Salmon firm Loch Linnhe plans unveiled ahead of Arrochar site appeal

Loch Long Salmon’s move comes ahead of a hearing expected to last for six days against refusal of its plans for a site in the shadow of Beinn Reithe near Arrochar.

The company’s Loch Long plans were turned down by the board of the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Authority in October.

But the company announced in February that it had appealed to the Scottish Government, asking it to overturn the refusal, claiming that the park authority “failed” to consider the opinions of community and environmental groups before reaching a decision it called “fundamentally flawed”.

Loch Long Salmon this week announced plans to hold formal consultation events for a proposed ‘closed containment at-sea salmon farm’ – similar to its Loch Long proposals – in Loch Linnhe, north of Oban.

The Loch Linnhe site where Loch Long Salmon hopes to establish a 'closed containment' fish farm (Image: Loch Long Salmon)

Consultation events are scheduled to take place in Duror & Kentallen Community Centre on September 14, and Appin Village Hall on October 24, after the firm submitted a ‘proposal of application notice’ to Argyll and Bute Council.

The news comes after the Scottish Government scheduled six days of hearings on the firm’s Loch Long proposals – also taking place in September and October.

The government’s planning and environmental appeals division (DPEA) says that hearing and inquiry sessions will take place from September 25-28 and on October 3 and 4 – including up to four days of evidence on the effects on wild salmon from the risk of escape of farmed fish.

The plans had drawn support from national bodies such as SEPA and Nature Scot, a cross-party group of councillors, MPs and MSPs, and the closest community council in Arrochar, Tarbet and Ardlui - but it also attracted more than 200 objections.

If the appeal is successful, Loch Long Salmon says the semi-closed containment farm would deliver high-skilled jobs to the area and contribute to the circular economy.

Under the proposals, from the surface, the semi-closed containment site would look like a traditional salmon farm, with the net being surrounded by an impermeable membrane underneath and water being drawn up and circulated from deeper in the loch.

Loch Long Salmon managing director Stewart Hawthorn (Image: Loch Long Salmon)

Loch Long Salmon says this removes the threat of lice and attacks by seals, meaning no harmful treatments of acoustic devices would have been used.

'Closed containment' technology has never been used in a Scottish fish farm before, though it is common in Scandinavia.

Announcing the company’s decision in February to launch an appeal against the refusal, Loch Long Salmon managing director Stewart Hawthorn (above) said: “We believe the National Park’s decision to prevent this proven, transformative technology being brought to Scotland for the first time was based on fear and a lack of knowledge and understanding.

“The National Park has no experience of handling this kind of application and, rather than listening to experts such as NatureScot, SEPA and Forestry and Land Scotland, who all said the project could go ahead, they based their view on a misunderstanding that our plans were the same as existing open net salmon farms.  

The Scottish Government previously described the Loch Long project as being of “national significance” - while neither endorsing nor condemning the application itself - though the technology proposed was endorsed by the Atlantic Salmon Trust, the Scottish Wildlife Trust, and the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust.

Those unable to attend the hearing's sessions in person will be able to watch a webcast of proceedings at dpea.public-i.tv.