Strategic Considerations for Locational Regulation of Shellfish Aquaculture in Scotland

Abstract

Aquaculture is an increasingly important industry for Scotland, helping to sustain economic growth in the rural and coastal communities, and producing Scotland’s most valuable food export. In 2014, the Scottish shellfish farming industry produced almost 8,000 tonnes of shellfish for consumption, estimated to be worth approximately £10.5million. The Scottish shellfish aquaculture industry is aiming to double production volumes by 2020, compared to 2012, and the Scottish Government supports the achievement of these growth targets, with due regard to the marine environment, and refers to the targets in Scotland’s National Marine Plan (NMP) and Strategic Framework for Scottish Aquaculture. Sustainable development demands that such expansion respects environmental limits so that the capacity of the marine environment to accommodate economic development activity is not exceeded. This requires consistent and effective regulation of shellfish aquaculture development to set limits which protect the marine environment but which don’t unnecessarily constrain expansion. The Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum (SARF) commissioned this study to undertake a systematic review of the shellfish aquaculture planning decision-making process after concerns regarding the degree of consistency with which planning applications are treated in different parts of Scotland were raised by the Ministerial Group on Sustainable Aquaculture (MGSA), particularly in relation to the issue of biological carrying capacity. The study objectives were met through undertaking a review of the shellfish planning applications and determinations made in Scotland between 2009 and 2014 and through consultation with key stakeholders in the process including local planning authorities (LPAs), regulators, other statutory consultees in the planning process, industry representatives and individual shellfish businesses/farmers. The initial findings were also discussed with key stakeholders at a project workshop held in October 2015. The results of the planning review showed that of the 148 planning applications made between 2009 and 2014 (118 for mussels, 26 for oyster and 4 for integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) developments), 131 were granted (89%), 9 were withdrawn (6%) and 8 were refused (5%). These results do not indicate that the planning determination system has unduly constrained the development of the industry over this time period through overly conservative determinations. Overall, the study found that there was consistency in the approach to planning considerations and determinations across Scotland. The one exception to this was the finding that the current model used to assess the risk of exceedance of biological carrying capacity for proposed shellfish developments produced different results when used by the two end users (the LPA and the statutory consultee) who assess this issue for applications in the Shetland Islands. The reason for this relates to the LPA making allowance for the carrying capacity for the indigenous wild shellfish populations within the model (i.e. using a safety margin for wild shellfish stocks), while the statutory consultee does not as they consider the model to be sufficiently precautionary. Consultation with stakeholders did highlight a number of more minor but nevertheless important issues, where there is opportunity to improve both the planning and wider consenting process and help support sustainable expansion of the industry. Within the determination process, landscape and visual impacts (particularly cumulative impacts) and impacts on commercial fisheries are relatively difficult considerations for LPAs to assess. Aspects of the planning process which concerned industry stakeholders included the cost of the process (including the proportionality of the planning fees for the shellfish industry), competition for space with other marine sectors and unutilised capacity (consented sites not producing fish or shellfish). Stakeholders also felt that the wider consenting regime for the aquaculture industry was complex and that there was an element of duplication between the different consents required. The study also briefly considered future influences on the planning process and the shellfish aquaculture industry. Indicative future projections of shellfish production suggested that the 2020 production targets (13,000 tonnes) may not be met at the current industry growth rate. Expansion of the industry requires expansion at existing and new sites to be available with suitable natural resources and minimal constraints relating to other marine users. The incoming regional marine plans, where based on good data, should be a useful source of information for developers and support industry development where it is appropriate.