Salmon activist who’s been banned from going within 50ft of dozens of f ish farms
A CAMPAIGNER who aims to expose poor standards within the Scottish salmon industry has been slapped with a landmark court order banning him from going anywhere near dozens of fish farms.
Don Staniford has spent years monitoring salmon farms, kayaking and diving in the water beside them to gather photo and video evidence of fish that are injured or infected with lice.
Now, however, one of the industry’s biggest companies has secured an order preventing the 52-year-old from going within 50ft (15m) of any of its farms.
Following a court hearing in Oban, Argyll, a sheriff ruled that although Mr Staniford is ‘well-meaning’, he is not permitted, as a member of the public, to assume the role of fish farm watchdog. The ruling also specifies that Mr Staniford may not use drones to film the farms, nor attach himself to any of the farm structures, nor instruct anyone to carry out surveillance on his behalf.
In the wake of the court order, another firm has written to Mr Staniford warning him to stay away from its salmon farms – or face legal action as well.
Mr Staniford believes his actions are justified and he has pledged to fight the order.
Speaking to The Scottish Mail on Sunday last night, he said: ‘Mowi, the world’s biggest producers of farmed salmon, were successful in banning me from going within 15m of salmon farms and flying drones above them.
‘That is being appealed, my letter was lodged with the court this month. It is worth fighting because this sets a dangerous precedent.’
Mr Staniford, from Wirral, Merseyside, has run Salmon Watch, an organisation dedicated to campaigning against salmon farms, for more than two decades.
His pictures of diseased fish have been widely reproduced in news reports questioning the welfare standards of farms.
In the recent court case he admitted paddling a kayak up to Mowi fish farms off the West Coast of Scotland and then clambering onto the walkways around the cages to take pictures.
He argued that he was an ‘environmental activist’ and that his actions were ‘legitimate and relate to matters of public concern’.
Mowi, which is based in Norway but operates 47 fish farms in Scotland,
argued his ‘incursions’ onto its properties were ‘unlawful’.
Lawyers for the firm described Mr Staniford as ‘a campaigner with a fixed agenda’ and added that ‘honestly held beliefs of campaigners do not justify unlawful acts’.
Mowi also argued that Mr Staniford had no right to be at parts of the seabed leased by the firm, and that he was putting himself at risk by heading into a dangerous environment.
In a written judgment banning him from approaching Mowi farms,
Sheriff Andrew Berry concluded that Mr Staniford’s behaviour ‘is not that merely of a protester who has unfurled a banner at a location to protest an issue – his behaviour goes much further and is substantially more interventionist’.
Following the judgment, another Norwegian-owned company has threatened legal action if Mr Staniford does not stay away from its fish farms.
Lawyers for Scottish Sea Farms, which operates 60 salmon sites in
‘Horrified if they knew what really goes on’
the UK, wrote to Mr Staniford: ‘Your actions are not only unacceptable to our client because you are accessing our client’s property without its consent, but because at least some of your actions pose a danger to you and jeopardise the welfare of the fish.’
Mr Staniford told this newspaper: ‘I’m determined to fight the legal action by both companies.
‘Millions of pounds is generated by the salmon industry in Scotland but people would be horrified if they knew what really goes on. I’m just trying to inform people.’