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A ban on a Norwegian salmon farming company dumping toxic pesticides in a Highland loch following 273 environmental breaches over six months has been strongly defended by the Scottish Government’s green watchdog.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) insisted that it was “proportionate and reasonable” to suspend a licence for Scottish Sea Farms (SSF) to pollute Loch Creran, north of Oban in Argyll, because the company had failed to ensure that the breaches would not happen again.
Sepa accused SSF of deliberately exceeding daily discharge limits by up to six times for two chemicals used to treat caged young salmon for a fungal infection. Limits for formaldehyde were breached on 177 days between May and November 2024, while limits for bronopol were breached on 96 days, it said.
Sepa suggested that the pollution could exceed environmental quality standards in Loch Creran, a protected nature conservation site, by up to ten times. This posed a “significant” risk to endangered marine wildlife, it said.
In May 2025 SSF appealed to the Scottish Government against Sepa’s ban, demanding its withdrawal. The ban was “neither necessary nor reasonable”, the company argued, as the two chemicals were “essential” to protect fish health and welfare.
SSF stressed that it had been in compliance with its pollution licence since November 2024. It accepted that it had breached daily limits earlier in 2024, but said it had not exceeded Sepa’s annual discharge limits.
Campaigners argued that the company should be “heavily fined” and prevented from dumping any toxic chemicals into Loch Creran. Public trust in SSF had been “undermined”, they claimed.
Multiple breaches of the daily limits to discharges into Loch Creran were discovered by Sepa inspectors when they visited SSF’s freshwater salmon hatchery at Barcaldine on the shore of the loch in July 2024. They accused SSF of also breaking the rules by failing to notify Sepa of the breaches.
After failing to obtain the assurances it required that breaches would not recur, in May 2025 Sepa suspended SSF’s licence to discharge authorised amounts of formaldehyde and bronopol into the loch. The company appealed to the Scottish Government, which is now considering the matter.
The government’s planning and environmental appeals division has published online Sepa’s response to SSF’s appeal. Sepa described the pollution breaches as “a conscious and deliberate act” that “may have gone undetected” if its inspectors hadn’t visited.
Sepa accused SSF of “undermining the precautionary approach” and argued that the suspension was necessary because the company had not put in place the measures needed to prevent a recurrence. Its action was “proportionate and reasonable”, Sepa said.
Sepa consulted the Scottish Government’s wildlife agency, NatureScot, because of Loch Creran’s designation as a special area of conservation. The loch contains the world’s largest serpulid reef, a rare and beautiful network of seabed structures made by worms hosting over 70 different species.
According to NatureScot, the reef is in an “unfavourable declining” condition. It told Sepa that SSF’s “serious” breaches were likely to have “a significant effect”.
Rob Edwards
In its appeal, also published online, SSF did not dispute that it had discharged formaldehyde and bronopol into Loch Creran from its Barcaldine hatchery in breach of authorised limits in 2024.
But the company said this was because it was having to deal with an “unprecedented” level of fungal infection, known as saprolegnia, impacting fish health and welfare. The freshwater mould, which looks like cotton, can spread across the skin and fins of fish and kill them.
According to figures released by the Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate, SFF reported 671,404 young salmon killed by the infection at Barcaldine between June and November 2024. This was despite repeated treatments with the chemicals.
Since Sepa’s ban came into force in May, the company has been collecting contaminated water from the hatchery and transporting it in tankers to a licensed disposal site. But this could only be used for part of the hatchery operation and was “not a long-term solution”, it said.
SSF argued the ban compromised the ability “to safeguard fish health and welfare, and is disproportionate.” It was “neither necessary nor reasonable” and should be quashed, the company said.
The Coastal Communities Network, which brings together 30 groups around Scotland concerned about the marine environment, accused SSF of ignoring its legal duty to protect Loch Creran’s reefs. The company must realise that it was not “above the law”, said the network’s John Aitchison.
He highlighted the high number of recorded deaths due to the fungal infection. “Shamefully, the company’s excuse is that it had to prioritise fish health over its legal obligation to protect Loch Creran’s reefs,” he told The Ferret.
“It is not enough for Sepa to temporarily and partially suspend SSF’s discharge licence. The company should be fined heavily and prevented from dumping any toxic chemicals in the loch in future. Scotland’s sea is not a sewer.”
The Friends of Loch Creran, a local environmental group, objected to SSF’s appeal against Sepa’s ban. The company should have shown “some signs of contrition” rather than launching an “aggressive” appeal, said the group’s Dennis Archer.
He added: “The more serious aspect of the offences is that the company, by not reporting the problem over such a long period, has undermined the trust which Sepa and the public need to have in them to be responsible operators.”
NatureScot confirmed it was aware of the breaches at Loch Creran. “This is extremely concerning, and we are engaging with the regulator, Sepa, who is undertaking an active investigation,” said a spokesperson.
Scottish Sea Farms, which is owned by two Norwegian salmon firms, accepted that there had been breaches of daily limits at Barcaldine in 2024. “However, it is important to note that the total annual use of this medicine remained within the overall limits set by Sepa,” the company said in a statement.
The fungal infection “if left untreated, poses a serious threat to fish health and welfare”, it argued. “In this case, the pathogen presented more aggressively than usual and was less responsive to early intervention, necessitating additional treatment to safeguard the young salmon in our care.”
SSF said it had remained “in compliance with licence conditions” since the suspension. The company has also commissioned an independent survey to assess “any potential impact” on the sensitive habitats in Loch Creran, claiming that Sepa has not provided evidence of impacts.
“Scottish Sea Farms remains committed to responsible farming, continuous improvement, and constructive engagement with regulators and stakeholders,” its statement said.
Sepa declined to comment “while the appeal process is ongoing”.
Cover image of serpulid reef in Loch Creran thanks to Graham Saunders and NatureScot.
Hundreds of protected areas are under pressure from Scotland’s massive deer herd. Most agree deer numbers must be controlled to protect the environment, but are split on what should be done.
Edinburgh University students were “interrogated” by police at their desks over posters featuring Palestinians killed by the Israeli military, prompting dozens to complain.
Unsafe levels of faecal bacteria were recorded at dozens of Scotland’s best beaches this summer. Swimmers and paddlers could be at risk, but officials insist water quality remains high.
Footage of farmed trout suffocating, haemorrhaging, and being beaten with batons in a slaughterhouse has prompted an official complaint to a government regulator.
