(Updates below) BBC Orkney and Shetland online news is reporting that 12 salmon cages have broken loose from a fish farm and are adrift off Unst. Each is nearly 100 ft in diameter and full of mature fish. They were originally attached to each other, forming a linked circle but the connections have progressively been breaking up.
The report does not give the number of fish but Ewan Kennedy of the saveseilsound campaign says the maximum permitted by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) is 2,500 tonnes which, at 4kg per fish would mean 600,000 salmon.
As well as the danger to shipping of 12 of these drifting cages – and the wind direction today will take them towards Norway, this is also an environmental hazard. This scale of break out carries immense risks for wild salmon stocks in their mating with farmed fish.
The BBC report indicates that local thinking is that the cages went adrift on Christmas Eve – they are off the south coast of Unst. It is thought unlikely that the salmon will still be in the cages – an expensive festive lapse of concentration.
According to the report, the owners of the farm, Lakeland Unst Ltd, have been ‘urged to tow them to shore’ – a curios expression that suggests inaction to date on the part of the fish farm management. Local boats and boats in the area have been asked to help.
As yet, the local BBC report on this for Orkney and Shetland has not been noted in the main BBC Scotland webpage notr as far as we aware, has it been mentioned on BBC Scotland. (Update 11.50 2nd January, this item has still not been carried on the BBC’s online Scotland main page – very poor news judgement allied to holiday eyes-off-the-ball.)
We reported the incident to SEPA, who did not know of it and they are keeping us in touch on the issue, particularly in response to questions we have put to them.
The matter also relates to the decision to hand over responsibility for emergency towing from the Coastguard to the oil and gas industry in the spring of this year, removing altogether the two large ETVs which were temporarily reprieved by robust campaigning, following the decision to axe them as a contribution to spending cuts.
As has been noted in Arran’s COAST, had an incident like this happened in The Minch the consequences would have been catastrophic. The nature of hazard these cages present to shipping is such that they would not normally cause a sinking but they could stop a ship. Without emergency towing capacity, the consequences of such a disablement would depend on what the affected ship was carrying and at what strength and in which direction the wind was blowing.
Shipping and the local marine environment in The Minch would be helplessly prey to chance in such a scenario.
Updates
Update: 16.00 2nd January
Ewan Kennedy has sent us this link to an ongoing forum in Shetland on the matter. It make interesting reading.
With reference to our – and some of the forum’s commenters’ – concerns (above) about the Coastguard ETV, one voice on the forum says: ‘…Shetland Coastguard have spoken to the Sovereign (Ed: the Anglian Sovereign, one of the two Emergency Towing Vessels (ETVs) we mentioned above) and they would be happy to go, but it all comes down to MONEY!
‘The Unst fish farm are NOT willing to pay for the salvage of the cages by a coastguard operation, they would rather contract someone themselves at a cheaper cost to do the salvage work, however this has backfired because by trying to spend as little money as possible then they have contracted a ‘tug’ that is not fit for purpose and on getting to the scene, all be it they managed to secure the cages in a tow, they weren’t actually able to make any headway with a tow and abandoned it.
‘So i would suggest any comments, are directed to the company that own the cages rather than the Coastguard.
‘Other than that I note that Coastguard are keeping a regular eye on the drift of the cages, as the Sumburgh based Rescue Helicopter has been tasked to keep an eye on them, as they drift. Oh not to mention the Navigational radio broadcasts that they are sending out with the updated position. ‘
Another comment says: ‘Oh, it certainly seems just to be “local news” around here. Who knows where the cages will end up. Maybe Norway as Ghostrider suggests, or maybe the ness, if wind and tides are right. More media attention might materialise if the cages approach any North Sea drilling installations. How can plastic cages sink? – unless some anchors are still attached? Deep water and winter in the North Sea, not the best scenario for a successful tow.
‘SIBC News – The cages were 40 miles due east of the coast of Whalsay or about 45 miles south east of where they had originally been anchored (24 hours ago)’
And in response to that, comes the information: ‘That will be sea area Viking? Severe gale nine forecast for Tuesday, Forties up to hurricane force. Even the coastguard tug would struggle to tow them through that.’
Update: 18.00, 2nd January
At this tim, the incident has still not been transferred to the BBC’s main online Scotland news page.
I feel sorry for the company for the financial losses as a result of the weather, and the potential loss of jobs for local staff if the site is rendered uneconomic.
Two points to ponder:
a) Just because Ewen Kennedy has pointed out the maximum permitted quantity is 2,500 tonnes, this doesn’t mean that’s the number in those cages. The minimum number is zero, so why not report that figure too?
b) Armchair salvage is an easy game to play. I have worked at sea for 25 years, and recovery of any vessel in the current conditions is dangerous and extremely difficult. Don’t use this unfortunate incident just to fuel your anti-fish farming agenda.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Newsdesk can of course speak for herself, but I suspect she did not say that the cages might be empty because the BBC had stated that they were full of mature fish, ready to be marketed. I confirmed my understanding that the number could not exceed 2,500 tonnes, as that would be the maximum permitted tonnage, as far as I am aware. News sources in Shetland have stated that the actual number of fish is 300,000.
This situation has nothing to do with salvage, armchair or otherwise. There is no vessel involved, just twelve large cages, which may or may not still be fastened together, lost somewhere in the North Sea with the capacity to cause death, injury or damage.
Everyone, whether employed in the industry or just concerned about some of its practices, should reflect soberly on the issues and try to learn from them, rather than making pejorative comments under cover of anonymity.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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My post wasn’t pejorative, and would it have been any different whether my name is published or not?
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Interesting that Lakeland Unst Ltd are part of the Morpol Group?
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As Abba once sung Money, Money, Money!
Everything to do with Salvage Law Ewan, once adrift and free the cages and any fish would become the responsiblity of the insurers I would have thought, also as there is no one in control, eg Ship’s Master, of the situation it is then open for anyone to attempt a salvage if they deem it financially worthwhile.
The cages without the fish are of no financial benifit to the ETV’s it is written into their contracts, unlike the RNLI, that they are free to negotiate their own salvage contracts.
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There’s an update on this story on Shetland News here, http://www.shetnews.co.uk/news/2953-tug-to-help-salvage-missing-fish-cages.html
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Sounds like all proper efforts have been/ are being made (in extreme conditions) to recover the cages, somewhat contrary to the original alarmist article.
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For School Defender: No real effort was made to recover the cages in the first days of this incident – which is when we wrote about it. One boat did voluntarily catch up with or come across the cages around the tine of our article. It took them in tow but had to drop the tow because it had insufficient power to against the drag of the cages and was in fact being towed by them.
We have since been without power for three days and unable to keep in touch with or publish on anything. We are playing catch up now as fast as we can and apologise for our enforced absence.
We had already given the link to the Shetland Forum where Shetlanders are talking to themselves about what was going on. You would find it informative to keep in touch with that, even, retrospectively to read it now.
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What sort of idiot finds this bit of useful information objectionable?
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Just for clarity, to whom do you refer when you use the term ‘idiots’?
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Whoever notified ‘dislike’ of Ewan Kennedy’s reference to a Shetland News update – something that’s useful information, rather than opinion. Some (presumably only a few) readers seem to be in the habit of automatically signifying ‘dislike’ of some people’s postings, regardless of the content. Childish, as well as idiotic.
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Curious that we’re interested in the Shetland saga but missed out on the significant escape of mature fish much closer to home?
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For Erik the Viking: Erik – we have been offline for three days with loss of power and have been unable to keep in touch with or publish on anything.
We simply don’t know of a case of drifting cages ‘closer to home’ but would be glad to have your information and would certainly cover it.
This incident may also have happened while we did have power and we might not have known of it. It would be really helpful to keep us informed. We do all we can but we cannot know everything and of course there are things we miss – and hate missing.
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The incident in question was on the 8th December:
Lismore West:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/1062/0124310.pdf
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