THE Crown Estate Commissioners have given their approval for a fish
farm in the Waternish area of Skye to the fish farming company Marine
Harvest.
The move is in conflict with the commissioners' own guidelines for the
industry, and most local people and the MP for Ross Cromarty and Skye,
Charles Kennedy, had assumed the lease had expired at least four years
ago.
Mr Kennedy has written to the Crown Estate calling on the
commissioners to halt the development until there has been proper public
consultation. Mr Kennedy said this week he hoped there had been a
mistake.
''The alternative seems to be that the Crown Estate have colluded with
Marine Harvest to avoid proper public scrutiny of the proposals,'' he
said.
In 1987 Marine Harvest successfully sought a seabed lease from the
commissioners to establish the fish farm in Lochbay near the village of
Stein, but was subsequently refused planning permission for a shore base
by Highland Regional Council.
All applicants for leases undertake to develop the site within two
years, but Marine Harvest had done nothing with Lochbay until a few
weeks ago, when it emerged that the site would be developed after all.
A spokeswoman for the Crown Estate said yesterday that while
applicants were generally expected to develop their sites within two
years, there was provision within the lease which allows the Crown
Estate to continue the lease after the two-year period is over.
''The lease can be continued if the operator has had reasonable cause
to delay the development, and in this instance that has been the case,
and the Crown Estate has been kept informed at all stages. Marine
Harvest are not being treated any differently from any other
applicant.''
A spokesman for Marine Harvest said the company had decided to develop
the Lochbay site now because of a move towards lower density farming
which obviously required more sites.
''This move has been extremely successful, with mortality dropping
from around 30% to just 4%. What we have planned is a group of 10 cages
with 100,000 smolts going in at the end of April. This could increase to
40 cages .''
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