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OTFA Environment Subcommittee Report for 2010

2009 has seen the sub committee reluctantly re-focus on paper work relating to local Salmon Farming developments.  This follows an obvious upturn in aquaculture activity in Scotland after the collapse of the ISA ravaged industry in Chile.  The sub committee however has a number of other on going consultations and projects that involve a lot of time and effort.

OTFA had been in protracted negotiations with SEPA and a salmon farming company over a fish impass on Rousay’s Sourin Burn.  Despite no action for over two spawning seasons the company has at last removed part of a dam, allowing free passage of migratory fish up the burn.  We will monitor this burn to seek evidence of sea trout / smolt activity in the future.  The company’s long inaction on the matter does not bode well for local wild fish populations.

OTFA through working with the SFLP hoped to secure HLF funding for a habitat improvement project on the once famous sea trout system at St Mary’s. Sadly local land owners were ultimately not keen enough to see the burn improved.  Since then, sites at Voy on Stenness and Lerquoy in Orphir have been identified as possible alternative projects.  The Wild Trout Trust meanwhile sent up a biologist to demonstrate specific methods of habitat improvement which could be used to restore trout burns across Orkney.  Malcolm Thomson secured the help of Jimmy Stevenson at the Bu and a local digger driver.  This team showed in a short time just how easy it was to vastly improve a canalised burn for trout and spawning habitat.  Jimmy is a fine example of an Orcadian farmer who is genuinely interested in our collective natural heritage and we owe him a big thankyou.

Malcolm Thomson continued his work at the Burn of Ireland at the back end, recording 128 adult sea trout in the upstream trap representing roughly 150,000 eggs.  Most of the fish ran in early October and by the middle of the month the run was nearly over.  Electrofishing survey’s were maintained elsewhere ( results of which will be posted on the website )  but man hours were well down on previous years.  This was due to two of the main protagonists – Malcolm Thomson and James Bews attending to some spawning duties closer to home !  Congratulations to both families !

The Sub Committee are to secure a visit from Callum Sinclair of the Rivers and Fisheries Trust of Scotland (RAFTS) to further explore the possibility and implications of establishing a Fisheries Trust in Orkney.  There would appear to be new funding available in this sector and we need to really look at what advantages (if any) such a set up would mean for trout fishing in Orkney. 

As an “interested party” we are still awaiting the outcome of these two appeals.  The original situation came about as a result of SEPA moving to reduce tonnage by 250 tonnes at each site, after recording excessive seabed impact and also the developer exceeding consented biomass on several occasions. 

We have contributed to three scoping documents for salmon farms in Scapa Flow through environmental consultants Xodus Aurora in Stromness.  Cava is a new site which the developer suggests would aid “fallowing”, but clearly represents an increase in tonnage.  Ore Bay is an old site that had been abandoned and this too would represent yet more increase in production.  Glimps Holm on the east side of the Flow also represents new tonnage which collectively would have serious implications for our ever precarious sea trout population.  Given all the new research into the detrimental effects from salmon farming on wild sea trout that has emerged in the last decade, we await the EIA’s with great interest.

Members of the sub committee met OIC planning officials to discuss salmon farming.  It was put to planners that returns from smolt tagging at the Burn of Ireland suggested that there should now be at least 7km distance between salmon cages and known sea trout burns.  We were advised to respond to the current local plan consultation and are currently preparing a sea trout document to submit to OIC.

We attended a public event at the Pier Arts Centre hosted by Scottish Natural Heritage.  Most of the local officials and their national Director Andrew Thin were there.  We got the not unexpected impression that they are under a lot of government pressure not to unnecessarily impede the salmon industry.  However there remains an open door to pursue various avenues of research locally and SNH have helped us a lot these past years to do just that.

With likely increased salmon farm production, it is even more important to get hard evidence of our sea trout catch.  Generous provision of log book data from Malcolm  Russell has clearly shown the decline in sea trout catches between 2000-2006, when local aquaculture was at a peak.  It also illustrated the following wild catch recovery, lying in almost perfect parallel with the subsequent slump in Salmon production.  More information like this would be absolutely invaluable.  Recording hours or fishing effort as well as catch is critical.  Malcolm Thomson is producing a catch return document which can be accessed and downloaded from the website for individual anglers wishing to take part.  Would any anglers willing to make this commitment please make themselves known.

Catches continued to show a sea trout recovery well in place in 2009, however with previously fallowed sites full of salmon again it remains to be seen if 2010 will see a return of sea lice infestation.  It would really help if any anglers concerned about our sea trout population took an active role in recording their catch effort in this new initiative.  Also if anglers could carry a small digital camera to record any sea lice infested fish in detail.

ractise restraint in the salt and to try and spread the word to those that would still kill large numbers of sea trout.  We also need to make the illegal selling of sea trout an action worthy of particular local shame.

Finally I’d like to thank the hard working members of this committee, whose efforts have seen some considerable reward of late. Some of the younger members of this association have seen the best sea trout angling of their entire lives in the last four years and surely this is something worth fighting for.  

Colin Kirkpatrick

OTFA Environment Sub Comm. Chairman