Correspondence regarding shooting of seals under new legislation: EIR review

Information requested

Electronic copies of correspondence between Scottish Government agencies, including Marine Scotland and Scottish Ministers, and fish farm companies and the SSPO on the shooting of seals under the new legislation.

Response

I have now completed my review of our response to your request under the Environmental Information Regulations for electronic copies of correspondence between Scottish Government agencies, including Marine Scotland and Scottish Ministers, and fish farm companies and the SSPO on the shooting of seals under the new legislation.

I have been asked to look at your request afresh, to decide whether the original response should be confirmed, with or without modifications, as appropriate, or that a fresh decision should be substituted. I can confirm that I was not involved in the handling or decision-making around the original response. I have concluded that a different decision should be substituted.

In conducting my review I have undertaken an extensive search of our electronic information management system and in doing so I have identified nine documents which would fall within the scope of your request.

Attached is a copy of all the information you requested with the exception of a small amount of personal data which has been redacted from the documents provided. This information has been redacted because an exception under regulation 11(2) of the EIRs (personal information) applies to it. This is because it is personal data of a third party and disclosing it would contravene the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the General Data Protection Regulation and in section 34(1) of the Data Protection Act 2018. This exception is not subject to the ‘public interest test’, so we are not required to consider if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception.

Some information, which does not relate to the shooting of seals under the new legislation has also been redacted from one of the documents provided. This is noted within the relevant document. It may be helpful if I confirm that the information provided is all of the information which is held by the Scottish Government, including Marine Scotland. I am advised it is unlikely that there will be information which relates to shooting of seals under the new legislation held by other public bodies, however in order to confirm this you would have to contact these bodies directly.

However, you should note that these bodies would be unlikely to hold copies of correspondence between Scottish Government agencies, including Marine Scotland and Scottish Ministers, and fish farm companies and the SSPO on the shooting of seals under the new legislation as that information would be held by the Scottish Government, the fish farm companies and the SSPO.

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FOI202100209041 - Information released

File type

28 page PDF

File size

3.0 MB