A giant fish farm corporation has hit back at criticism over its plan for one of the largest fish farms in Scotland just outside Lamlash Bay.
Marine Harvest’s planning application for the salmon farm, off Clauchlands, is due to be discussed by North Ayrshire Council’s planning committee on Tuesday 4 March.
Fighting the plan is COAST (Community of Arran Seabed Trust) which has campaigned for 12 years for a recently proposed ‘no-take zone’ in Lamlash Bay to regenerate marine life, particularly shellfish.
COAST believes the plan will not help the extremely fragile marine environment and could pose a health risk to children using the new £5 million outdoor adventure centre at Clauchlands.
But a spokesman for Marine Harvest insisted that the company had done its homework and there was room for co-existence with COAST.
He said: ‘Marine Harvest has completed and submitted a full environmental impact assessment for the salmon farm application at Clauchlands.
‘In addition, we have consulted the community, having held a drop-in session and public meeting during the application process.
‘We believe the impacts of the proposed farm have been accurately predicted and that the science will be fairly judged at the planning meeting.
‘In addition, we do believe there is room for co-existence with COAST, having both a no-take zone and a fish farm in this area of Arran.’
In a statement, COAST said if given the go-ahead the farm would be a huge industrial site 1000 metres long and 700m wide with an average depth of 29m, and would hold up to 800,000 fish using up 5000 tonnes of feed and producing 1170 tonnes of waste during each production cycle.
‘At least four types of chemicals, including organophosphates, would be used to control posts and disease within the fish farm,’ COAST stated.
COAST spokesman Don Mcneish said: ‘COAST is not against sustainable fish farming but this fish farm is being proposed for the wrong location.
‘We cannot take a risk with the health of our children or the health of our fragile marine environment in this place.
‘The precautionary principle should apply here, and this fish farm should be located somewhere more suitable.’
On January 21 Scottish cabinet secretary for the environment and rural affairs Richard Lochhead announced the groundbreaking, community-led project to establish a no-take zone which is expected to be of national importance.
It was announced with the agreement of the Scottish government, Scottish Natural Heritage and local fishermen’s organisations. It places an area of Lamlash Bay out of bounds to fishing activity to allow the natural regeneration of the seabed as well as the fish and shellfish living in and around it.
