Staffa Archipelago: 100 Acres Of Salmon Farm Proposed?

[BlowingOldBoots]

Does anyone know anything about this: -

The wild land and clean seas of the Staffa Archipelago, within the Loch Na Keal National Scenic Area, are threaded with dolphin, porpoise, seal, salmon, shark and whale, are treasured by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and contribute to the livelihood of thousands nationally.

Argyll and Bute Council is now considering a plan to privatise 40 ha (100 acres) of the waters of the Archipelago for a salmon factory farm site off the Island of Gometra, obstructing our access to Mull and venting hundreds of tonnes of untreated fecal wastes into Loch Tuath. Seal killing licences will be applied for and research suggests that seal scarers will create a massive exclusion zone for cetaceans (e.g. a 60 km2 disk for porpoises), inside which sightings will cease and outside which sightings will decrease. A second factory farm is proposed for Ardmeanach on Loch Scridain, on the way to Iona. The developers are a subsidiary of a Jersey Company listed in Oslo. It is not known on Gometra who ultimately owns or controls them.

From http://www.themarinequarterly.com/2012/ ... ng-staffa/

Petition here http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/savestaffaarchipelago/

[Arghiro]

Thank you, signed & posted to facebook.

seems a daft place to try & anchor a fish farm, how do they propose to feed the poor beggars when it blows to hard to get out there for several days at a time - or will there be some poor unsuspecting Bulgarian left on the pontoons for weeks at a time?

[DaveS]

Thank you, signed & posted to facebook.

seems a daft place to try & anchor a fish farm, how do they propose to feed the poor beggars when it blows to hard to get out there for several days at a time - or will there be some poor unsuspecting Bulgarian left on the pontoons for weeks at a time?

Very few fish farms now use manual feeding. The norm is to have a big floating feed silo that pipes feed to the cages automatically. I'm not sure how often it is replenished, maybe every 2 or 3 weeks? I've watched the operation a few times: a big supply boat (often Norwegian) moors to the silo and cranes across several bags that look like maybe 1 tonne each. The job takes less than half an hour then it's off to the next farm.

Oh, and I've signed the petition. Loch na Keal would be much better left alone.

[NorthUp2]

On a quiet night the sound of the automatic feeders travels for miles underwater, forget a peaceful night at anchor if you're in range.
Think of pellets rattling along inside dozens of plastic pipes, blown by compressed air, every 20 minutes..

[MacUalraig]

Sadly fish farm companies are scoping all over the west coast for new sites and trying to expand existing ones, threatening local economies and the environment. The issues raised at Gometra are very similar to those in Seil Sound, where a massive installation is proposed opposite the entrance to the Cuan Sound - I think there is a thread about it here somewhere and it's still current. There's a load of information about the relevant issues on http://www.saveseilsound.org.uk.

There's still time to object to both of these applications. It's important to stress one's interest in any comment registered, e.g. as recreational sailor, visitor etc if not a local resident.

Sadly it seems that environmental issues weigh very little with local councillors, but they must be made aware of the very real threat to local economies if the qualities which attract visitors are destroyed.