling soon to collect your questionnaire, alternately you could drop it off at 6 Ardenfield. Please be assured that all responses you give will be anonymous in our report. We will post our report on the community website for everyone to see. We are also keen to hear from anyone who wishes to become involved as a group member.
Hands aff the Clyde Ardentinny group. Elaine Allan, Jann Garratt, Stuart Maslin
Related resources:
#AFFtheClyde Facebook Group
#AFFtheClyde Facebook Page
AFFtheClyde Twitter @afftheclyde
Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Application
Ardentinny Trout Farm Proposal – Ways to respond
Ardentinny says NO to fish farm proposal