Marine / ‘We want action rather than words’ fishermen demand over concern of aquaculture entanglement
FISHERMEN working the inshore waters around Shetland are calling for urgent action to clean up the seabed from aquaculture-related debris that they say could endanger lives and livelihoods.
Owner of the small shellfish boat Accord (LK331) Billy Reid said he suffered four aquaculture entanglements over a two-day period in late June while fishing in the Setterness area.
These included several incidents where the rope of an anchor became snagged in his dredging gear but also a large truck tyre that became entangled in the boat’s gear. All entanglements happened near Scottish Sea Farms sites.
The skipper said the reports he made were “by no means uncommon around the shores of Shetland”, and many were “far more serious” than those recorded by him in June.
“Shetland Islands Council (SIC) planning, Crown Estate, councillors, the MSP, Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) and aquaculture companies have all been informed about these in the past and nothing is ever done about it despite promises from aquaculture companies,” he said.
“Does there have to be a more serious incident or loss of life before something is done about it?” he asked.
The SFA said small boats getting entangled in floating ropes or debris on the seabed is a major safety issue for its members.
Executive officer Sheila Keith said a scheme of collating data and reporting such incidents has been set up with Scottish Government agency Marine Directorate but so far the situation has not improved.
She said rather than receiving reassurances from the aquaculture industry, fishermen would like to see some action urgently.
Concern has also been raised on the matter by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation (SSMO) – including during the planning process for the new Billy Baa salmon farm development.
Scottish Sea Farms, the company growing salmon at several sites in the Setterness area, said it was committed to playing its part in clearing the seabed from historic infrastructure or redundant gear.
A spokesperson said the company was busy clearing historic sinker tubes from sites no longer in use and added that it has also encouraged fishermen to contact them directly with any coordinates of redundant gear they have come across on the seabed.
The company said no directs reports from fishermen have been received as yet.
Communication between the various parties with an interest in this particular topic however appears to be a major obstacle in making progress.
Reid said he has filed four entanglement reports to the relevant authorities, but the Marine Directorate (formerly known as Marine Scotland) said its licensing operations team has received just two entangle reports in the first six months of 2024.
Keith meanwhile told Shetland News that she had seen at least 10 such reports over the last three months, adding that the SFA has been bringing up the issue every time they have a chance to speak the Scottish Government.
Industry body Salmon Scotland, meanwhile, said it had not been contacted by Reid about the matter of entanglement and added that “all reported aquaculture-related debris in Shetland has been removed”.
Keith said: “We are collating this data and we report these to marine licensing and also the fisheries industry safety group because we are concerned that there will be a moment in time where someone may be involved in an incident where a vessel capsizes. We had situations where vessels have been left at a 45-degree angle.
“These companies want to expand but can’t maintain what they’ve got.
“These are multinational companies that are damaging property that belong to single man entities; that is not appropriate either.
“Who is compensating them for damage to their vessel, if they can’t fish?
“We want action rather than verbal commitment for change.”
During the planning process of Scottish Sea Farms’ proposed new large Billy Baa salmon farm earlier this year, the SSMO also raised concern about discarded salmon farm equipment in some local waters.
The SSMO said one scallop fisherman described the general area from Scalloway north to Sandsound/Weisdale as “a minefield” of discarded anchors, ropes, wires and other salmon farm-related debris.
Its inshore coordinator John Robertson also said that scallop and creel boat skippers “regularly report danger to life, limb and equipment when a propeller or fishing gear snags on loose floating ropes trailing from fish farms or on heavy fish farm equipment lost, not lit adequately or abandoned on the seabed around site”.
In response Scottish Sea Farms said any equipment identified by a ROV survey would be removed prior to the development of Billy Baa, which would be located to the west of South Whiteness.
Scottish Sea Farms further said that as part of the company’s own ongoing environmental monitoring work, it had surveyed expanses of the Setterness seabed around existing fish farms but have not found any debris.
In addition, the company said it is in the process of removing 16 historic sinker tubes on the seabed around its former Brei Geo farm, and has also been removing old historic moorings from the seabed around former Grieg fish farms.
The company’s regional manager for Shetland Richard Darbyshire said: “Clearing the seabed of historic infrastructure or redundant gear, whatever its origin, is something we are happy to play our part in.
“To this end, we have actively encouraged other marine users to contact us directly with the details and coordinates of any such gear – an invitation that we are happy to extend again.”
A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said it had two entanglement reports and its Marine Directorate was in the process investigating these.
“We want to ensure that debris like this is dealt with properly and not a hazard to fishing crews, other users of the sea and not a threat to the marine environment. We take these reports seriously and investigate them fully,” she said.
Meanwhile referring to the bigger picture of what is called the “spatial squeeze”, skipper Reid said fishermen are being pushed out of their traditional fishing grounds by a multitude of opposing interests.
He added a different approach was urgently needed to allow fishermen to get on with their jobs and earn a livelihood.
“Aquaculture companies are applying for more and more sites while leaving their mess behind them,” Reid said.
“This is causing spatial squeeze when combined with the R100 internet cables, renewable cables and other developments planned in the future.
“Although the cables are not directly linked to aquaculture entanglement, they are part of the wider problem.
“SIC planning should have implemented planned corridors for developments to lay their pipelines/cables to ensure that it would not affect fishing. Corridors should now be put in place in consultation with the fishing industry for any further developments taking away the need for companies to individually survey the seabed for every development.”
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