Fish Health Inspectorate: privacy notice
General Data Protection Regulation privacy notice.
Part of
About the Fish Health Inspectorate
The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) is a group within the Marine Directorate which is a division of Scottish Government. The FHI are based at the Marine Laboratory in Aberdeen. This privacy notice explains how we use any personal information we collect about you and provides information about your rights. Please also see the Scottish Government personal data policy.
Why we need your information
We need your information to assist us in the administration of the Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 (as amended) and The Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 (as amended). This will include:
- communicating with you regarding visiting your business, farm or fishery
- sending you reports of our visits
- providing advice
- requesting information on your business or site
- issuing notices and other letters
The legal basis for processing your information
We only process your information where we have a legal basis under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The following legal bases apply to the work of the FHI:
we need your information to fulfil our legal obligations such as carrying out aquatic animal health surveillance
we need your information to perform a task carried out in the public interest and/or for our official functions
If we are carrying out certification work for you we would also require your information to carry out the contracted work.
What data is collected
Most of the data we ask you to provide is directly in relation to your business or site such as business address and phone number. However, some of the information you provide may be linked to both you and your business, especially in the case of smaller aquaculture businesses and fisheries.
The data we request you to provide may include:
- name
- title
- business addresses – CEO/owner address and correspondence address
- site address – postal address of the actual site/farm/fishery
- phone numbers (main, other and mobile) – for both business and site
- fax number
- job title – for certain positions within the business
- email address
The FHI act as statutory consultees for various processes and may receive personal information submitted by you to other public authorities.
How long we will keep your information
We will keep your information until you or the business or site you are connected with tell us that you no longer work for them. If you are a contact for a business which becomes de-registered we will keep your information for five years after you notify us that the business is to be de-registered.
How we keep your information secure
Personal information held by the FHI is held on computers in secure buildings or encrypted laptops/memory sticks if removed from the Marine Laboratory. Computers and databases are password protected. Printouts of site and business details may be carried by inspectors while doing site inspections so we can confirm details are correct and to enable us to contact you in case our plans change.
Who we will share your information with
The information you supply may be shared with other groups and departments within the Marine Directorate and other government departments or agencies. We will only share your data if we are content that the information will be used in an appropriate way. Activities which would be permitted include:
- contacting you to discuss research work
- sending out surveys such as the annual production surveys for fish and shellfish farms
We are required by law to publish certain information in relation to authorised fish, shellfish and crustacean farms and authorised processing establishments. This information includes the site address. If you have provided a business address for your site which is also a personal address then this information will be published on the Scottish Government website.
Site addresses and site contact phone numbers are also published on Scotland’s aquaculture website.
Your rights
The GDPR provides the following rights for individuals:
- the right to be informed
- the right of access
- the right to rectification
- the right to erasure
- the right to restrict processing
- the right to data portability
- the right to object
- rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling
See further information on your rights.
We want to ensure that we keep your personal information accurate. Please inform us of any changes to your details at Fish Health Inspectorate, Marine Laboratory, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen, AB11 9DB or via e-mail at ms.fishhealth@gov.scot.
Queries and complaints
The Data Protection Officer for your information is the Scottish Government Data Protection and Information Assets (DPIAT) team who can be contacted:
- by email - dpa@gov.scot
- in writing - Data protection and Information Assets Team, Information and Technology Services, V Spur, Saughton House, Broomhouse Drive, Edinburgh, EH11 3XD
Requests for access to your information (a Subject Access Request - SAR) should be submitted to the DPIAT team. See further information on SARs.
If you are not satisfied with how the FHI has responded to your request or handled your information please contact the DPIAT team in the first instance. If your query is not resolved to your satisfaction a complaint can be raised with the Information Commissioners Office at:
The Information Commissioner
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 08456 30 60 60
Website: www.ico.gov.uk
You can also report any concerns.
Other websites
Our website contains links to other websites. This privacy notice only applies to our own website so if you follow links to other websites you should read their own privacy notices.
Changes to this privacy notice
We review this privacy notice on a regular basis. It was last updated in May 2026.