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A salmon farming company accused of misleading people over its plans for a fish farm in a marine protected area has withdrawn a controversial application for an industrial feeding system.
A subsidiary of Mowi Scotland, a multinational headquartered in Norway, wanted to have the automated system at an existing salmon farm on Loch Broom, near Ullapool in the northwest of Scotland.
The plan would have seen a large vessel called a feed barge allowed onto the loch to feed thousands of salmon at the Corry fish farm.
But dozens of people objected to the planning application by Wester Ross Fisheries, the Mowi subsidiary. They argued that a feed barge would result in noise and environmental pollution at the beauty spot.
Loch Broom residents also claimed Wester Ross Fisheries misled them over its plans, as reported by The Ferret.
Wester Ross Fisheries disputed those claims, however, and said it there may have been “cross wires or miscommunication”.
The firm’s planning application was submitted to Highland Council on 6 September 2023 but it has been withdrawn.
Those opposed to the application included the anti-fish farm campaigner, Corin Smith, who said “the community has spoken, Mowi must listen”.
He added: “It has been a great privilege to help this community achieve the outcome they wanted. I remain ready, willing and able to support any other community in Scotland, who feel steamrollered by these huge salmon farming corporations.”
Smith also claimed that if Mowi is to “recover a shred of credibility, Mowi’s senior manager in Scotland, Ben Hadfield, needs to stop the word games and stop subjecting the community of Ullapool to ongoing stress and uncertainty”.
Smith added: “He should now personally provide the community with an unequivocal, and binding, undertaking that the Loch Broom site will see no further attempts to develop or expand it in future.”
In reply, Mowi’s COO Ben Hadfield said: “Wester Ross Fisheries had hosted several meetings over the past months with many local stakeholders to encourage feedback on the proposal. Once the organised delegation had abruptly left the meeting held March 27, we had a very productive meeting with local community members that remained.
It has been a great privilege to help this community achieve the outcome they wanted. The community has spoken, Mowi must listen.
Corin Smith, fish farm critic and the founder of Inside Scottish Salmon Feedlots
“We have listened to all feedback specific to this application and have withdrawn the application whilst we look to confirm solutions that we are confident will meet the needs and expectations of our fish, our valued employees, and the local community.”
Loch Broom is part of the Wester Ross marine protected area (MPA), which was designated in 2014 to protect fragile seabed habitats and species like maerl – a pink seaweed – and flame shell beds.
The Corry fish farm, founded in 1977 by Wester Ross Fisheries, predates the MPA designation. It was the last independently-owned salmon farming company in Scotland until 2022, when Mowi Scotland bought a controlling stake in the firm.
Wester Ross told The Ferret previously that an automated feeding system “is not intended to replace hand feeding but rather deliver on our commitment to the health and welfare needs of both the fish and the farmer.”
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