Fish Farmers resorting to some extravagant Prose!

An article has just appeared in Fish Farmer Magazine, written by the “leading political journalist” Hamish Macdonell, (ex London Times), which shouldn’t be allowed to pass without comment.

Illustrated by a photograph of two operatives clinging precariously onto the side of a fish cage, without any obvious PPE in sight, it contains some very strange statements, which cry out for some supporting evidence.

The piece begins as follows:

“It didn’t take them long. Almost as soon as the lockdown restrictions started to lift, the anti-fish farm campaigners were back, crowding onto yachts without a thought for social distancing and setting off towards Scotland's salmon farms.

They then started on their usual antics, trying to climb on to pens, filming staff, diving underneath nets and sending drones up to grab video footage from the sky.”

Let’s just picture the scene. A family of what Hamish calls “yachties” have just arrived at the marina in their first trip out of lockdown, as they motor out in their Bavaria 46 father announces the destination for today …. climbing onto fish pens … Really?

“Yet we now have activists, not just willing to break all Covid-related rules designed to protect the population, but apparently desperate to do so. They seem to think nothing of putting salmon farm employees in danger by clambering all over their places of work with no protective equipment and not a thought for whatever they might be bringing with them.”

Break all the rules, Hamish? Every one? Clambering all over?

Let me take a step back from this and tell you a little about what I know, from the perspective of a retired solicitor, former tribunal chair, not exactly renowned for community activism. I am an enthusiast for law and order, but as it happens I also like to see the rules being obeyed by everyone subject to them.

In the ten years or so during which I have been actively monitoring the expansion of fish farming in mid Argyll I have noted thousands of breaches of the rules by fish farming companies, which have been unearthed under the Environmental Information regulations by researchers including myself. Since the commencement of the specialist Crown Office Wild Life and Environmental Crime Unit in 2011 countless events and incidents have been referred to them. How many successful prosecutions have resulted? Not one!

A fairly common practice is for fish farm operators to plan for a significant percentage of the salmon to die of disease or sea lice damage during their incarceration, by stocking the cages with more fish than the permitted biomass limit would suggest. If enough fish don’t die as predicted the result is overstocking.

However, the entire system of regulation currently depends on self reporting by the operating companies. Because of the fundamental principle against self incrimination in criminal law, the reports filed by companies simply aren’t acceptable as evidence in court. When SEPA send in reports to the Crown Office they simply can't do anything.

In the absence of independent inspection we have seen certain individuals going out and collecting footage of what’s going on in and under our west coast fish farms. I know some of them and can assure anyone reading this that they don’t conform to the image usually conjured up by the term “yachty”. Those whom I know are, mainly, possessed of marine biology knowledge and qualifications, courageous, extremely fit and driven purely by commitment. They are not, as they are often accused of being, in the pay of mysterious, usually said to be American, big money people.

To date the efforts of this small band of brave men and women have achieved quite a bit. One image, of a deep pile of dead fish, roughly half an acre in extent rotting away in open air in the Outer Hebrides, went viral and drew attention to the dark side of the industry, the enormous waste that occurs annually when viruses claim, in some cases, up to 40% of stock.

This last weekend drone footage from Loch Creran shows some of the mortality and pollution that results from the Thermolicer machines now active right along the coast. There is no sign of the operatives on the ship being harassed, or even aware of the footage being taken.

But isn’t this illegal? Hamish seems to state that it is. Let’s deconstruct what he says.

“This is a difficult area, not least because our rural police service is stretched and it takes time to react to the often swift interventions of some of more mobile critics. …”

This implies that the activities of activists breaches the criminal law, otherwise what’s it got to do with the police? We do know that fish farm companies have taken to calling the police on a few occasions. Correct me if I’m wrong, anyone, but I’m sure we would have heard if any prosecution had resulted. On the other hand I am aware that complaints have been made to Police Scotland about powers of individual officers being exceeded.

“Also, the law is quite clear. The rights of navigation allow journeys from any single point to another on the sea, except if there is a structure in the way (like a fish farm), in which case, the marine user has to go around the structure – not try to stop, tie up, clamber on board or dive underneath it.”

Yes indeed, we, as members of the public, all have the constitutional right to use the surface of the sea for purposes that include navigation and recreation. Fish farming results in our rights being obstructed, but the Court of Session has held, in the seminal case of Walford v David, that we must tolerate this and find our way safely around.

I don’t, personally, condone people “climbing aboard” but am not aware of any criminal law that might be broken, unless some damage were to be caused.

“The law against aggravated trespass on land (the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994) also covers a similar offence on marine structures.”

This is a statute that was introduced to control raves, not to clamp down on solitary activists with Gopros in canoes!

It is singularly unfortunate that Hamish’s article came out just before two major environmental catastrophes occurred.

Reports are coming in from Skye of a new, as yet unidentified virus that had reportedly killed a quarter of a million salmon so far. If it turns out to be a mutation of the cardiomyopathy syndrome that did something similar at the same time last year the environment will again be in trouble, thanks to aquaculture. Viral diseases don’t only affect farmed salmon, the real toll is the unseen mortality that goes on beneath the surface, with ailing fish being quickly eaten and thereby contributing to spread.

Secondly there are currently half a million salmon adrift from Carradale North, not a good look for an industry that is desperate, with government support, to install cages in more exposed areas, our inshore lochs being unable to cope with the pollution that is being inflicted upon them.

Finally, in the last few days news has been circulating about an utterly savage assault on an innocent member of the public, a local resident standing on a piece of open land, by a fish farm operator who seems to have felt he shouldn't have been there. I won’t say more at this stage, keep an eye on events locally!