Shetland gives green light for 6,000-tonne salmon farm
Planning permission granted to Scottish Sea Farms
Salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms has won planning permission for a proposed 6,000-tonne site off the east coast on Mainland, Shetland.
Shetland Island Council gave the go-ahead for the Fish Holm site yesterday.
Approval of SSF’s application had been delayed by an objection from Scottish Government agency NatureScot, which expressed concern that developing the farm would have a significant effect on three bird species: the great northern diver (non-breeding), red-throated diver (breeding), and Slavonian grebe (non-breeding).
NatureScot withdrew its objection in October last year after SSF submitted additional information about its proposal.
Scotland's biggest fish farm
The Fish Holm site is located in the Yell Sound at the entrance of Swinster Voe in the Setterness area. It already had permission for eight 100-metre circular pens but had not been used for around a decade. The new planning permission replaces the old one and is for 12 pens of 160m circumference, which would make it Scotland’s largest salmon farm.
Maximum allowed biomass at Fish Holm is expected to increase from 1,910 tonnes to around 6,000 tonnes, assuming the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) grants SSF a Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) licence. SEPA did not object to SSF’s planning application, and the CAR licence for the site is currently under determination.
In its decision notice for the planning application, Shetland Islands Council said the proposed development of the site “will not give rise to any significant or unacceptable environmental effects, subject to appropriate mitigation measures being implemented to ameliorate effects”.
It added: “Where consultees have proposed conditions to mitigate/ monitor impacts, these have been included as planning conditions.”
Horse mussels and birds
Conditions include a time limit of three years for work to start, and a moorings survey of the northwest corner of the mooring containment area to establish the presence of any large horse mussels clumps in this area. “Should the survey reveal the presence of any horse mussel clumps, micro-siting of all anchors and mooring infrastructure in this area shall be undertaken in order to avoid this habitat,” stated the council.
Use of double netting is approved on condition that checks for entanglement or entrapment of diving birds will be made as part of fortnightly net cleaning, and by divers checking pens underwater at least once a month. In addition, a weekly remotely operated vehicle (ROV) survey of two of the four outer corner pens must also take place, rotated so that two different corner pens are checked each week and so each corner pen is monitored every two weeks.
Records of wildlife entanglements and entrapments must be kept, and copied to both the planning authority and NatureScot twice a year, and both bodies must be notified immediately of any significant entrapment or entanglement of gannets, great northern diver, red-throated diver, Slavonian grebe, common guillemot, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, or other single bird species in any nets (two or more birds in a day, three or more within a fortnight).
Similar conditions apply for the pole-mounted top net system.
'Better welfare, secure jobs'
Welcoming the council's decision, Scottish Sea Farms said the project formed part of its move towards fewer, larger sites in deeper, higher-energy waters that support fish health and welfare.
"Importantly, developments such as Fish Holm help retain and support skilled local jobs now and into the future," added SSF, which is the largest private employer in the islands.
SSF employs nearly 300 people in Shetland, including around 160 in marine roles across 20 active marine farms.
"Our local salary spend is around £15 million a year and we support 124 Shetland-based suppliers with annual spending of £27.1 million. Through our Heart of the Community fund, we have contributed £329,439 to 290 local causes in Shetland," said the company.
'Freeing space for others'
"The proposals at Fish Holm are not about creating a new farm in new waters. They involve expanding an existing consented site and vacating another, creating one larger farm that improves fish health and welfare while freeing up space for other marine users.
"As part of this approach, we have already worked with fishermen to consolidate activity into fewer locations, demonstrating that marine space can be shared.
"Scottish Sea Farms is moving towards fewer, larger farms in deeper, higher-energy waters. Stronger currents and deeper water improve conditions for fish by increasing oxygen levels and waste dispersion and reducing predicted interactions with natural marine challenges that can affect gill health. One larger farm can also reduce overall seabed impact compared with several smaller farms producing the same volume of fish."
