Sandison

If you would like to examine evidence of the impact that escaped farm fish have on a river system and its wild fish, then type <Burrishoole report> into your web browser; a 10 year study by Irish scientists into that matter.

Thanks for that response, and I am sure that you do exactly what you say you do and try to produce the best farm fish that you can. My primary concern is that wild salmonid stocks in the West Higlands and Islands of Scotland are being driven to extinction by the impact of fish farm disease and pollution, particularly by sea lice from these farms. To save our wild fish, and to protect our marine and freshwater environment, these farms have to be removed from our coastal and freshwater lochs. If it is possible and profitable to farm barramundi in the New Forest (Aquabella Plc) and tilapia near Ely in Cambridgeshire (UK Tilapia Ltd), then there is no reason why salmon should not be reared in the same way. Bruce Sandison

I can't, with respect, accept the 1:1 figure because I have never seen any indpendent verification of it. Even if it were true, what is the point of using one tonne wild fish to produce one tonne of fake fish? On artificial stocking of rivers, my view is that to do so is a sign of failure. Management and habitat improvement is the key to a river's health. Bruce Sandison

My advice, if you are starting to learn to cast from square one, would be to buy as long a garden cane as you can find. Tie a length of string to the top, and, in the garden, get used to the action and technique of using the cane to cast the string. One you have mastered that, you should be able to cast with any rod, regardless of the price of the rod. I think that, sometimes, begining with a professionally designed and manufactured rod, is detrimental, rather than and aid, to learning how to cast. Modern rods are so well-designed that they do most of the work for you, once you understand them, and, as such, 'hide' from you the basic techniques that you really need to know. When you do buy a rod, then, by all means buy the best that you can afford, and get casting lessons from a professional. If you have spare cash, then invest it in the reel, rather than in the rod. As described above is how I began fishing. My first 'proper' rod was a 12ft greenheart, and for the past thirty years I have, happily, used a built cane rod. Each to his own, but as has already been mentioned, spending a lot of money of a rod will not, magically, make you into a better angler. Enjoy every moment of this well-loved passtime and good luck in all you do. Bruce

Letter to Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department Minister. Dear Mr Finnie I am concerned by the contradictory nature of the response I have received to my request under the Freedom of Information Act in connection with the disposal of dead salmon at a site in North Uist, Western Isles. Mr Ken Wilson, in the SEERAD Benbecula Office, informed me on 22nd June (after a delay of 16 days), "I will now forward your original request to them [central unit in Edinburgh]". However, the following day I received an entirely different reply, copied below. The extent of the damage that has been done to the machair and sand dunes at the site, and the procedures being used there to bury dead salmon are a cause for serious alarm. I included with my email to Ken Wilson photographs I had taken at the site during a visit I made 31st May/3rd June. In spite of that, Mr Wilson has said that he has no intention of inspecting the site until "later this year." Might I ask you now to be so good as to have your SEERAD colleagues respond to my request for information under the Act? Yours sincerely Bruce Sandison * A full report of my visit and the phototographs mentioned above can be seen on www.salmonfarmmonitor.org ************************************************* Received from Mr Ken Wilson, SEERAD Benbecula Office, 23rd June 2005 Mr Sandison, We have further considered your request below and given our minimal input have decided not to treat it as a formal FOI request but rather give you an informal reply on the points raised. I should make it clear that my responses relate only to agricultural and environmental issues and suggest that you raise any fishing related issues with our fisheries inspectorate. We have had no input whatsoever into the establishment of this dump. We have not inspected the site and have had no call to do so. As we have not inspected we are not in a position to comment While the site is within the ESA boundaries there are currently no Tier 2 management payments being made on it. It is in a plan and subject to Tier 1 prescriptions and will be inspected later this year as part of our routine inspection procedures. If there are any issues of concern we will deal with them at that stage. Hope the above is of some help in the meantime. Ken Wilson ************************************************* Received from Mr Ken Wilson, SEERAD Benbecula Office, 22nd June 2005 Mr Sandison, Sorry for the delay in replying but I have been out of the office quite a lot recently. FOI requests have to be submitted to our central unit in Edinburgh and I will now forward your original request to them. Hopefully you won’t have too much of a wait for a formal reply. Ken Wilson -----Original Message----- From: Bruce Sandison [mailto:bruce@hysbackie.freeserve.co.uk] Sent: 20 June 2005 12:49 To: SEERAD Benbecula Subject: Fw: Freedom of Information Act - Disposal of dead farm salmon Importance: High I am concerned that I have yet to receive a reply to my previous emails under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act. Would you please be so kind as to acknowledge the receipt of this further email? Bruce Sandison ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Sandison To: SEERAD.Benbecula@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2005 4:04 PM Subject: Fw: Freedom of Information Act - Disposal of dead farm salmon Would you please be so kind as to confirm that you have received my email dated 6th June and copied below? Bruce Sandison ----- Original Message ----- From: Bruce Sandison To: SEERAD.Benbecula@scotland.gsi.gov.uk Sent: Monday, June 06, 2005 9:23 AM Subject: Freedom of Information Act - Disposal of dead farm salmon OS Map 18, Gd Ref: 737664, Bayhead, Whiteshore Cockles Will you tell me, please, what, if any, input SEERAD had into the establishment of this dump site. Has SEERAD inspected the site and, if so, when? Will SEERAD please comment on the extensive damage done to the dunes and machair at this disposal site. Will SEERAD please say what action they propose to take to protect the ESA integrity of this site. Yours sincerely Bruce Sandison Hysbackie, Tongue, by Lairg, Sutherland IV27 4XJ. Tel: 01847 611274

THE SALMON FARM PROTEST GROUP www.salmonfarmmonitorr.org June edition online now! ADVERTISING STANDARDS AGENCY COUNCIL FIND IN FAVOUR OF FISH FARMS AND FAKE SALMON After ten months, the Advertising Standards Authority Council (ASA) has rejected complaints from the Salmon Farm Protest Group (SFPG) about claims made by Scottish Quality Salmon (SQS) in adverts promoting their members’ farms and environmental practices. The Council judgement includes the statement, “The Authority considered that the advertisers had shown that their members’ salmon farms were different from other salmon farms in Scotland, because of their adherence to a very high standard of fish health, welfare and environmental management that was independently audited.” SSPG chairman Bruce Sandison commented, “If during that time the ASA had bothered to investigate the claims made by SQS for their members’ farms and environmental management, they would have found a very different story, as I did when I visited South Uist and North Uist in the Western Isles from 31st May until 3rd June. THE SALMON KILLER DISEASE THAT NEVER WAS - BRUCE SANDISON REPORTS FROM A FAKE FISH DISPOSAL DUMP ON NORTH UIST AND THE MARINE HARVEST SITE AT LOCH SHEILAVAIG ON SOUTH UIST “The most recent activity was at the north end of the dump, where it also seemed to have spilled over and extended onto adjacent land. A huge heap of sand drew my attention. It enclosed a pond of slurry. As I came downwind of the pile and caught the smell from it, my stomach churned and I doubled over to be wretchedly sick. The whole area reminded me of a scene from the 1917 Battle of Passchendale; the broken barbwire fences, the crude marker posts stuck in the sand, the appalling smell of death and decay, and the clouds of flies. How could anybody, I thought, allow this to happen? How could Marine Harvest, or any other fish farmer who used the dump, pretend that they cared for the environment?” GUEST COLUMN BY DAVID SUSUKI, INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED ENVIRONMENTALIST ROD MCGILL CALLS FOR REMOVAL OF FISH FARMS FROM SCOTTISH COASTAL WATERS Read all the stories on www.salmonfarmmonitor.org now!

No, Jim, I don't, same for the likes of Loch Heilen in Caithness, West Loch Ollay on South Uist and Loch Bea on the Island of Sanday in Orkney, and others. My principal reason for saying so has to do with the availability of food in these waters, which is plentiful, and the absence of charr, a primary prey species for ferox trout. As a matter of interest, a previous British Record charr came from Loch Borralie, another of the Durness limestone waters (a fish of, if I remember correctly about 1lb 12oz). There were reports a few years ago from Irish fisheries scientists carrying out an underwater survey on Borralie of seeing trout of enormous size. The loch is over 100ft deep. I tend to think that these fish are probably ferox. I agree with you that we probably do catch juvenile ferox, but are not aware of doing so. It would be almost impossible to tell, surely? Finally, I suggest that the 3lb + charr being caught in the Inverness-shire Garry system is as a result of additional food being found by them in the vicinity of fish farm cages? Bruce

Corydoras I'm not sure either, I suppose, but I have tried to find out, by exploring and reading available literature and reports on the subject. Have you contacted any fisheries scientists and put your question re juvenile ferox trout to them? Bruce

Corydoras Yup, right, there is still debate over this issue. But in the same way that each salmon population is genetically distinct, I believe that this also applies to ferox trout. Yes, ferox are a sub-species of Salmo trutta, but, genetically, each population is distinct in its own right? "Research into the genetics of ferox trout, has shown them to be genetically distinct from other trout in some lochs (for example Lough Melvin, Ireland), but recent unpublished research from a variety of Scottish lochs has shown that this is not the case in all populations. Data from Loch Rannoch samples, for example, have shown that a wide genetic variability exists within its ferox population." Extracted from a report published by the Scottish Executive Fisheries Research Services freshwater lab at Pitlochry

RE: ferox The old Scottish method of fishing for ferox was 'trolling', with dead bait. Sometimes, in the autumn, or in the early months of the season, they might take a fly. Loch Rannoch is one such location, and Loch Veyatie in Wester Ross. Ron Greer's book 'Ferox Trout and Arctic Char' is, in my view, perhaps the best guide? Ferox are unique, in that they have survived genetically intact in northern waters throughout the world, since the end of the last Ice Age.

Great news from the EU – it looks almost certain that an immediate ban will be introduced on all sandeel fishing in the North Sea (P&J today), and, from today’s P&J, those damned sharks are at it again… "A rare species of shark has been caught in Scots waters. The female sharpnose seven-gill shark, heptranchias perlo, was captured 100 miles north of Cape Wrath in a fishing boat net being trawled at 656ft, on May 31. Scientists from the Fisheries Research Marine Laboratory, in Aberdeen, who made the discovery, said the species is not common in any ocean and extremely rare in Scottish waters. It is normally found in tropical, sub-tropical and temperate waters. The female shark, considered harmless to humans although care when handling it has to be taken because it is aggressive, was nearly 3ft in length and weighed 5.21b. Prof Monty Priede, director of Aberdeen University’s Ocean Laboratory~ said the species was very rare because there is only one seven-gilled shark species in existence. “Most sharks like the Great White have five gills and a few species have six. This species is a hangover from evolution and is not supposed to venture north of the Bay of Biscay.” Asked if global warming could be to blame for its displacement, he replied: “We do get warm flows of deep water from the Mediterranean around the outside of Ireland and round the west coast of Scotland and up to Shetland. “I would suspect that this shark has been swimming along this current in the dark and found its way to the north of Scotland and into this net.” The sharpnose sevengill shark is usually found on or near the bottom of the sea on outer continental shelves at depths from 98ft to 3,280ft. The name sharpnose distinguishes the fish from a dose relative, the broadnose seven-gill shark, notorynchus cepedianus. Despite its small size, the species is a voracious predator and feeds on crabs, lobsters and squid as well as small fish including other sharks." Also, Chris, good to read your posts. Honest. Bruce

Dear Sportsman Just in case we should, well, you know, meet sometime and share the same table, do you take milk and sugar in your cuppa? Bruce

Sportsman "..will you join me in this research?" So I take it that that's a no? Bruce