Now for Goliath versus David!

Towards the end of last year there were brief reports in the Press about the case that has been raised in Oban Sheriff Court by the Norwegian MOWI fish farming giant against the environmental activist Don Staniford. To describe the case as a modern day Goliath versus David would be an understatement. It’s likely that battle will be joined sometime later this year and this post is just a quick update on what I’ve heard.

MOWI are one of the largest operators of industrial battery farming salmon units in the World, largely owned by Jon Fredriksen, described on Wikipedia as “a Norwegian-born Cypriot oil tanker and shipping billionaire businessman based in London.” By contrast Don Staniford is well known as a lone operator, who relies on practical and occasional financial support from concerned individuals, who appreciate his efforts in exposing the dark side of fish farming.

While the MOWI public relations machine tries to portray Don and the few others doing the same work as mini Greenpeace operations the precise opposite is true. Despite the claim made by industry spokesman and former LibDem MSP Tavish Scott that he is in the pay of anonymous foreign evildoers there is no evidence that he is anything other than what he says he is, a man who from a background of studying marine biology has dedicated his life to the environment, at great personal cost.

I admit to being a friend of Don, whom I met shortly after he returned to Scotland from spells in Canada and Norway and subsequently on various occasions when his activities have brought him to mid Argyll. I have been impressed at the depth of his research, his dedication and the care he takes with important matters such as, when gathering data, the safety of himself and others, the avoidance of causing distress and any cross transmission of infection. In particular his custom is not to go near sites when fish farm staff are already on them.

I do not have access to the papers lodged by MOWI in court and would be prohibited by law from reporting anything if I had been. However, it is clear that, bluntly put, MOWI are seeking to place extensive “exclusion zones” around each and every one of their over one hundred installations on the open waters of our West coast.

While you may not agree with what Don and his fellow activists are doing, I would ask you to reflect on the utter enormity of this for all of us as citizens. It is well established as a matter of our constitutional law that the seabed is held in trust under the Crown for all of us and that as members of the public we have certain rights, the principal of which are of free passage over the open sea, to fish and to use our coastal waters for leisure and recreation. Operators of fish farms are allowed to place the cage anchors in position on the seabed only in terms of leases which expressly reserve these rights to all of us.

The case raises issues of major constitutional importance regarding the safeguarding of one of Scotland’s greatest assets, our extensive seabed and in particular the inshore waters of what is now often referred to as the aquaculture coast.

Please take a minute or two to reflect on the implications for everyone. There is no way that fish farm staff can tell if someone is out fishing, rowing, wild swimming, in a canoe enjoying the Mid Argyll Kayak Trail, or a deadly “eco warrior” intent on exposing an instance of animal abuse or the misuse of toxic chemicals.

In defending our freedoms ideas and publicity are as important as financial backing. Anyone wanting to discuss things further should feel free to contact me by direct message.

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