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From Todays Herald
Mike
DEVELOPERS behind a rejected bid to create a new salmon farm near Arrochar have announced plans to appeal the decision.
Loch Long Salmon confirmed today that they have submitted an appeal for their proposed Beinn Reithe project.
They will argue that the rejection of the plan in October 2022 by the Board of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park was “fundamentally flawed and based on fear and a misunderstanding” of their aquaculture technology.
The plan envisions creating what is known as a ‘semi-closed containment’ salmon farm on Loch Long.
This means that, below the waterline, the net is surrounded by an impermeable membrane with water drawn up and circulated from deeper in the loch.
READ MORE: Helicopter search for missing hillwalker
Loch Long Salmon stated that this removes the threat of sea lice and attacks by seals, meaning it would not use sea lice treatments or acoustic devices that can harm dolphins or other cetaceans.
Similar scheme have already been developed, trialled, and commercially adopted in Norway and Canada.
The project had the backing of Arrochar, Tarbet and Ardlui Community Council as well as national bodies including SEPA and NatureScot.
It was also supported by a number of SNP and Conservative politicians, including the SNP’s Angus Robertson, Fergus Ewing, and Argyll & Bute MP Brendan O’Hara, and the Conservative MSPs Pam Gosal and Donald Cameron.
The Scottish Government has said it believes the project is of “national significance”.
Loch Long Salmon said its project would deliver high-skilled jobs and “demonstrate the commercial viability of this farming system”.
READ MORE: Pedestrian, 79, dies after being hit by bus in Edinburgh
Stewart Hawthorn, managing director of Loch Long Salmon, said: “We believe the National Park’s decision to prevent this proven, transformative technology being brought to Scotland for the first time was based on fear and a lack of knowledge and understanding.
“The National Park has no experience of handling this kind of application and, rather than listening to experts such as NatureScot, SEPA and Forestry & Land Scotland, who all said the project could go ahead, they based their view on a misunderstanding that our plans were the same as existing open net salmon farms.
“This is fundamentally flawed.
“Through the appeal process, we are committed to demonstrating that we can bring positive change to Scotland, radically improve the environmental performance of salmon farming and secure jobs in rural areas.
“We carefully sited and designed the farm with the full collaboration of the Park’s planning team and, as a result, the farm can’t even be seen from more than 99 per cent of the Park.
“Officers also used concerns regarding theoretical impacts on a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) more than 55km [34 miles] away from the development in justifying the decision to refuse the application.
“This was contrary to the expert advice from NatureScot who confirmed the project could safely proceed.”
READ MORE: Much loved Glasgow bar forced to close after 60 years
Loch Long Salmon is a joint venture between Simply Blue Aquaculture, Trimara Services and Golden Acre Foods.
Speaking in November, James Stuart, convenor of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, insisted that the board’s decision had been taken following “careful consideration” of an assessment report and responses in favour and against from both statutory bodies and community members.
Mr Stuart said it was the board’s view that “such a nationally important landscape is not the appropriate location to host development of such an industrial scale”.
He also cautioned that there was a risk that farmed fish could escape and impact on designated water courses.
He said: “The semi-closed containment systems proposed - whilst noted as a substantial step forward for the industry - have not yet been trialled in Scotland and there is not a sound body of evidence on which to base decision making.
“There is a clear risk that the technology may not be sufficiently successful and the location of the application site in Loch Long - with connectivity to the Endrick Water Special Area of Conservation and its fragile population of Atlantic salmon - means that the impacts associated with a potential escape of farmed fish is a significant concern.”
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Mike
DEVELOPERS behind a rejected bid to create a new salmon farm near Arrochar have announced plans to appeal the decision.
Loch Long Salmon confirmed today that they have submitted an appeal for their proposed Beinn Reithe project.
They will argue that the rejection of the plan in October 2022 by the Board of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park was “fundamentally flawed and based on fear and a misunderstanding” of their aquaculture technology.
The plan envisions creating what is known as a ‘semi-closed containment’ salmon farm on Loch Long.
This means that, below the waterline, the net is surrounded by an impermeable membrane with water drawn up and circulated from deeper in the loch.
READ MORE: Helicopter search for missing hillwalker
Loch Long Salmon stated that this removes the threat of sea lice and attacks by seals, meaning it would not use sea lice treatments or acoustic devices that can harm dolphins or other cetaceans.
Similar scheme have already been developed, trialled, and commercially adopted in Norway and Canada.
The project had the backing of Arrochar, Tarbet and Ardlui Community Council as well as national bodies including SEPA and NatureScot.
It was also supported by a number of SNP and Conservative politicians, including the SNP’s Angus Robertson, Fergus Ewing, and Argyll & Bute MP Brendan O’Hara, and the Conservative MSPs Pam Gosal and Donald Cameron.
The Scottish Government has said it believes the project is of “national significance”.
Loch Long Salmon said its project would deliver high-skilled jobs and “demonstrate the commercial viability of this farming system”.
READ MORE: Pedestrian, 79, dies after being hit by bus in Edinburgh
Stewart Hawthorn, managing director of Loch Long Salmon, said: “We believe the National Park’s decision to prevent this proven, transformative technology being brought to Scotland for the first time was based on fear and a lack of knowledge and understanding.
“The National Park has no experience of handling this kind of application and, rather than listening to experts such as NatureScot, SEPA and Forestry & Land Scotland, who all said the project could go ahead, they based their view on a misunderstanding that our plans were the same as existing open net salmon farms.
“This is fundamentally flawed.
“Through the appeal process, we are committed to demonstrating that we can bring positive change to Scotland, radically improve the environmental performance of salmon farming and secure jobs in rural areas.
“We carefully sited and designed the farm with the full collaboration of the Park’s planning team and, as a result, the farm can’t even be seen from more than 99 per cent of the Park.
“Officers also used concerns regarding theoretical impacts on a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) more than 55km [34 miles] away from the development in justifying the decision to refuse the application.
“This was contrary to the expert advice from NatureScot who confirmed the project could safely proceed.”
READ MORE: Much loved Glasgow bar forced to close after 60 years
Loch Long Salmon is a joint venture between Simply Blue Aquaculture, Trimara Services and Golden Acre Foods.
Speaking in November, James Stuart, convenor of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority, insisted that the board’s decision had been taken following “careful consideration” of an assessment report and responses in favour and against from both statutory bodies and community members.
Mr Stuart said it was the board’s view that “such a nationally important landscape is not the appropriate location to host development of such an industrial scale”.
He also cautioned that there was a risk that farmed fish could escape and impact on designated water courses.
He said: “The semi-closed containment systems proposed - whilst noted as a substantial step forward for the industry - have not yet been trialled in Scotland and there is not a sound body of evidence on which to base decision making.
“There is a clear risk that the technology may not be sufficiently successful and the location of the application site in Loch Long - with connectivity to the Endrick Water Special Area of Conservation and its fragile population of Atlantic salmon - means that the impacts associated with a potential escape of farmed fish is a significant concern.”
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