“Surely the aquaculture sector must be concerned about damage from media coverage, do we have any levers we can use to alter their choice of disposal route?” asked @scotgov in March https://t.co/OvxPfiOiaO@MairiMcAllan @ScottishEPA @LochDuartSalmon @salmon_scottish @scotgp pic.twitter.com/WoNThuAeSS
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 1, 2021
Read media backgrounder in full online here
When @_KateForbes visited Whiteshore Cockles was the illegal dumping of disease-ridden salmon raised? Did @marinescotland inspect the leaching cess-pit or did @ScotGovNetZero look the other way? https://t.co/wDdz2GMJ0x @cne_siar @APHAgovuk @ScottishEPA @SSPOsays @MairiGougeon https://t.co/8cA2mRSXq1 pic.twitter.com/fPkiBqGuUa
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 1, 2021
PDFs disclosed by the Scottish Government via FOI on 24 June 2021:
Annex 1- Whiteshore FOI_Redacted
Annex 2 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted
Annex 3 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted
Annex 4 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted
Annex 5 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted
Annex 6 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted
Annex 7.1 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_page_6
Annex 7.2 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_5
Annex 7.3 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_4
Annex 7.4 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_3
Annex 7.5 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_2
Annex 7.6 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_1
Annex 7.7 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_9
Annex 7.8 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_8
Annex 7.9 – Whiteshore FOI_Redacted_Page_7
"The ensiled fish waste is definitely not helping with the problem" @scotgov "It has potentially been sitting for weeks already before it gets to Whiteshore so the smell will be intensified" @cne_siar "starting to receive complaints about the smell" https://t.co/OvxPfj5T2m
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 1, 2021
Other key documents:
FOI reply letter from Scottish Government dated 24 June 2021 - online here
FOI reply letter (amended) from Scottish Government dated 25 June 2021 – online here
Letter from Scottish Ministers re. breach of EU law at Whiteshore Cockles dated 25 June 2021 - online here
Letter to Scottish Ministers on illegal dumping of diseased salmon at Whiteshore Cockles dated 1 July 2021 - online here
Appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner re. the FOI refusal by Western Isles Council dated 1 July 2021 – online here
"Fish morts from all over the Western Isles and even the mainland going to the site" @scotgov "Whiteshore are taking advantage of derogation by extending their scope or range to bring in more income…it should not be a cheap disposal route" https://t.co/OvxPfiOiaO @ScottishEPA pic.twitter.com/taTsvodHMi
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 2, 2021
Read more via Appeal to Scottish Information re. FOI refusal by Western Isles Council on Whiteshore Cockles
The Times reported (1 July 2021):
Today's Times: "The dumping of rotting fish in uncovered pits has 'severely hampered' quality of life at an island beauty spot" @thetimesscot https://t.co/H6pD4mg7Ye @cne_siar @marinescotland @MairiGougeon @MairiMcAllan @SSPOsays @APHAgovuk @VisitScotland @VisitScotNews @scotgp
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 1, 2021
The Times reported (27 May 2021):
Ewan Kennedy in today's Times: "It’s extremely concerning to learn that massive quantities of diseased fish, many dead from viruses, are still being dumped in open landfill" @thetimes @thetimesscot @ewangkennedy @_KateForbes @GreenerScotland @cne_siarhttps://t.co/PUxDL1BKl1
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) May 27, 2021
Watch video footage shot by Scottish Salmon Watch in May 2021:
Watch video footage shot by a tourist in June 2021:
Scotland's hidden beaches #1 – the secret gems Visit Scotland keeps hidden from the public! https://t.co/q98umfGggt@north_uist @cne_siar @OuterHebs @_KateForbes@Ivan_McKee @VisitScotland @VisitScotNews @SSPOsays @salmon_scottish
HS6 5DY #WhiteshoreCockles #NorthUist #Bayhead pic.twitter.com/HBgbjSt0xr— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) June 14, 2021
Photographer Corin Smith filmed at the same salmon dump in North Uist in 2018 – leading to exposure on BBC Countryfile in September 2018.
If they have fixed the problem or not they have no right to dump and bury lice infected farmed salmon like this on the Isle of Lewis.
Our wild salmon have travel past these farms so you can imagine the infection they pick up. This is NOT an isolated case of infected salmon farms pic.twitter.com/pdCxyrfs3Y— Salmon & Trout Conservation WY (@SandTCUKYorks) September 11, 2018
The Ferret reported in April 2019:
Kate Forbes, the Scottish Government's Cabinet Secretary for Finance, visited the Whiteshore Cockles salmon dump in October 2019 when she was Digital Economy Minister:
Digital Economy Minister @KateForbesMSP visited Whiteshore Cockles in North Uist earlier this week to hear how they've used digital disruption as an opportunity to diversify and thrive pic.twitter.com/nct0dhG9sw
— Scot Gov Economy (@scotgoveconomy) October 2, 2019
The Ferret reported in July 2020:
The Ferret reported in March 2021:
Read more via:
Revealed: Burned, Buried & Ensiled Scottish Salmon
Read more via:
- The Times: "Fish graveyard ‘severely hampers’ life for islanders, officials claim"
- Daily Mail: "Dumped into the dunes….thousands of rotten, disease ridden salmon"
- Independent: "Scottish islanders raise a stink over vast salmon graveyard"
- Video Exposes Mass Graves of Millions of Diseased Scottish Salmon
- The Times: "Islanders raise a stink over vast salmon graveyard"
“The authorities have turned a blind eye to the continued dumping of diseased farmed salmon in landfill for well over a decade,” said Staniford. “Scotland’s secret salmon graveyard stinks to high heaven & must be shut down now” @thetimes @GreenerScotland https://t.co/PUxDL1BKl1
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) May 27, 2021
Today's Daily Mail: "Dumped into the dunes….thousands of rotten, disease ridden salmon" https://t.co/xDT5tACcb1 @cne_siar @marinescotland @MairiMcAllan @_KateForbes @MairiGougeon @GreenerScotland @ScottishEPA @joe_crowley @APHAgovuk @ewangkennedy @SalmonTroutCons @DailyMailUK pic.twitter.com/KFTHMw4yJo
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) May 28, 2021
Huge quantities of diseased salmon from Scottish fish farms are being dumped in an open landfill on the Western Isles in contravention of environmental guidelines, campaigners have said @Independent https://t.co/C5uHqmMPlT@cne_siar @SSPOsays @ScotlandMowi @salmon_scottish
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) May 28, 2021
If you go down to the beach today, you're sure of a big surprise! @north_uist @cne_siar @OuterHebs
Here's a photo of one of North Uist's beautiful beaches near Whiteshore Cockles' disease-ridden salmon dump sent in by a tourist @_KateForbes @Ivan_McKee https://t.co/QoEbWUPghb pic.twitter.com/rwrMZ5rpuo— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) June 14, 2021
Officials claimed there was “evidence of seepage from the side of pits” & added: “Record keeping is not great. Handwritten notes being provided” @thetimesscot https://t.co/H6pD4mg7Ye @marinescotland @MairiGougeon @MairiMcAllan @APHAgovuk @cne_siar @ScottishEPA @SSPOsays @scotgp
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 1, 2021
"The pictures show open pits with liquefied/ensiled fish morts" @scotgov "The pits are remaining uncovered for weeks with little seaweed cover, which is producing a smell locals are complaining about. Evidence of seepage from the side of the pits" https://t.co/OvxPfiOiaO pic.twitter.com/ET9hilMV1N
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 2, 2021
You should follow that up then with unnamed Scottish Government official & @CVOScotland who reported non-compliance in March 2021 & published the information this week! @MairiMcAllan @ScottishEPA https://t.co/gFRS6TcvLx pic.twitter.com/zSY4U0DcxQ
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 2, 2021
Addendum:
Date: Fri, Jul 2, 2021 at 2:37 PM
Subject: FOI re. waste disposal of farmed salmon mortalities since 1 January 2015
To: SM-APHA-Enquiries APHA <enquiries@apha.gov.uk>
Cc: <APHA.Scotland@apha.gsi.gov.uk>