Loch Long Salmon has submitted an appeal of a rejection of plans for what would have been Scotland’s first semi-closed containment salmon farm.
The board of directors overseeing Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park rejected the project in October 2022,
Loch Long Salmon, a joint venture between Simply Blue Aquaculture, Trimara Services, and Golden Acre Foods, first proposed the Beinn Reithe project near Arrochar, Scotland, in October 2021. The Scottish Government gave it a “national significance” designation,” saying the project could demonstrate the commercial viability of cutting-edge salmon-farming technology while addressing environmental concerns about existing salmon-farming techniques. The technology and project were endorsed by environmental NGOs including the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust, according to the company.
However, the park board ruled the project not fully align with the local development plan and therefore could not be supported.
“We believe the National Park’s decision to prevent this proven, transformative technology being brought to Scotland for the first time was based on fear and a lack of knowledge and understanding,” Loch Long Salmon Managing Director Stewart Hawthorn said in a press release. “The National Park has no experience of handling this kind of application and, rather than listening to experts such as NatureScot, SEPA and Forestry and Land Scotland, who all said the project could go ahead, they based their view on a misunderstanding that our plans were the same as existing open-net salmon farms. This is fundamentally flawed.”
Hawthorn said the project could have proven the technology successfully removes threats of sea lice and seal attacks due to its semi-closed containment design. According to the company, from the surface the farm looks like a traditional salmon farm, but underneath the water, its net is surrounded by an impermeable membrane, with water drawn up from deeper in the loch and circulated through the farm.
“Through the appeal process, we are committed to demonstrating that we can bring positive change to Scotland, radically improve the environmental performance of salmon farming and secure jobs in rural areas,” Hawthorn said. “We carefully sited and designed the farm with the full collaboration of the park’s planning team and, as a result, the farm can’t even be seen from more than 99 percent of the park. Officers also used concerns regarding theoretical impacts on a special area of conservation more than 55 kilometers away from the development in justifying the decision to refuse the application. This was contrary to the expert advice from NatureScot, who confirmed the project could safely proceed.”
Hawthorn said the company is still aiming to open its first farm in 2023.
Photo courtesy of Long Long Salmon
