Breaches of authorisation conditions & violations by salmon farms since 1 Jan 2022: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Information requested
Information on breaches of authorisation conditions and violations (include all breaches of regulations, laws and codes) by salmon farms since 1 January 2022.
We attempted to clarify your request, seeking confirmation over the type of information being requested (this was not provided further) and the scope of regulations to which the request related.
On 29 February 2024, you confirmed that the request should ‘focus on anything to do with seals and the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006’. In addition you confirmed the request also related to ‘compliance with the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 including, but not limited to: authorisation conditions for aquaculture production businesses, placing on the market, and statutory disease control measures’ and ‘compliance with the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 and 2013 particularly with respect to satisfactory measures in relation to sea lice control and farmed fish containment’.
Response
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.
Response to your request
I enclose a copy of the information you requested in the format you asked for. This includes information relating to breaches of authorisation conditions associated with the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009, email communications and advisory letters issued in relation to sea lice regulation, and Enforcement Notices issued in relation to the Aquaculture Code of Practice: Containment of and Prevention of Escape of Fish on Fish Farms in relation to Marine Mammal Interactions, as detailed.
An exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to some of the information requested because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the 'public interest test', so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.
In addition to the above, some information which is relevant to your request is publicly available. This includes:
- The results and outcomes of aquatic animal health surveillance, undertaken by the Marine Directorate’s Fish Health Inspectorate. This information contains details of compliance with the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 and 2013. This is publicly available on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fish-health-inspectorate-case-information-2020/
- Reports of inspections associated with the monitoring of seawater fish farms to identify the use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices (ADD) are publicly available on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/marine-and-fisheries-compliance-site-inspections-monitoringacoustic-deterrent-devices/
Response to previous requests for information are published on the Scottish Government website https://www.gov.scot/publications/. In particular the following may be relevant to your request:
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400395258/
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202300340514/
- https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202200314585/
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. If, however, you do not have internet access to obtain this information from the website(s) listed, then please contact me again and I will send you a paper copy.
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. Therefore we are refusing part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs.
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 information relating to regulatory breaches associated with the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2006 because the Scottish Government is not responsible for enforcing those regulations. For this part of your request, you may wish to contact the Animal and Plant Health Agency (enquiries@apha.gov.uk) who are responsible for investigating potential breaches in welfare law, including within farmed fish.
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, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
Some further context in relation to a previous EIR
As part of your request, you made specific reference to an email communication released through a response to EIR 202400391984. This made reference to a regulatory breach at Carnasserie Hatchery in relation to its authorisation conditions. I wanted to provide you with some further clarity concerning this email communication with respect to this information request.
The email of 18th September 2023 regarding ‘Sites to be registered as broodstock’ was an internal conversation regarding the transfer of Carnasserie Hatchery from Kames Fish Farming to Mowi Scotland Ltd. This would result in the site holding Atlantic salmon broodstock, rather than rainbow trout broodstock. The internal message incorrectly referred to a breach of authorisation at the Carnasserie Hatchery site, which did not occur, and was not related to the operational transfer of the site from Kames Fish Farming to Mowi Scotland Ltd. Carnasserie Hatchery had been authorised to hold rainbow trout broodstock from 14th October 2021.
I hope that this explanation helps to clarify that this situation was not actually a breach of authorisation conditions.
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.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback