Annual breakdown on use of chemicals on salmon farms via tarpaulins: EIR release

FOI reference: FOI/18/02680
Date received: 25 September 2018  
Date responded: 16 October 2018

 

 

You asked for “…an annual breakdown on the use of chemicals on salmon farms via a) tarpaulins; b) well boats since 1 January 2013. Please include the use of hydrogen peroxide, azamethiphos, cypermethrin, deltamethrin and any other chemical treatments via tarpaulins and well boats. Please give data for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and thus far during 2018. Please also provide any information detailing any breakdown of chemical usage via tarpaulin or well boat in any documents, materials, data, presentations or correspondence."

 

 

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 if 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.

I enclose a copy of some of the information you requested, specifically the wellboat data for 2018.

Some of the information you have requested was made available in the response provided to your previous request: FoI/18/01265 (dated 28th June 2018, information for the period 2013 to 2017). Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested, specifically data relating to tarpaulins. Therefore we are refusing your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below.

However, you may wish to contact the Scottish Environment Protection Agency at foi.mail@sepa.org.uk who may be able to help you.

Reasons for not providing information

The Scottish Government does not have the 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.

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 the information, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.