Big enough

Sir, Following the Banner article on the fish farm expansion on September 9 it would seem to me that both the Scottish Salmon Company and SEPA are having trouble defining when ‘enough is enough’. But when they get it wrong it is our island and our islanders who will inherit a massive ‘dead zone’ of fish waste on the seabed in the sensitive sheltered coastal waters of Lamlash Bay.

Of course the local employment is vital to our community and our locals are doing a good job contributing to the nation’s food security. But this multinational company now intends to expand its pollution to the maximum permitted in any fish farm in Scotland.

Our island depends on tourism and how tourists perceive Arran as a place of natural beauty and wilderness. The industrialisation of Lamlash Bay with its associated permitted pollution will have far reaching consequences on this vital industry. It must be brought to the community’s attention that the size of the fish farm, as it is, is big enough.

There will be a consultation process happening in the next few weeks with public meetings. Please take part and try to save our island from a grave environmental disaster.

One hundred and fifty years ago John Stuart Mill said in St Andrews: ‘Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than good men should look on and do nothing.’

Substitute ‘men’ for people and ‘bad men’ for multinational companies or civil servants meeting short-term ends and we have 2017.

I look forward to seeing you at the public meeting.

Yours,

Donald Mackelvie Macneish

Lamlash