Cleaner fish production and usage in Scotland: EIR release
- Published
- 17 January 2025
- Directorate
- Marine Directorate
- FOI reference
- EIR/202400440944
- Date received
- 11 November 2024
- Date responded
- 6 December 2024
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.
Information requested
Information concerning cleaner fish production and usage in Scotland, specifically asking for 'an overview on the amount of cleaner fish being used in Scotland, from start to today? By start meaning, when first the Scottish aquaculture started using cleaner fish as a biological control of sea lice'.
We received further communication from you, on 14 November, within which you referred to publicly available information available through the Scottish fish farm production survey 2023 (notably table 42), with respect to your request, but you also asked: 'Are there any recordings of number wrasse caught and used for the same purpose, grazing sea lice off salmon?'
We are handling both of your communications under this one request – EIR 202400440944.
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.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance the Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested. Therefore, we are refusing the first part of your request under the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs. The reasons why that exception applies are explained below.
Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs (information not held), the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have the information you have requested because we do not hold comprehensive records of the number of cleaner fish being used in Scotland, since the date of their first use through to the date of this request.
This exception 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 exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about cleaner fish, specifically data concerning the total numbers used within aquaculture, clearly, we cannot provide information which we do not hold.
With respect to the second part of your request, which came to us three days after your initial communication, I can confirm that records of wild caught wrasse are maintained with respect to Scotland. The general purpose of these fish is for use within aquaculture. You can find some further information concerning this on the Scottish Government website:
Sea fisheries statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
Under regulation 6(1)(b) of the EIRs, we do not have to give you information which is already publicly available and easily accessible to you in another form or format.
Additional information provided through previous information requests
The subject of cleaner fish has been the focus of a number of previous information requests. Details of these, and the responses issued are published on the Scottish Government website:
Publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
This information may be beneficial to you. You can search these records and filter by content type (selecting FoI/EIR release) and try using keywords in the search bar, for example ‘cleaner fish’, ‘wrasse’ or ‘lumpfish’, to help find information of interest.
It may also be beneficial to contact industry stakeholders directly who may be able to help with some of the information you are interested in. Salmon Scotland represent many of Scotland’s salmon producers and it may be worthwhile contacting them in this instance:
Salmon Scotland | The Voice of the Scottish Salmon Sector
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at https://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Correspondence Unit
Email: contactus@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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