Kames growth plan faces local objections
PLANS by Kames Fish Farming to open a new farm at Dounie in the Sound of Jura have met with local opposition, the Argyllshire Advertiser reported.
The firm has a lease option from the Crown Estate for the proposed site and has applied to SEPA (the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency) for a licence.
It will shortly be submitting a screening and scoping application to Argyll and Bute Council prior to preparation and submission of a formal planning application.
The application is for 12 x 100m circular cages in a grid formation of 2 x 6 (grid size 300m x 100m).
Opposition has come from Craignish Restoration of Marine and Coastal Habitats (CROMACH), which says the location of the proposed farm ‘is unsuitable for a number of reasons relating to degrada- tion of water quality and environmental health, and socioeconomic repercussions’.
During a presentation about the proposal at the Lochgilphead and District Angling Club on January 17, members expressed concerns that the uneaten food and waste from the farm would fall down and pollute a skate habitat in a deep trench, on the edge of the proposed site.
As the site is on the main migration route for fish into the River Add, there is worry too that escaped salmon will breed with wild salmon, weakening the gene pool. And that the farmed fish will pass on parasites and disease to the wild fish.
Kames boss Stuart Cannon said: ‘The Dounie site has been selected from several potential locations following extensive scientific site surveys, and we consider it offers the best operational conditions with the least impact.
‘To achieve a top quality product for our customers, preserving the quality of the environment in which we operate is essential.’
He said that ‘fish farming installations are designed and selected to withstand the site specific conditions’ and that Marine Scotland Science considers the company’s containment protocols as part of the planning application process, as well as monitoring operational sites, to minimise the risk of escapes from farmed sites.
As part of the surveys undergone ahead of this SEPA application, Kames has also approached a marine consultancy service to produce a report on sea lice dispersal.
‘Scientific data was used to predict dispersal of any potential sea lice larvae in the area,’ said Cannon. ‘Although the report is not yet finalised, it indicates that this risk is low.’
Under Kames’ plans, the cages at the new site would be secured by an underwater mooring system and served by a feed barge moored half way along the shore side of the eastern cage edge.
The application is for the production of trout or salmon, with a maximum tonnage of 2,500 tonnes, capable of producing 3,026 tonnes of trout or 5,214 tonnes of salmon in a cycle.
The maximum stocking density would not exceed 16.36kg m3, said Kames in its application to SEPA.
The site would be serviced from the feed barge, personnel would come by boat from either Crinan or Craignish shore base, with feed being delivered directly to the feed barge by boat.
Equipment, boats or staff for installation would come from the existing shore base at Kames Pier, and the site would be stocked by well boat or helicopter and harvested by boat.
Kames, headquartered near Oban, has been fish farming on the west coast of Scotland since 1972.
It obtained permission for a new 12-cage site off Skye in November, after the government overturned a rejection from Highland Council, which had raised concerns about the impact on tourism.
The Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals (DPEA) said they found ‘nothing sufficient to demonstrate that visitor numbers would decline’.