Data collected from Caledonian Oyster Company survey: EIR release

Information requested

i) I would require the data for the whole survey, not just two days of it.

ii) Please could you also provide the raw data for all surveys that have been carried out at the farm since 2015.

iii) I would also request all raw data for all surveys that pertain to or have found dvex carried out in Scotland since the first report of dvex in Scotland and the costs associated with said surveys.

iv) Please also provide all emails pertaining to dvex and Loch Creran including incoming, outgoing and intra- and interdepartmental; these should go back to the early 90s when dvex was first discovered globally, in an effort to understand the Scottish Government’s response to dvex since it first emerged as a global threat.

v) Please also include all control measures that have been put in place by the Marine Directorate to control dvex, and the minutes from meetings which set out these control measures that is, intra- and interdepartmental meetings, consultations with relevant experts and with businesses.

vi) Please also provide a summary of all funds that have been made available to businesses, individuals and communities to deal with the spread of dvex.

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.

I have bullet pointed the six different asks made in your request so it is easier to respond to each one separately below.

i) I would require the data for the whole survey, not just two days of it.

I can confirm that this part of our EIR response covers raw data in a form of copies of three field books and photographs taken during the survey covering the period between 19-21st September which wascarried out at the premises of the Caledonian Oyster Company Limited, situated in Loch Creran, Argyll and Bute. This is in addition to the raw data for the first two dates of the survey (17th & 18th September 2024) that are already covered by your earlier EIR request, made on the 18 September 2024, that was responded to on 9 October 2024 under our case reference number 202400433768. This has now been published here: Raw data collected from Caledonian Oyster Company survey: EIR release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

This data is released in full, with exception of the data redacted under the Regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information).

When interrogating the released data, please take into a consideration the fact that this data is not processed or quality-controlled. In addition, not all data released will be used for analysis and reporting. The Scottish Government is not normally in the practice of releasing scientific data at this stage.

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.

ii) Please could you also provide the raw data for all surveys that have been carried out at the farm since 2015.

I am releasing copies of raw data from all other surveys carried at out at the premises of the Caledonian Oyster Company Limited, situated in Loch Creran, Argyll and Bute, not already included under part (i) above, with exception of the data redacted under the Regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information).

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.

iii) I would also request all raw data for all surveys that pertain to or have found dvex carried out in Scotland since the first report of dvex in Scotland and the costs associated with said surveys.

I am releasing copies of raw data from all other surveys carried at out at:

• Cumbrae Oyster Limited, situated at Hunterston Terminal, Fairlie, 2017-2019
• Largs Marina, 2017- 2021
• Portavadie Marina, 2017- 2019
• Dunstaffnage Marina, September 2022

with exception of the data redacted under the Regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information). Note that not all photographs or videos released and in a scope of this request visualize Didemnum vexillum.

We are also releasing a table summarizing the costs associated with the surveys which were within the scope of your request. Note that only information held can be released and that the numbers shown in the table are most likely underestimation of the true costs.

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.

iv) Please also provide all emails pertaining to dvex and Loch Creran including incoming, outgoing and intra- and interdepartmental; these should go back to the early 90s when dvex was first discovered globally, in an effort to understand the Scottish Government’s response to dvex since it first emerged as a global threat.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under the exception at regulation 10(4)(b) of the EIRs a public authority may refuse a request for information if it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on the regulation 10(4)(b) exception at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Law/EIRs/EIRsExceptions.aspx says that there may “be instances where it is appropriate for the Commissioner to consider the proportionality of the burden on the public authority in terms of the costs and resources involved in dealing with a request when considering the application of this exception”.

In this case, due to the scope of the question it is ultimately not possible for us to answer it within the timeframe provided for under the legislation. You have asked for “copies of all emails the Scottish Government hold pertaining to both dvex and Loch Creran, back to the early 90s”, it not feasible for us to provide these. We had 1000s of emails covered by the scope of your request. Because of this the costs and resources involved in complying with this request are disproportionate and a 20 working days extension to the response deadline (under regulation 7 of the EIRs) did not make the request manageable for us.

For these reasons, we consider that your request is manifestly unreasonable and so we are rejecting it under regulation 10(4)(b).

As the exception is conditional we have applied the ‘public interest test’. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing 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 “all emails pertaining to dvex and Loch Creran including incoming, outgoing and intra- and interdepartmental”, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources by not incurring excessive costs when complying with information requests.

You may however wish to consider reducing the scope of your request, as advised on the email we sent you on 10 October 2024, in order to make it manageable as my understanding is that the request currently covers considerably more than your area of interest. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: How do I ask for information? | Scottish Information Commissioner (foi.scot).

v) This question comprises two parts:

Please also include all control measures that have been put in place by the Marine Directorate to control dvex.

I am providing a list of weblinks providing the information you have requested above relating to all control measures that have been put in place by the Marine Directorate to control dvex. 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.

I am also providing copies of all the species control agreements put in place, with exception of the data redacted under the Regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information).

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.

Please also include the minutes from meetings which set out these control measures that is, intra- and interdepartmental meetings, consultations with relevant experts and with businesses.

While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, under the exception at regulation 10(4)(b) of the EIRs a public authority may refuse a request for information if it is ‘manifestly unreasonable’. The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance on the regulation 10(4)(b) exception at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Law/EIRs/EIRsExceptions.aspx says that there may “be instances where it is appropriate for the Commissioner to consider the proportionality of the burden on the public authority in terms of the costs and resources involved in dealing with a request when considering the application of this exception”.

In this case, the term “all control measures” could be interpreted to cover many different aspects including legislation, guidance, best practice and enforcement. We had 1000s of documents covered by the scope of your request. Because of this the costs and resources involved in complying with this request are disproportionate and a 20 working days extension to the response deadline (under regulation 7 of the EIRs) did not make the request manageable for us.

For these reasons, we consider that your request is manifestly unreasonable and so we are refusing it under regulation 10(4)(b).

As the exception is conditional we have applied the ‘public interest test’. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing 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 including the “minutes from meetings which set out these control measures that is, intra- and interdepartmental meetings, consultations with relevant experts and with businesses”, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources by not incurring excessive costs when complying with information requests.

You may however wish to consider reducing the scope of your request in order to make it manageable as advised on the email we sent you on 10 October 2024, for example if you are specifically interested in information regarding any species control agreements in place, this would considerably narrow down the scope. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: How do I ask for information? | Scottish Information Commissioner (foi.scot).

vi) Please also provide a summary of all funds that have been made available to businesses, individuals and communities to deal with the spread of dvex.

I am releasing a table which comprises all of the information you requested. Under regulation 9 of the EIRs (our duty to provide advice and assistance) I have also included weblinks to the Hambrey Consulting assessment, The Loch Creran Community led Marine Biosecurity plan and Loch Fyne Marine Biosecurity Plan in the table.

Due to the size of the files we are unable to upload the documents referred to above. If you wish to consider, please contact us at the address below and we will be happy to provide.

About FOI

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