Following the recent report from Environmental Standards Scotland I submitted a Freedom of Information Request in order to find out the procedure in terms of which an operator of a fish farm could get permission to operate an Acoustic Deterrent Device, otherwise a sea scarer, WITHOUT applying for a licence.
The answer came today, referring to an FAQ page on Marine Scotland. The relevant paragraph reads:
“5. Do I need to apply for an EPS licence?
It is your responsibility as the fish farm operator to determine whether you need to apply for an EPS licence. However given current scientific advice, it is likely that an EPS licence will be required for all currently available ADDs unless you can demonstrate that the device(s) operating at your site will not cause disturbance to cetaceans. If you are using or intend to use ADDs at your site and consider that the device(s) will not cause disturbance to cetaceans, evidence of this must be submitted to Marine Scotland - Licensing Operations Team (“MS-LOT”) at MS.MarineLicensing@gov.scot. This evidence should include a robust assessment of the numbers of cetaceans likely to be disturbed using the best available estimates of cetacean abundance and distribution for the site, alongside underwater noise propagation modelling that accounts for local environmental conditions. If your assessment concludes that less than one individual of a cetacean species will be disturbed MS-LOT may be able to confirm that an EPS licence is not required following consultation with Marine Scotland Science (“MSS”).”
It remains a complete mystery how anyone could prove that less than one, i.e. NO, cetaceans would be harmed by using a device the use of which inevitably does precisely that!
I also asked if there would be a list of applications and indeed there is, on Marine Scotland Information.
I just checked and as at today there are NO applications to use an ADD without a licence, but ONE for a licence, by Kames Fish Farming in respect of SIX sites:
North Moine, Shuna Castle, Kames Bay East, Kames Bay West, Ardifuir and Pooltiel West
The application is still current, so who knows what’s going on!?
This is the first Summer that Dolphins and Porpoise and even an occasional whale have been spotted in places including Seil, Shuna and Melfort, perhaps due to the use of ADDs having been abandoned.
So, today’s question is why does the locally owned company Kames Fish Farming, among all the operators on the West Coast, uniquely believe that it needs to harass protected species?
Like
Comment
Share
