OPPONENTS to a new-style fish farming factory say they’re disappointed Holyrood ministers have given it the green light, overturning an earlier planning decision.
The revolutionary, mainly underwater conical-shaped factory is now set to develop on the banks of Loch Long near Arrochar.
The fish farm will be developed using what its operator, Loch Long Salmon, calls a “semi-closed containment system”.
Its project director, Mark Shotter, is claiming the £40m development will bring “a wealth of community benefit through job creation and dedicated community funds, strengthening both the national and local economies”.
AFFtheClyde, whose members are drawn from the communities around Loch Long and the Clyde, has opposed the development from the outset.
The body says the Scottish Government u-turn is disappointing and potentially paves the way for environmental catastrophe in the Clyde and Loch Long.
AFFtheClyde added: “It’s taken almost two years for the Scottish government to come to a decision that ignores the views of planning professionals, environmental experts, the independent planning reporter and the Loch Long communities affected by this untrialled technology.”
The convener of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority, Heather Reid, emphasised the group’s view that “such an industrial-scale farm was not suitable for a national park”.
She added: “Board members cited the significant landscape, seascape and visual issues of the proposed development and that the risk of an escape of farmed fish could impact on the fragile wild salmon population.
“We continue to stand by those reasons for refusal.”
The proposed fish factory will use pollution-limiting containers that Loch Long Salmon said will separate wild and farmed fish.
The farm will place salmon within a membrane, using water that is pumped from some distance away, to reduce the risk of sea lice and of escapes.
The plan was rejected by the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park Authority in 2022. Ministers have dismissed that and they have also gone against the advice of the official planning reporter.
Heather Reid commented: “While ministers have not accepted the reporter’s recommendation, this was acknowledged as a finely balanced decision.”
Scottish Greens MSP Ariane Burgess said the decision is “a devastating day for local nature and a betrayal of local people”.
She added she is “deeply disappointed by this decision”.
The Scottish Government acknowledged the development is larger in scale than open-net fish farms due to its technology and that it is inevitably industrial in appearance.
But it considers this should not count against it as “no identified important views would be significantly affected”.
There is no legal process for appeal. The decision is final.
