A year ago the proposal by MOWI to instal a fish farm on Canna was hitting the headlines, with the National Trust for Scotland strongly opposed and Ben Hadfield, the enormously paid boss of MOWI’s Scottish operations insisting that to place eight large cages full of Norwegian salmon on one of our cleanest, unspoilt islands was exactly what the doctor ordered.
The project hasn’t gone away during the pandemic. MOWI have instructed an environmental impact assessment from Aquatera, a major consultancy working internationally, who are gathering views from various interest groups.
The Isle of Canna is very special in a number of respects. The NTS ownership is of course the result of the connection with John and Margaret Lorne Campbell, whose archive is based and cared for there. This cuts in different ways. The resident population is minute and might well be greater under a different ownership structure, but it also means there’s a lot of outside interest in and affection for the island. In normal times locals are totally outnumbered by the Summer visitors. Also, of course, the NTS holds the island in trust and in a sense it is an asset of the Scottish people, in which all of us, present and future generations, have an interest.
The usual practice currently is for MOWI to organise a presentation to persuade local residents that having a few hundred thousand fish, with all the accompanying waste and things like constant noise from diesel generators, glare from underwater lighting and so on is just what they want in the cause of economic progress and creating lots of new jobs. That can’t work for Canna in any meaningful way. There must be a wider consultation.
Economically the island is also special in being almost totally dependent on the NTS, but this does not tell the complete story. The surrounding waters are currently absolutely pure and there is a flourishing marine ecology, from which the fishing fleet derives great benefit. Were these vessels based on Canna it’s a fair bet that MOWI would be resoundingly seen off, as was seen on Islay years ago. As it is they come from far and wide it remains to be seen how effectively they get their views across. Aquatera are attempting to gather data on local catches, but I suspect that many fishers will be reluctant to disclose just what they catch, from where and how much is earned.
All fish farming produces large quantities of waste in the form of fish faeces and uneaten food, which result in increased nitrogen loadings in the water column. In turn this produces changes in the local ecology. It seems likely that these are responsible for the toxic algal blooms frequently seen in recent summers in areas where there are fish farms. They render shellfish unsafe to eat.
Fish farms including MOWI are currently using large quantities of pesticides, such as Emamectin Benzoate, to deal with infestations of sea lice, antibiotics and also common poisons such as Hydrogen Peroxide and Formaldehyde. All of these affect the target species which creel fishers catch. In particular EMBz is now proven to be deadly to crustaceans and stays active on the seabed for years after it has been used on the farm.
Viral diseases are also a problem. Exactly a year ago the West coast saw the worst ever epidemic of Cardiomyopathy Salmonis, that spread throughout the area North of Loch Sween through mid Argyll, resulting in MOWI culling every farm in the area early to minimise their losses. CMS is a viral disease that was first identified in Scotland around 2000, having come from Norway in fish farm stock. Fish do not recover from it and there is no reason to suppose that it does not affect wild fish.
Finally, about the “organic” bit. It’s difficult to see how fish farming can fit any normal definition of the term. MOWI say the new farm will be certified to Soil Association standards, which can be viewed on this link:
You will see that this includes treating the fish “ethically, meeting their species-specific physiological and behavioural needs” - how can that sit with caging migratory Atlantic salmon, programmed to roam the wild oceans?
In the absence of active consultations or applications there’s little that anyone can do just now, apart from raising awareness of what’s going on. One step is to sign the petition, at this link:
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