Publication - FOI/EIR release

River Leven, Loch Lomond and Endrick Water categorisation: EIR release

Published: 26 October 2017
Directorate: Marine Directorate
Topic: Marine and fisheries, Public sector

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

FOI reference: FOI/17/02153
Date received: 24 September 2017
Date responded: 23 October 2017

Information requested

I refer to your request dated 24 September 2017 under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) and the Inspire (Scotland) Regulations 2009 for information relating to categorisation of The River Leven (Dunbartonshire), Loch Lomond and Endrick Water SAC as category 3 for 2018.

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered whether the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

We do not consider that the Inspire (Scotland) Regulations apply in the case of your request.

Please provide me with full details of correspondence received and sent between SNH and Marine Scotland including Marine Scotland Science after 1st January 2017 which specifically relates to The River Leven (Dunbartonshire), Loch Lomond and Endrick Water SAC This request should specifically consider, but not be limited to, correspondence sent by and received from John Armstrong Marine Scotland Science, Kerrie Campbell and Simon Dryden of Marine Scotland.
Please provide me with full details of correspondence received and sent between Marine Scotland and The Loch Lomond Angling Improvement Association (L.L.A.I.A) after 1st January 2017 which specifically relates to The River Leven (Dunbartonshire), Loch Lomond and Endrick Water SAC methodology to be used for season 2018.
Please provide me with full details of correspondence received and sent between Marine Scotland and The Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust (L.L.F.T) after 1st January 2017 which specifically relates to The River Leven (Dunbartonshire), Loch Lomond and Endrick Water SAC methodology and calculation methods to be used for season 2018.
Please provide me with full details of the full calculations that determined the Endrick SAC as a Category 3 for season 2018, this is not limited to but should include calculation of total wetted area including a map of such areas for the Endrick and the total catch return numbers not only from the LLAIA but all the other catch returns from the remainder of the riparian owners of fishings of the Endrick for seasons 2012 thru to 2016.Factors applied for dry months as the Endrick is a spate river and factors applied for angling pressure i.e. rod days spent fishing.

Response

1. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4) of the EIRs.

2. I attach a copy of the information you requested. This comprises a single e-mail exchange between Kerrie Campbell of Marine Scotland and Mr Jim Raeburn, (then) Interim Chairman, LLAIA (Annex A).

3. While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have the information you requested. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4) of the EIRs.

4. Part of the answer to your question is set out in the documents published for public consultation on Friday 15 September 2017. You may wish to refer to the links below which set out the types of data used in the modelling process and those which are not, including "rod days spent fishing" (ie angling effort), and a full explanation of the calculations which are used to determine conservation status for each assessment group.

Conservation of salmon - assessment 2018 season (PDF, 305KB)
Summary of conservation regulation methods (PDF, 218 KB)
Assessing conservation status of salmon (PDF, 350KB)
Clyde coast region salmon (PDF, 3.08MB)

In addition, a map of the Endrick Water SAC accompanies this response (Annex G).

Catch information for the Clyde District, which includes the Endrick Water SAC, is set out in the spreadsheets accompanying this letter, for seasons 2012 to 2016 inclusive (Annex B to Annex F).

Reasons for not providing information

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because no specific research has been commissioned or undertaken in relation to the Endrick SAC since 1 January 2017. This exception is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about research on the Endrick SAC since 1 January 2017, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses