Salmon farms want to stay for good

Permanent planning approval crucial

Industry four year plan highlights necessary improvements

Scotland’s salmon farmers will receive a significant boost in confidence if they are awarded planning approval for the long-term, according to the head of the industry’s trade association.

Launching a new four year plan to improve the competitiveness of the industry, Sid Patten, chief executive of Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation (SSPO), said the new aquaculture planning regime must provide for accessible and permanent planning permission. The previous arrangements whereby planning permission was awarded for a pre-determined period was not fit-for-purpose in terms of a vibrant and responsible industry.

Entitled ‘Developing salmon farming, protecting the environment’, the four year plan is to be sent to Scotland’s politicians, councillors and prospective Parliamentary and local authority candidates ahead of the 3rd May elections.

“The benefits of permanent planning will give enormous confidence to the industry, as it will provide security and encourage further investment into many remote, rural communities,” said Patten. “The lack of full and permanent planning permission has always been an issue for farmers, but I believe we are close to achieving it by the co-operation between the industry and the public sector in bringing aquaculture into the new planning regime.

The transfer of planning powers to local authorities took effect on 1st April 2007. Noting that the development of the industry must be based on sound science, Patten added: “It’s time that salmon farming is recognised as a modern, responsible industry and that it is afforded the same benefits of permanent planning permission enjoyed by land-based industries.

“We are acutely aware of our environmental and economic responsibilities, and we would like to see the new planning regime acknowledge the likes of the government funded research projects which concluded the effects of sea lice medicines on the environment are undetectable (1) and the total area of seabed used for aquaculture is “insignificant in terms of the total coastal resource”.(2)

“Where appropriate, the industry is also willing to consider the relocation of certain sites and we will seek further engagement with individual local authorities and the Scottish Executive on the review of existing sites to ensure consistency is applied throughout Scotland,” he added.

Notes to editors:

1. A £1.2million, five-year research project into the environmental effects of sea lice treatments by the Scottish Association for Marine Sciences (April 2005) concluded that “there are no indications that the treatments used had an effect on the ecology of the waters around the farms monitored.” The work was funded by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, Defra and the Scottish Executive, together with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). 
2. The Scottish Executive report ‘Review and Synthesis of the Environmental Impacts of Aquaculture’ undertaken by the Scottish Association for Marine Science and Napier University states that there is no significant contribution from salmon farming to the incidence of algal blooms or nutrient enrichment. It also noted that “the total area of seabed used for this purpose [salmon farming] is insignificant in terms of the total coastal resource”.
3. Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation aims to represent salmon farming in regulatory and political matters. For the first time, industry members from mainland Scotland, Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland have joined together to ensure that the industry’s contribution to Scotland’s social, economic and commercial landscape is promoted, recognised and rewarded by its stakeholders.
4. To view a copy of the industry's four year plan click here.
   

END

For further information contact either:

Ken Hughes, Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, +44 (0)1738 587 000 / 006 or 07974 173739.

Julie Edgar, Scottish Salmon Producers’ Organisation, +44 (0)1738 587 000 / 010 or 0789 987 5151.

SSPO main office 01738 587 000

back to media releases and website news