Salmon board against fish farm expansion plan

Angling interests are fighting moves to expand the size of a fish farm on Loch Ness, which the salmon board claims will pose an increased risk to wild salmon stocks from escaped fish.

The Ness District Salmon Fishery Board and the Ness and Beauly Fisheries Trust are totally against the application to dramatically double the size of a fish farm owned by Lighthouse Caledonia at Dores at the north eastern end of the loch.

The fish farm, which uses the site to produce young salmon, has applied to the Scottish Environment Protection agency to have its maximum production of fish in the loch increased from 120 tonnes per year to 240 tonnes.

Gordon Menzies, chairman of the Ness District Salmon Fishery Board, said yesterday, Thursday, 23 October 2008 that the application to double the size of the salmon smolt production at Dores suggests that some elements of the salmon farming industry seem delighted to play Russian roulette with wild salmon stocks.

Such an increase would inevitably magnify the risks to the genetic reputation of the Ness's wild stocks. There is a long history of escapes from the fish farms on the Ness system and any increase is likely to aggravate the situation.

Menzies believe that the whole issue of the siting of freshwater smolt farms need to be addressed. They should either be located in lochs which are not part of salmon systems or ideally, to self-contained land-based units, as practiced in other countries.

Lighthouse Caledonia's statement that there was little or no potential for fish escapes was viewed with considerable scepticism, given the company had two significant escapes from its farms elsewhere in Scotland in July and August.

But in a statement Lighthouse Caledonia said the planned investment will bring benefits to fish health and welfare while maintaining smolt production in Scotland.