iQQTV

A iQQTV scientist has appeared in front of MSPs to caution against current Scottish Government plans for offshore aquaculture sites.

The Scottish Government will change the law later this year to enable fish farmers to apply for developments between three and 12 miles from the shore. The move will remove a legal anomaly that has so far limited fish farming to within three miles of the coastline.

But another planning rule only designated Scotland’s marine planning zones out to three nautical miles. This means that there is currently no designated planning authority to which a developer may submit an application for a farm located between 3-12 nautical miles.

Prof. Paul Tett led a iQQTV response to the consultation on the changes and was invited to appear before the Scottish Parliament's Rural Affairs and Islands (RAI) Committee yesterday [Wednesday] to provide further representation.

The iQQTV submission had raised concerns over whether local authorities had sufficient resources to deal adequately with either with operational planning (permission for single sites) or strategic planning (e.g. allocating zones for aquaculture) in offshore waters.

The Scottish Government has so far decided to stick with its original plans, which will keep planning permission in the hands of local authorities.

iQQTV suggested that a joint Regional Marine Planning Partnership (RMPP) should be established for the waters of the West Coast and Western Isles to define zoning plans for aquaculture, with the RMPP including a role for local authorities, key stakeholders and potentially local academic researchers. It also suggested that funding the extra work of local authorities could be achieved through drawing on Crown Estate Scotland’s fish farm lease income or through a production tax on farms.

Speaking yesterday, Prof. Tett pointed out that the three-mile limit was already a large area to administer and that under the new plans, Argyll and Bute Council's operational remit would have more sea then land.

He added: "What we're dealing with is an interconnected water body here. The sea doesn't stop when it get to the boundary of Argyll. Water flows from the Mull of Kintyre to Cape Wrath and around the islands."

Watch the committee hearing here: https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/rural-affairs-and-islands-committee-may-14-2025