News in brief Hebridean project shelved Islay snubs salmon farm Orkney
application approved
The Sound of Islay: a resounding ‘no’
THE SCOTTISH Salmon Company has withdrawn plans for fi sh farms at two proposed sites off the east coast of Islay, following strong local opposition. The company had indicated it would prefer a site in Claggain Bay and, following a presentation to the community, asked Islay Community Council to gauge public opinion. However, following a campaign by local community group IASG, islanders returned objections by way of 33 letters, a petition of 741 names, as well as an online peti- tion with 1,767 signatures, while not a single represen- tation was made in favour of the development. Last week the Scottish Salmon Company told The Oban Times that the islanders had been misled by ‘inaccurate and outdated’ information. However, last Friday it is- sued a statement saying ‘analysis of current data and modelling’ at the sites, had suggested neither were suit- able for development.
IASG member Willy Inglis said: ‘Whilst IASG obviously welcomes the news that the Scottish Salmon Company is not going to proceed with fi sh farms off the east coast of Islay, it is important to see this as part of a wider debate.
‘The Islay community includes sea fi shing, sporting and tourist industries which will all be affected by fi sh farm developments. Other communities may not have such a dependency on these industries and may ben- efi t from the additional employment that fi sh farming brings. However, as IASG has been keen to point out, it is the long-term damage to the environment that we must all be concerned about.’
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many support services.’ Salmon farming already makes a signifi cant contribu- tion to the Orkney economy, and employs 77 people. Between 2006 and 2009 Ork- ney’s salmon farmers injected almost £4.2million into local wage packets, which gener- ated £19.2 million of economic benefi ts, as money earned lo- cally is spent locally. Over the last four years (2006 - 2009) SSPO member companies have also made £4.4 million capital investments in the archipelago.
Salmon production in Ork- ney peaked at 10,740 tonnes in 2003, but fell to 3,724 tonnes in 2006. It has steadily increased year-on-year since then and Scottish Govern- ment statistics forecast pro- duction to have reached 7,510 tonnes in 2010.
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THE Planning and Protec- tive Services Committee in Orkney Islands Council has granted approval for a new fi sh farm off Cava. The application, from Mainstream (now part of the Meridian Salmon Group), was for a 24 hectare site to the south east of Cava, consist- ing of a dozen 90-metre cages and a 75-tonne capacity feed barge.
Scott Landsburgh, Chief Executive of Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation, said: ‘This is great news for the Orkney economy, as the approval of the new site will lead to a sustainable increase in production, signifi cant fur- ther investment in the islands and give the local job mar- ket a boost, not to mention increased expenditure in the
Success breeds success for tuna
UMAMI Sustainable Seafood Inc, a company that sup- plies sashimi-grade bluefi n tuna to the global market, has obtained DNA evidence confi rming natural spawning at its Kali Tuna facility in Croatia, making this the third consecutive year that natu- ral spawning activities have taken place at the facility. Eggs were collected from broodstock cages containing 80 mature fi ve-year-old fi sh. The fi sh were not treated with hormones but, over the years, have been closely managed by Kali’s scientists. This is the largest documented spawning in these cages to date. Kali Tuna has made a signifi cant investment, grow- ing over 1,000 young tuna into mature broodstock at its farms in both Mexico and Croatia to help replenish the wild population. One of their goals is to release hundreds of millions of fertilised eggs and fry back into the wild every year.
CEO, Oli Valur Steindors- son, said: ‘This event marks a major milestone in our com- pany’s ultimate goal of build- ing a commercially viable closed life cycle bluefi n tuna farming operation. Although we still have a lot of work left to do…these results prove that our experience, and our understanding of the species, is paying off. I am now more confi dent than ever that we will be able to dramatically increase the world’s access to this highly valued food source, without any degrada- tion in quality, while, at the same time, decreasing the pressure on the world’s wild populations.’
Photo: Andrew Wood
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