Scottish Sea Farms makes case for Wester Ross site
SCOTTISH Sea Farms says that its proposed facility off Wester Ross will take full account of the needs of the Wester Ross marine protected area (MPA).
Responding to an objection lodged by the Scottish Wildlife Trust, Scottish Sea Farms’ managing director Jim Gallagher said: “It’s absolutely right that sensitive habitats and species be protected and we’ve taken great care from the outset to ensure there’s no overlap between the proposed farm and priority marine features such as the maerl beds and other marine plants and animals they are home to. Several of our farms are already located in marine protected areas – our nearby farms at Tanera and Fada included – proving that, with responsible and sympathetic farm management, both can co-exist.”
Scottish Sea Farms has applied for permission for a site close to Horse Island in the Summer Isles, which lies within the Wester Ross MPA in north west Scotland.The original proposal has been scaled down to eight pens with a biomass of 1,100 tonnes, in compliance with the introduction of a new modelling system from the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).The original proposal had been for 14 pens and a biomass of 1,973 tonnes.
The Scottish Wildlife Trust argues that the proposed farm would damage several fragile protected features within the Wester Ross Marine Protected Area, including maerl beds, northern feather stars and kelp forests.
Dr Sam Collin, the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s living seas manager said: “The site proposed by
Scottish Sea Farms is entirely unsuitable due to its proximity to important protected habitats. These plans pose a serious threat to marine wildlife, stores of blue carbon, and the local creel fishing industry.”
The company stresses that a full and thorough environmental impact assessment has been prepared by independent environmental consultants Aquatera, with full consideration of the MPA, and will be made publicly available at the next stage of the consultation process. It adds that when MPAs were first designated in Scotland, in most cases in areas where the marine habitat was deemed to be in good condition, many were at sites where salmon farms were already operating.
Gallagher said: “Our aim is to deliver a win-win outcome for the Summer Isles community: the creation of highly skilled, highly paid jobs and modern apprenticeships, while at the same time protecting its healthy marine environment for generations to come.”
Scottish Sea Farms says the new site will create six new full-time jobs, with recruitment from the local community wherever possible, and one to two modern apprenticeship positions, as well as benefiting the local economy.