Atlantic salmon escape data: EIR release

Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004.


Information requested

When did the 80,000 Atlantic salmon published in the Annual production Survey 2023 escape and where from? and What is the reason that these have not been published on Scotland’s Aquaculture Website?

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 we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(4)(a) (Information not held) applies.

Under the terms of the exception at regulation 10(4)(a) of the EIRs, the Scottish Government is not required to provide information which it does not have. The Scottish Government does not have some of the information you have requested because the location of the fish escapes event cannot be confirmed due to insufficient information available, and it is not therefore possible to determine where along the route the escape took place.

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 the specific location where this escapes event occurred, clearly we cannot provide information which we do not hold.

Questions:

When did the 80,000 Atlantic Salmon escape? And Where from?

The escape occurred in February 2023. The fish originated from Loch Shin and were loaded onto a fish transport vessel at Lochinver.

What is the reason that these have not been published on Scotland’s Aquaculture Website?

Farmed fish escapes are normally registered to fish farms in our Aquadat system, and information is subsequently published on Scotland’s Aquaculture Website. This gap has occurred due to the source of the escape (from a transport vessel) as it is not currently a legal requirement for farmed fish transporters to report farmed fish escapes. However in this instance, the operator followed best practice and made a notification.

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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