Information relating to funding paid from Marine Scotland: EIR release

Information requested

1. How much funding in total have the various Fishery Boards and Fishery Trusts received from Marine Scotland for completion of the salmon pressures study.
2. How much funding each year have the various Fishery Trusts received from Marine Scotland to undertake the annual netting programme to assess sea lice infestation on wild fish. 

Response

As the information you have requested is 'environmental information' for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.

This exemption is subject to the 'public interest test'. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes.

This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.

The answer to your first query regarding the funding received to date by the various Fishery Boards and Fisheries Trusts for the salmon pressures study from Marine Scotland is £88,007 paid to 22 March 2021, the date of your enquiry. However, for your information a further £41,600 was paid by the end of March 2021. This brings the total paid to date to £129,607.

Regarding your second query on funding in relation to the annual netting programme to assess sea lice infestation on wild fish, Keith Main mailed you seeking clarity as to whether this question had been answered in the previous EIR 202100174987. You responded on 13 April 2021 that this is indeed the case and that you do not require any further information on this point.

About FOI

The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.