"As soon as we got out of the car there we could smell something foul, clearly death & decay, and it became worse as we walked along the beach. By the time we were alongside it [Whiteshore Cockles] the stench was almost unbearable" @cne_siar @scotgov @ScottishEPA @_KateForbes pic.twitter.com/leaSr2I9XE
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 16, 2022
Date: Wed, Dec 14, 2022 at 4:35 PM
Subject: Re: FOI re Whiteshore Cockles since 1 November 2021 [Ticket#2022102127000047]
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Re: help desk request (ticket ref 2022102127000047), please see file attached for details of complaints received.
—
Kind regards
FOI Team
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | Sandwick Road | Stornoway | Isle of Lewis | HS1 2BW
Email: foi@cne-siar.gov.uk
Web: https://www..cne-siar.gov.uk
Tel: 01851 600 501 (Extension 211598)
"We are regularly unable to open windows and doors for the stench of rotten fish blowing on the wind. The issue continues to affect residents on the west side of Uist and must have health implications for the local population" @cne_siar @scotgov https://t.co/DdaanhKyp7 pic.twitter.com/JY5VjfWOZZ
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 16, 2022
Download FOI disclosure (14 December 2022) as a PDF online here
$camon $cotland was also contacted by whistleblowers who make similar complaints:
Date: Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: Still stinky?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
From:
Date: Fri, Sep 16, 2022 at 6:28 PM
Subject: A message from your Scottish Scamon contact form.
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
You mentioned that Whiteshore Cockles had lost their license. They are still in business as far as I can see. They are still burying salmon in North Uist this week. Please don’t publish my name against this news.
A media backgrounder - 'Stinky Scottish Salmon: FOI lifts lid on illegal disposal of diseased fish in North Uist' (December 2022) – includes:
Read FOI dossier in full online here
Further documents were disclosed by the Scottish Government via Freedom of Information on 17 October 2022:
From: <Ian.Murdoch@gov.scot>
Date: Mon, Oct 17, 2022 at 2:58 PM
Subject: Correspondence with the Scottish Government
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Dear Mr Staniford
Please find a response to your recent correspondence with the Scottish Government.
Ian J Murdoch
Animal Health – Disease Prevention Team | Animal Health & Welfare Division | Directorate for Agriculture & Rural Economy | Scottish Government
Tel. +44(0)300 244 9833 | Mob: +44(0)7917 050252
Scottish Government letter FOI 202200320862 17 October 2022
Annex B: Whiteshore Cockles FOI disclosure October 2022
Annex 1: Whiteshore Cockles FOI disclosure 17 October 2022
Annex 2: Whiteshore Cockles FOI disclosure 17 October 2022
Annex 3: Whiteshore Cockles FOI disclosure 17 October 2022
Annex 4: Whiteshore Cockles FOI disclosure 17 October 2022
On 21 October 2022, $camon $cotland filed a FOI review request with the Scottish Government:
Date: Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 8:51 AM
Subject: FOI review request re FOI/2022-00320862
To: <DirectorARE@gov.scot>
Cc: <Ian.Murdoch@gov.scot>
Date: Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: FOI review request re FOI/2022-00320862
To: <DirectorARE@gov.scot>
Date: Fri, Oct 21, 2022 at 9:28 AM
Subject: Re: Still stinky?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
On 16 November 2022, the Scottish Government refused $camon $cotland's FOI review request:
Download the letter as a PDF online here
$camon $cotland is still waiting on a FOI reply from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA):
From: Access to Information Enquiries <foi@sepa.org.uk>
Date: Tue, Sep 20, 2022 at 3:13 PM
Subject: SEPA Access to Information Request – Acknowledgement of your request – F0194566
To: salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Cc: Access to Information Enquiries <foi@sepa.org.uk>
OFFICIAL
Dear Don
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION – ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We are writing to acknowledge receipt of your request which was received by SEPA on 17/9/2022 and requested the following information:
Please provide information on Whiteshore Cockles in North Uist – including photos, videos, Cabinet Briefings, letters, emails, correspondence with the Scottish Government, Salmon Scotland, Mowi, Loch Duart, Bakkafrost Scotland/The Scottish Salmon Company, CalMac, Western Isles Council, APHA and any other information since 12 November 2021.
Please also include any discussions and information on the legality of dumping diseased salmon in Scotland with respect to EU, Scottish and UK law.
Please also include any discussion and information in relation to the dumping, ensiling, burning and transport of dead/diseased Scottish salmon.
Your unique reference number is F0194566. Please quote this in any future contact with us about your request.
What happens next
Your request will now be forwarded to the relevant business area(s) to search for the requested information. We are working hard to answer requests promptly, and within twenty working days of the date your request was received – in this case no later than 14/10/2021.
Please note, the business area(s) holding the information may need clarification from you to locate the information you have requested once they have received the request. You will be contacted again should this be necessary.
Service Status
We must advise you that the continued disruption due to the cyber-attack in December 2020 and office restrictions due to COVID-19, have significantly affected SEPA’s ability to respond to Access to Information enquiries. Much of our information impacted by the cyber-attack remains offline and we continue to be unable to provide copies of our hard copy information. Where possible we will provide you with the information requested.
You can check the status of our Access to Information service, which is updated weekly.
You can also access further information about SEPA’s approach to the delivery of services and the cyber-attack.
We continue to keep the Scottish Information Commissioner updated about our service status. In relation to systemic issues arising out of the 24 December 2020 cyber-attack, the Commissioner is working with us to assist in rebuilding our Access to Information capacity, by way of a Level 2 Intervention under his Intervention Procedures.
While you wait for your response
If you haven’t already done so, you may wish to check the SEPA website or search our Disclosure Log for information we’ve already published that may be relevant to the subject of your request. You can search our Disclosure Log by entering a key search word in the Title box and clicking on the filter icon .
You can also check Scotland’s Environment website. This website brings together environmental information and data in one place so that is easy to search, discover, analyse and interpret.
If you have any queries in the meantime please contact us.
Karen Leask
Access to Information| Information Officer
Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)
Email: foi@sepa.og.uk
Read more via:
Closing the Net on Diseased Scottish Salmon – Whiteshore Cockles Finally Dumped in March!
The ‘illegal’ dumping of dead fish in Hebridean beauty spot set to end
FOI disclosure on Whiteshore Cockles by the Scottish Government (202100254831) on 8 December 2021
The Times: "Tougher curbs for island salmon graveyard in Outer Hebrides"
FOI disclosure on Whiteshore Cockles by the Scottish Government in August 2021
Scottish Government ‘exploring strategies’ for mort burial site
P&J: "Lives of Western Isles residents ‘severely hampered by rotting fish dump’"
The Times: "Fish graveyard ‘severely hampers’ life for islanders, officials claim"
Letter to Scottish Ministers on Illegal Dumping of Diseased Scottish Salmon in North Uist
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"
Sunday National: "The Millions of Dead Salmon Dumped, Burnt or Destroyed"
Revealed: Burned, Buried & Ensiled Scottish Salmon
European Commission complaint over dead fish dumping forces rule change
Where have all the dead fish gone?
Diseased fish dumping continues
Old MacDonald had a farmed salmon dump – E-I-E-I-O
And on his land he had a cash cow – E-I-E-I-O
With a stink stink here And a pong pong there
Everywhere money @HIEScotland @cne_siar @scotgov #Salmafia #Salmoney #Salmonopoly @ScotlandSalmon @ScottishEPA https://t.co/LL9dCWFb5n pic.twitter.com/CGxuBBBpBD— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 28, 2022
ADDENDUM:
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Dec 15, 2022 at 12:20 PM
Subject: FOI re. complaints vs Whiteshore Cockles since 1 Jan 2019
To: <sgoiluibhistatuath@gnes.net>
Could you please provide information detailing any complaints re. the bad smell and other issues at Whiteshore Cockles?
Please include any letters, emails and other information on the issue of Whiteshore Cockles since 1st January 2018.
For example, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar disclosed these complaints via FOI yesterday (15 December 2022):
- Complaint received on 3/10/2022.
“I am writing to complain about the ongoing stench affecting Knockintorran and originating from the fish processing plant on the local machair.
We were advised this plant would not operate until new equipment was in situ to stop the stench. This is not the case as the factory is operational and we are regularly unable to open windows and doors for the stench of rotten fish blowing on the wind.
This has been going on for years and is obviously not resolved. The issue continues to affect residents on the west side of Uist and must have health implications for the local population as well as being detrimental to our ability to live normal and healthy outdoor lives.
The factory operates day and night over 7 days so there is no let up from this intrusion.
Please can you advise why this is being allowed to continue and what is being done about resolving this ongoing environmental health issue for local residents?”
- Complaint received on the 19 October 2022
On Sunday 16 October my husband and I took a walk on North Uist. We parked on the coast, just past the Tractor Shed Camping Huts & Bunkhouse (off the A865). As soon as we got out of the car there we could smell something foul, clearly death and decay, and it became worse as we walked along the beach. We eventually realised the smell was coming from the Whiteshore Cockles processing facility. By the time we were alongside it the stench was almost unbearable.
On returning home I found various articles on the Web, saying that the practice of burying dead salmon in the dunes and covering them with seaweed has been illegal since 2016, but Whiteshore Cockles were continuing to do this. There was an expectation that they would cease by March 2022. However, they are obviously still continuing to do it – judging by the recent tyre marks in the sand, even on a Sunday. Can you tell me if you are content to allow the foul smells to continue, or when you expect them to cease. We will not visit that beach again until the stench has gone, and I feel very sorry for the residents and holiday-makers in the Paible area”
You may have read about the issue in various media coverage:
The ‘illegal’ dumping of dead fish in Hebridean beauty spot set to end
The Times: "Tougher curbs for island salmon graveyard in Outer Hebrides"
P&J: "Lives of Western Isles residents ‘severely hampered by rotting fish dump’"
The Times: "Fish graveyard ‘severely hampers’ life for islanders, officials claim"
Please consider this a formal request for information under the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.
Please provide the information electronically.
Please provide a receipt for this FOI request.
Thanks,
Don Staniford
Director, $camon $cotland
Date: Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 12:23 PM
Subject: FOI review request re. Whiteshore Cockles since 1 November 2021 [Ticket#2022102127000047]
To: Tim Langley <tim.langley@cne-siar.gov.uk>
Cc: CNES FOI Team <foi@cne-siar.gov.uk>
Date: Fri, Nov 18, 2022 at 11:42 AM
Subject: Re: FOI request re. Whiteshore Cockles since 1 November 2021 [Ticket#2022102127000047]
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Re: help desk request (ticket ref 2022102127000047), please see response here:
On 4/10/2022 the Comhairle received a complaint regarding the smell related to the location. The complainant was advised to contact the Scottish Government.
Any other information held is exempt from release under Section 30(c) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 – Prejudice to effective conduct of public affairs.
Disclosure of the requested information would seriously erode the Comhairle’s ability to discharge its statutory obligations in respect of environmental health, and there would be an increased risk of future non-compliance by businesses.
The public interest in withholding the information outweighs the public interest in disclosing it.
If you are dissatisfied with this response you can request the Comhairle to review this response to your request for information. You have 40 working days from the date of receipt of this response in which to lodge this request for review. A request for review must be processed in accordance with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, must be in writing, describe your original request and explain why you are dissatisfied. An application for review should be sent to Legal Services Manager, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Council Offices, Sandwick Road, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis HS1 2BW (tim.langley@cne-siar.gov.uk). A request for review lodged with the Legal Services Manager must be processed promptly and in any event within 20 working days of receipt.
Should you remain dissatisfied after completion of the review process you may, within 6 months, apply to the Scottish Information Commissioner, Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9DS, to establish whether your request for information has been processed in accordance with Part 1 of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002. You may also request an appeal through the Commissioner\'s online appeal service which is available 24/7 and offers requesters real time help and advice about their appeal – www.itspublicknowledge.info/Appeal Should you remain dissatisfied after the conclusion of an application to the Scottish Information Commissioner you have the right to appeal to the Court of Session on a point of law.
—
Kind regards
FOI Team
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar | Sandwick Road | Stornoway | Isle of Lewis | HS1 2BW
Email: foi@cne-siar.gov.uk
Web: https://www..cne-siar.gov.uk
Tel: 01851 600 501 (Extension 211598)
Date: Sat, Sep 17, 2022 at 6:27 AM
Subject: FOI re. Whiteshore Cockles & the dumping, ensiling, burning and transport of dead/diseased Scottish salmon since 12 November 2021
To: <CEU@gov.scot>
Date: Fri, Sep 16, 2022 at 6:28 PM
Subject: A message from your Scottish Scamon contact form.
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
|