With the recent decision by the Scottish Government to overrule both The National Park Authority and the government appointed Reporter, our friends at Long Live Loch Linnhe, already in the crosshairs of Loch Long Salmon for a colossal fish farm using the same untried technology, have fired back with their response.
After nearly two years of deliberation, the Scottish Government has chosen to ignore the independent Reporter’s clear recommendation to deny planning permission for Loch Long Salmon’s industrial-scale fish farm on Loch Long. Instead, it has granted approval.
This outcome is shocking. It undermines the very purpose of appointing a Reporter to conduct a rigorous, evidence-based review of submissions from all stakeholders. Not only does it show disregard for due process, but it also represents a huge waste of valuable time and taxpayers’ money.
The government may be desperate to find a “solution” to the well-publicised failures of the open-net salmon farming industry – ranging from appalling fish welfare, disease and mortalities to severe environmental harm. But make no mistake: the semi-closed containment systems (SCCS) being promoted are still experimental, unproven, and far from the sustainable solution the industry claims.
The industry’s rebranding of SCCS as “closed containment” or, more recently from LLS, “sustainable containment” is pure greenwash. These systems are neither fully closed nor genuinely sustainable. In fact, key technical questions remain unanswered. At the Appeal Hearing, Loch Long Salmon’s own KC argued that model specifications and design details were unnecessary to seek permission – likening it to applying for a wind farm. But this comparison is misleading: unlike wind turbines, the actual design of SCCS pens has a direct impact on fish welfare, pollution levels, and the local environment.
Even the technology’s suppliers admit its potential shortcomings. FiiZK, one of Loch Long Salmon’s potential preferred partners, states on its website that waste extraction is still in the early development stage. Another supplier, Akvafuture, has managed (according to LLS themselves) to remove only 30 – 40% of waste – far below the 80 – 90% originally claimed and used by SEPA as the basis for granting a CAR Licence. Anything less should have meant an accordingly reduced tonnage – or even refusal. Yet instead, SEPA will only inspect after a year of operation – by which time the necessary roads and industrial infrastructure will have been constructed… and the damage will already be done.
There is, however, a glimmer of hope. The planning approval comes with 35 conditions, some of which will likely be extremely difficult to meet. Notably, Loch Long Salmon must prove it has the financial security to cover the reinstatement of the site – a tall order for an untested company using experimental technology (that being Loch Long Salmon, whose CEO has now moved to New Zealand as CEO of Akaroa King Salmon and has recently become chair of Aquaculture New Zealand).
For Loch Linnhe, and indeed for the future of Scotland’s precious sea lochs, this decision is a grave warning. The Sword of Damocles now hangs over us. But we are not giving up. Along with our allies we will be exploring every possible course of action.
The support of our communities strengthens our resolve to protect Scotland’s marine environment from such short-sighted and potentially destructive experiments. Remember…”Despair is indulgence, hope is discipline”…
LONG LIVE LOCH LINNHE
E info@longlivelochlinnhe.org.uk
W www.longlivelochlinnhe.org.uk
FB Long Live Loch Linnhe
X @savelochlinnhe
Reporter’s Report https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/Document.aspx?id=1115552
Ministerial Decision https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/Document.aspx?id=1115618