Sampling stations provided by SPILLS: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Information requested
The SPILLS project plankton trawling locations are shown on a map. The equivalent locations in the Loch Linnhe plankton sampling are provided as latitude/longitude or X/Y DD neither of which are recognised by the Ordnance Survey location finder. Please can you supply a map of approximate locations for each of the sampling stations are provided by SPILLS.
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.
Two maps are included as attachments one of the sampling locations from Spring 2011 to Spring 2012, the other Autumn 2012 to Autumn 2013.
Information already available (Regulation 6(1)(b))
Some of the information you have requested is already available. The Spring 2011 to Spring 2012 Map is published in Salama et al. (2013) at The Journal of Fish Disease | Wiley Online Library
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. However, under our requirement to provide advice and assistance, I have provided a copy of the map requested.
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