A Highland mussel farm has fallen foul of the authorities over unsightly industrial debris marring two scenic Argyll lochs.
Shellfish farm company Black Isle Seafoods was given an ultimatum by the Crown Estates who own the foreshore to clear the debris at Lochs Etive and Creran, near Oban.
It has failed to meet the deadline and now contractors are to recover the unsightly materials as soon as possible and the bill will be sent to the company.
The Crown Estate consulted Argyll and Bute Council and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and agreed the process with police.
The debris arises almost wholly from farming by The Crown Estate’s former tenant, Black Isle Seafoods, who were served notice last year with the requirement to vacate all sites and remove all related materials and equipment. This followed repeated attempts by The Crown Estate to have the company comply with the terms of their leases which stipulate responsible maintenance of site equipment, and ongoing efforts to reach a solution including convening meetings of all shellfish farmers in Loch Etive to address debris resulting from the storms of early 2012 and funding a clean-up in summer 2012.
Alex Adrian, aquaculture operations manager for The Crown Estate, said: “We’ve exhausted every avenue and option to get the company responsible to clear up, but to no avail. We’ve now commissioned contractors and are liaising with relevant agencies and authorities. It’s a shame that this issue was not resolved amicably and in line with lease agreements, but residents are understandably frustrated and angry and we want to ensure debris is removed and the local environment is looked after. Once we have carried out the work, we will be seeking to recover our costs from Black Isle Seafoods Ltd.”
Black Isle Seafood Ltd was told by The Crown Estate’s solicitors that if they failed to meet their obligations to remove all equipment on the sea-sites and onshore, the abandoned equipment would be reported to the police and The Crown Estate would recover it at the former tenant’s cost.
Black Isle Seafoods could not be contacted.