The Scottish Wildlife Trust is urging its members in Argyll and Bute to object to a proposed salmon farm at Ardmaddy near Oban. If the Council gives the green light to the fish farm it could pose a huge threat to Atlantic salmon, dolphins and seals which are all present in the area.

The salmon farm is in a narrow channel used by migratory Atlantic salmon and sea trout.  These fish would have no choice but to pass close to the farm which means that  up to 80% could be killed by sea lice.  As the fish farm proposes not to use environmentally friendly double nets to ward of predators such as seals, this will inevitably lead to the shooting of seals under license.  The farm will also use seal scarers, which are a known threat to bottlenose dolphins and porpoises.

The Scottish Wildlife Trust has contacted all of its members in Argyll and Bute and urged them to put pressure on the Council by objecting to the proposed development.

Commenting, David Ainsley, treasurer of the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s Members Centre for Lorn and Mid-Argyll said:

“This proposal could be highly damaging to some of Argyll’s best loved coastal wildlife including dolphins, porpoises and seals. It is no longer acceptable to use single nets and shoot seals. The farm's position in a narrow sound is particularly bad for transmission of sealice to wild salmon, to double the biomass could be the final straw for  local rivers. It doesn’t make economic sense either as all of these wonderful creatures provide a great economic boost to the area through tourism.”