Protecting the natural beauty of Scotland is paramount

SCOTLAND and lochs are synonymous. Those huge, deep, primordial stretches of water that divide the land, reflect the hillsides and sparkle in the sun characterise who we are, and how we are perceived, at home and abroad.

They are famous across the world for their beauty, their grandeur and their mystery. They are marketed as pristine and pure, and attract thousands of tourists to boost Scotland’s economy.

It comes as something of a shock, then, to learn that an astonishing 45 lochs have been polluted in breach of environmental safety limits over the last ten years. The pollution comes from the chemicals used by fish farms to kill the lice that plague caged salmon. The chemicals are also a risk to hu- man health. This is not how it should be. If environmental standards are set, they should be met and enforced, not ignored. Unfortunately, however, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is coming under fire – again – for not doing its job. Part of its remit is to help economic growth, and there are plans to double the size of the fish farming industry by 2030.

That now looks both unsustainable and unwise. Instead of promoting such growth Sepa and Scottish Government ministers should be thinking about how to curb pollution by limiting the size of fish farms.

Of course the industry brings its own economic benefits, but these should not be at the expense of one of Scotland’s most precious assets – our beautiful environment.