Menu:
Environment Sub Committee AGM Report February 2023
It’s been good to be able to get back to a more normal existence through the last year with the lifting of most pandemic restrictions. This enabled amongst other things a number of sea trout sweep netting and sampling outings to take place with many volunteers offering their help.
Our main efforts as a sub-committee continue to be dominated by Salmon Farming. For over twenty years we have contributed to numerous consultations with SEPA, SNH, The Crown Estate, Marine Scotland and the Scottish Government in general. We’ve represented our concerns regarding our wild sea trout population to two Parliamentary Committee inquiries on aquaculture, both of whom published robustly critical reports encouraging reform in the regulation of the industry. Despite this the ongoing trend is for industry expansion.
Whilst we have to indulge in yet more consultation and “science” / evidence gathering, the industry is quietly determined to expand on existing sites. Usually presented as a change-up of cage size and equipment layout, most of these applications come with a proposed massive increase in tonnage.
None of this sits well with wild fish interests in Scotland. The Scottish ECCLR Committee noted in their 2018 report that there had been little focus on the application of the precautionary principle in Aquaculture planning decisions in Scotland. In Canada the Federal Fisheries Minister just refused to renew licences for 15 salmon Farms in British Columbia, siding firmly with the precautionary principle.
The international drive for a more sustainable future for aquaculture, with self-containment ambitions high on that agenda, completely contradicts the sort of claims still being made by local industry representations. For an industry which locally claimed on multiple occasions that they had no sea lice problem in Orkney, they now seem to be plagued by lice proliferations. This only came to light officially with a recent obligation to record lice numbers on a central government website. The amount of lice and disease treatment boats in action locally these last few years are testament to this scenario.
As representatives of our wild fish we often feel beleaguered, un-listened to and effectively ignored, so I would like to thank the dedicated members of this sub-committee for their resilience, continued hard work and faith in a better future.
The following is a summary of our wider activities:
- Chalmers Hope EMP: We spoke with a local councillor and highlighted that this development has gone ahead despite a planning condition that states an agreed Environmental Management Plan (EMP) must be in place before any works commence. This councillor has raised the matter with planning who are investigating.
- Other Salmon Sites requiring scoping response:
- Meil Bay expansion. Comment provided to include impacts on our wild sea trout in EIA process.
- Quanterness expansion. Comment in process to include impacts on wild sea trout in EIA.
- Sweep Net Sampling: OTFA members made three attempts at sweep netting in 2022. We succeed in catching a few smolts on the second and third attempts (at the Finstown Brig and the Bay of Ireland), not enough for a valid sample but it showed that the method could work.
However, in order to effectively monitor lice numbers on wild sea trout, it is clear that a huge effort would be required as multiple sites would need to be surveyed on multiple occasions through the summer period. The matter of just how much effort the OTFA should put into this endeavour will be discussed shortly, ahead of the 2023 season. It is very likely that fish farm companies will be carrying out their own sweep netting, as at some sites, they have been made responsible for monitoring lice numbers on wild sea trout. Not an ideal situation but one that has been introduced by regulators.
Ideally the OTFA can continue to have some role in the wild fish monitoring to ensure it is done effectively. Thanks again to everyone who helped out with this very immersive activity.
- Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Scottish Sea Farms were applying for ASC accreditation for its Toyness site but have recently withdrawn the application. However the Lober site in The Hope has been passed. This is another certification scheme that on the face of it appears “rigorous”, with Lloyds being the appointed auditor to handle the application process. Strangely, the OTFA did not appear on the otherwise detailed list of local stakeholders held by Lloyds. That has now been corrected and we look forward to commenting on any further applications. Interestingly, the ASC recently lowered its lice standard from 0.1 to 0.5. Despite this, lice at the Lober site have exceeded this target consistently since September 2022.
- SEPA Wild Fish & Sea Lice Framework Consultation: This is one of the more relevant things to come out of last year’s Aquaculture Regulatory Process Review by Prof Griggs. CK and MT have communicated with various SEPA staff over the last few months. SEPA have been looking for views from wild fish interests, the aquaculture industry and others on how this should work. They are developing a framework for assessing risk to wild populations for new developments, but this is largely focussed on salmon at the moment. For existing sites they are developing a system of monitoring lice on farms and on wild fish, similar to the way that existing EMPs are supposed to work. It’s probably better that SEPA have this responsibility for sampling wild fish (rather than fish farm companies) but it remains to be seen what enforcement action they will take if lice targets are not met. Practical enforcement will be difficult in an area like Scapa Flow, where there are multiple farms operating.
- Hatston and Scapa Deep Water Quay Consultation: MT has provided the Environmental Consultants undertaking a desk study for these two potential developments with information.
- Burn of Ireland Fish Ladder: OTFA volunteers gathered at the Burn of Ireland in September to repair the fish ladder, which had suffered from flood damage in recent years. The original stones were recovered where possible and put back in place, reinstating the stepped pools used by sea trout to get past the adjacent dam. The structure is located a short distance from the sea and it is crucial that it is kept in good order to allow sea trout
access to the spawning habitat further upstream. The Burn of Ireland is a relatively rare example on Mainland Orkney of a burn that retains a natural meander over most of its length and as a result is a productive sea trout burn. Thanks to Neil Firth, Dave Cousins, Sandy Kerr, Neil Macleod and Malcolm Thomson for their work that day.
- Trout in the Classroom. In this ever popular and rewarding educational project, trout are going to Stenness and Dounby Primary Schools this year.
Good to be able to finish on a positive and proactive note. A couple of kids have told me recently how much they enjoyed doing the daily duties of Trout in the Classroom with our late friend Kenny Macleod when he was helping at Stromness Primary, which was very nice to hear.
Finally, big thanks to Malcolm Thomson for all the hard graft, science and paper work he has put in during this latest period of rapidly changing times.
Tight lines in the coming season.
Colin Kirkpatrick
OTFA Environment Sub Comm. Chair