Mowi Scotland farm changes refused due to fishing concerns

Concerns for local fishermen have caused councillors to refuse Mowi Scotland’s application to modernise its Carradale salmon farms and re-site them in deeper water.

Mowi wanted to replace 10 pens of 120-metre circumference with six 160m pens at each of its Carradale North and Carradale South, and make a “minor relocation” eastwards, a little further away from the shore.

The plans were recommended for approval approval by planning officers but Argyll and Bute’s planning, protective services and licensing committee voted 6-3 against the North Carradale plan and 6-4 against the South Carradale plan after hearing from Mowi and from objectors including representatives of the Clyde Fishermen’s Association, which represents both mobile and static fishing vessels mainly (but not only) fishing in the Clyde.

Fishing 'not safeguarded'

According to a report on West Coast Today website, Councillor John Armour (SNP, South Kintyre), who proposed the refusal, said: “I do not want to play down anything Mowi do, especially in Kintyre and in a wider context. They are a huge asset and do great work.

“Although this is considered a minor relocation, the fact that we have no data for smaller vessels under 12 metres really concerns me and I cannot support the recommendation in that respect.

“From the concerns raised by the Fishermen’s Association, I am of the view that existing commercial fishing opportunities are not being sufficiently safeguarded and the application should be refused.

“It will result in an unacceptable exclusion of commercial fishing activity from this important fishing ground, which will result in a significant direct adverse effect.”

A practical compromise

In a letter of objection to the planning committee, Clyde Fishermen’s Association (CFA) said that its members raised concerns about Mowi’s plans during an online meeting with the fish farmer in February 2024.

It added that fishermen understood Mowi’s wish to change or expand the site for business reasons. “Likewise fishing perhaps would also like to expand into the locations which are current aquaculture sites in an ideal world for fishermen,” wrote the CFA. “However, being practical, we appreciate we have a current situation which allows us both to operate in the area, and we feel objectively this is the current preferred workable option.”

'A risk to jobs'

The Association added that its members made it clear at the online meeting with Mowi that moving the site eastwards and further into deep water “would cut into the main tows of the indigenous fishing fleet who rely on this area for their livelihoods”.

It said fishermen believed the fishing area could not be lost without risking the viability of local productive fishing boats and the loss of jobs.

“Whilst we appreciate Mowi have now presented a model which is reduced on their initially proposed eastward move, in reality even the reduced eastward expansion into the deep fishing water is significantly detrimental to local fishermen, just as the original proposal was.”

The CFA’s argument is challenged in a letter sent to planners by Steve Barlow, managing director of Aquasky Ltd, an Oban-based business offering underwater inspection and surveying services to marine sectors.

Barlow carried out an environmental impact survey at Carradale for Mowi approximately 10 years ago, and says the topography of the seabed makes it difficult or impossible to fish in the area where Mowi wants to put its fewer but larger pens.

“Having worked on both a prawn trawler and scallop dredger, and visually seen the ground worked as a diver, it is my opinion that a vessel, bottom trawling with nets (prawn trawling), would not be able to operate shallower than 100m without incurring significant damage. Since the seabed is predominantly mud, scallop dredging would be uneconomical and also run the risk of the dredge bars either coming fast or capsizing,” he writes.

Barlow, who included a chart showing the proposed area of the fish farms and the slope of the seabed, adds: “The proposed extension does not extend beyond the 80m contour and thus does not impact any form of mobile bottom trawling.”