Firth of Lorn illegal dredging claim

TWO ARGYLL divers spotted what they think are illegal scallop dredging markings in the protected Firth of Lorn.

Davy Stinson from Taynuilt and Steve Barlow from Kilmore noticed damage to the seabed when they dived in the Marine Protected Area last week.

David Stinson told The Oban Times: ‘It might only be a few boats but, this winter, we have seen damage. The stuff we saw last week was from within 48 hours. We didn’t have a camera so we went back out a few days later with an underwater camera and documented the damage. When I first started, there was no dredging.’

Speaking about the damage, the clam-diver added: ‘It’s heart-breaking after having seen this recovery.’

John McAlister, a scallop dredger for more than 40 years, said: ‘We are not allowed to fish in the Firth of Lorn. We have not been, although other vessels have. All our boats have a system, so we can prove where our vessels fish.’

However, Mr McAlister said two smaller boats that don’t have a tracking system are operating in darkness.

He added: ‘The boats that are doing it have no fully qualified fishermen on board. They are not commercial fishermen. The commercial dredgers have done nothing wrong. It’s the rogue boats that are doing wrong.’

Nick Underdown, from the environmental charity Open Seas, went out with Davy and Steve to look at the markings.

Nick said: ‘We are really concerned around the illegal dredging in the Marine Protected Area. We are concerned this is damaging the reputation of our seafood industry. We are not antidredging. There are areas where it would have less of an impact. If you leave the seabed alone, it will recover.’

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: ‘We have received recent reports of suspected illegal dredging in the area. Marine Scotland Compliance are actively investigating the activities of a number of suspect vessels.’