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Proposed fish farms in Sound of Raasay

Proposed fish farms in Sound of Raasay


Postby Phil the Hill » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:43 pm

Although I live in Surrey, I am a regular visitor to Scotland, spending at least a week there every year. Friends of mine have a cottage on the Trotternish coast of Skye, overlooking the Sound of Raasay. I visited them this year and we went up several of the hills in the area, enjoying the scenery and wildlife in this unspoilt area. They have now alerted me to a planning proposal to construct two fish farms along the coast here. I am objecting to Highland Council about these proposals, and am posting here in case anyone else on the Forum wishes to comment on the proposals too. The proposals can be seen online at http://wam.highland.gov.uk/wam/ Enter the reference number in the search box (17/04735/FUL and 17/04749/FUL) and then register to Comment and/or download the pdf documents from the Documents tab. Annex 3A, the Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment gives a good idea of what the fish farms will look like in the landscape / seascape.

Over to Carol for her take on the proposals:

Our Skye haven is at risk. Four huge fish farms are planned along our shores. A planning application for two of the four is out for consultation right now (closing date 22nd December). One is right in front of us off Eaglais Bhreagach and the other is off Brother's Point. I have already communicated with Ralph Storer as these are two of his Best Routes on Skye and Raasay. He was dismayed and is already anti fish farms, he does not eat farmed salmon because of the dirty industry.

Anyone can object / comment on the applications and we need as many objections as possible as the Staffin Trust are in favour because it will create 7 jobs! What about the otters, seals, whales, porpoise, dolphin and the white Tailed Eagles who frequent this particular coastline? I cry.

We would be so very grateful if you can make an objection.

These fish farms are claimed to be organic, but on researching this it seems that the only requirement for organic status is a lower stocking density. Applicants can apply to revert to standard aquaculture at any time. This has already happened with previous organic applications where they have turned into standard fish farms after the application is approved. So 'organic' here is somewhat meaningless. See the THIS link below. Pesticide levels are pretty much as in standard aquaculture. Wild salmon frequent Invertote and they are certainly at risk of sea lice etc.

Below is a link to the applications and comment written by our friends in South Skye who successfully fought off salmon farms in Loch Slapin. Although the planning application has many attached documents the application summary is useful and it contains links to 16 documents, of these there are some key ones including the Environment Impact document and comments from Skye Salmon fisheries.

The Sound of Raasay is a protected zone for porpoise. How they would cope with 4 big fish farms I don't know, but I think the fish farmers use scarers. They also shoot seals (fact). There is a seal colony North of Staffin Island.

The reason for including you all is to invite you or/and any of your group – if you wish – to send in your comments, however concise, to the Highland Council. The end of the letter tells how. There is a comment box you can fill in if your comment is brief. N.B. when I used the box back in 2012 all formatting got lost and a multi-page discussion became a single paragraph, so if you want to submit detailed letter it’s best to send it as a PDF attached to an e-mail to eplanning@highland.gov.uk.. For addressing, the case officer is Dr Shona Turnbull,
ePlanning Centre, The Highland Council, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX. Please submit as an individual or under your group’s name, not SARNS, which we reserve for universally agreed letters and campaigning.

At a time when rotting salmon are being trucked south from all over the region, sea lice are infesting the minch between Skye and Wester Ross in droves and Skye is almost full up with fish farms, it has to stop. Organic? That’s probably another issue we need to address along with the RSPCA’s designation of farmed salmon as ‘Freedom Food’. THIS important article, though a bit old, is probably not out of date and it’s by a regular follower of our various Twitters.

Three weeks to go and not a single comment has yet been posted for either application. There have to be at least five or public opinion gets dismissed. We’ve complained time and again about them going to consultation before receiving responses from statutory consultees (and will do so again) and we’ve even been admonished that we have no right to see them before submitting our comments. Balderdash! I can find no autodepomod modelling report, which is usually there and enables us to see what predictions have been accepted by SEPA for waste outputs. (The waste management doc. is about fish farm litter – another cause for concern because so much of it seems to wind up on the seashore.)

Anyhow, if you feel minded to chip in with your comments (no obligation – one for each application of course) Skye would be more grateful than some of the North Skye population might realise. The few voluble ones can only think jobs and if tackled can’t see that jobs and pollution/pests are separate considerations, not opposites. If engaged at all, they are influenced by a clique Community Council that is habitually on the side of development.

These are the views we stand to lose:

ImageTote view 1 by prwild, on Flickr

ImageTote view 2 by prwild, on Flickr

Thank you so much,

Carol and Keith
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Phil the Hill
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Re: Proposed fish farms in Sound of Raasay

Postby Compleater2001 » Sat Dec 09, 2017 1:55 pm

It would be a crying shame if these applications are successful. Trotternish on Skye currently has some of the best views in Britain and lies in a Special Landscape Area. The Sound of Raasay is an area of special protection for harbour porpoise. Whales, dolphins and otters are all regularly seen. See the website of the Scottish Salmon Think Tank group for more information on the applications, facts about 'organic' fish farms and associated issues. There is a page link headed North Skye 2017-18. Unfortunately, Walk Highlands rules do not permit me to enclose a link!
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