Jellyfish inside and around salmon fish farms: EIR Review

Information requested

Information on jellyfish inside and around salmon farms including:

1) any monitoring data on jellyfish inside and around salmon farms; data on mortalities on salmon farms attributed to jellyfish; welfare problems and disease problems caused by jellyfish on salmon farms; and any other information pertaining to jellyfish (including 'microjellies') and salmon farming.

2) any photos, videos, emails, letters, 'expert advice' provided by Marine Scotland Science and other information relating to jellyfish inside and around salmon farms.

3) information on any scientific research looking into salmon farming as a cause of jellyfish blooms or scientific research on salmon farms exacerbating jellyfish blooms.

4) information on warming sea temperatures and outbreaks of jellyfish at salmon farms.

Response

Original request - 202300372264

Further to my letter of 21 September 2023, I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) for information regarding jellyfish inside and around salmon farms (this review is EIR review case number 202300376258 and the original request was handled under EIR 202300372264).

Your original request was subject to clarification on 22 August 2023 to establish a time scale and further understanding with respect to some of the terminology used.

1) any monitoring data on jellyfish inside and around salmon farms; data on mortalities on salmon farms attributed to jellyfish; welfare problems and disease problems caused by jellyfish on salmon farms; and any other information pertaining to jellyfish (including 'microjellies') and salmon farming.

2) any photos, videos, emails, letters, 'expert advice' provided by Marine Scotland Science and other information relating to jellyfish inside and around salmon farms.

3) information on any scientific research looking into salmon farming as a cause of jellyfish blooms or scientific research on salmon farms exacerbating jellyfish blooms.

4) information on warming sea temperatures and outbreaks of jellyfish at salmon farms.

You confirmed that the time scale of the request should date back to 1 January 2018 and that with respect to the phrase ‘other information’ then this could relate to PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, PDFs etc.

I have concluded that the original decision should be confirmed with modifications. These modifications are related to your request for a review, where you asked for missing details in the information released in Annex 1. 

All relevant information was identified and provided in the original response. Most of the relevant information was published material and links were provided to this material. Excerpts from four ources were provided in Annex 1 of the original response to the EIR request.

As part of your request for review you said that the information detailed in Annex 1 is incomplete and missing key details including the source material. You requested us to provide the source documents from ‘Annex 1 – information released’ including the 'advice' cited in the Annex 1.

The information in Annex 1 was released as four excerpts from the source material as most information within the source material was not considered relevant to your request. As part of the review I have reviewed these documents to see if there is any further relevant information contained within them, and found that all relevant information was provided in the original response and that there is no additional relevant information contained within the source documents cited in Annex 1.

However, I think it is useful to clarify what the source material is in Annex 1 (see modifications below). I also think it is useful to provide the source document 1 as it may give some useful context.

Annex 1 – Information released (with modifications)

Excerpt 1) Analysis of the cause of mortality within the Scottish salmon Sector from 2018 to 2020 revealed that in, 2018 - 2.65%; 2019 - 2.90%; 2020 – 6.70% of the total mortality experienced for each year was attributed to Jellyfish / plankton as a cause. This information was shared through the Farmed Fish Health Framework in April 2021. The mortality values do not differentiate between jellyfish or plankton but rather are linked together under the term: Physical or toxic algal damage and jellyfish stings (inc. those impacting gills where jellyfish damage is the primary cause of mortality.

Modification in order to clarify what this source material is about:

Source: An Analysis of the Causes of Mortality: Scottish Salmon Sector 2018-2020, report dated 09/04/2021, shared with Scottish Government by the Farmed Fish Health Framework.

In response to the request for release, I suggest it is appropriate to release this document as it provides some useful context.

Excerpt 2) Scottish Government recognises the rise in recent mortality figures – it can be attributed to an unusual bloom of micro jellyfish (Muggiaea atlantica) occurring out with its normally recognised range. It is premature to say if this will cause similar problems in future years. Advice concerning mortality and welfare on fish farms to the First Minister from Marine Scotland 14 March 2023.

Modification in order to clarify what this source material is about:

Source: this sentence was taken from a briefing dated 14 March 2023 for the First Minister for use in First Ministers Questions. The briefing was about Mortality and Welfare on fish farms and the
sentence above is the only sentence that mentions jellyfish.

In response to the request for release of this source of information, there is no other relevant  information in this email communication and it does not need to be released in its entirety for this EIR review.

Excerpt 3) Evidence of the impacts of marine heatwaves in the UK is limited as this is a rare event but international evidence suggests a variety of impacts are possible including algal blooms, deoxygenation of water column, jellyfish blooms, impacts on fish size and increased mortality risk for marine species including at aquaculture sites. Advice concerning marine heatwaves to the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Land Reform and  Islands from Marine Scotland from communications dated 21 June 2023.

Modification in order to clarify what this source material is about:

Source: this sentence was taken from a briefing on marine heat waves dated 20 June 2023 (andupdated 2 1 June 2023) for the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Land Reform and Islands from Marine Scotland. There is no other relevant information in this briefing and no information on warming sea temperatures and outbreaks of jellyfish at salmon farms.

In response to the request for release of this source of information, there is no other relevant information in this email communication and it does not need to be released in its entirety for this EIR review.

Excerpt 4) Australia is at the forefront of research on the impact of marine heat waves globally. Scientists there have reported reductions of kelp forest, jellyfish bloom occurrences and coral reef loss due to marine heatwaves.

Advice concerning marine heatwaves to the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition from email communications dated 19 June 2023.

Modification in order to clarify what this source material is about:

Source: these sentences were taken from an email chain between officials dated 19 June 2023 whilst preparing for a briefing on marine heat waves. The briefing on heat waves was the same as described above (excerpt 3) dated 20 June 2023 for the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Land Reform and Islands from Marine Scotland. It was also sent to Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition. The briefing did not contain the exact wording from the email communications (excerpt 4) and so came up as a separate hit in the key word searches for the original EIR.

In response to the request for release of this source of information, there is no other relevant informatio n in this email communication and it does not need to be released in its entirety for this EIRreview.

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.

FOI - 202300376258 - Information released - Annex 1

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4 page PDF

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257.3 kB