A former civil servant with the Scottish Government has taken on a prominent role with a major fishing group to replace a fisherman fined for illegal dredging.
But Open Seas, which campaigns to protect the marine environment, has questioned “revolving doors” between the fishing industry and the Scottish Government, which regulates the sector.
Andrew Brown has been appointed chair of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association’s (SWFPA) scallop committee following the conviction of John MacAlister, who was ordered to pay £187,170 after illegal dredging took place off the coast of Yorkshire.
Brown is former head of fisheries strategy and environment at the Scottish Government with 20 years experience of the industry.
The SWFPA is the largest fishing association in Europe, representing around 200 vessels and 1,400 fishermen. It consists of six committees, each supporting a different area of Scotland’s seafood production industry.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has launched an investigation after receiving complaints from environmental conservationists over the use of “seal scarers” by a company which has fish farms in Argyll and Bute, according to The Ferret.
The row is over the use of acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs), aka seal scarers, which are used to deter seals from attacking fish farms by emitting a sound in the water they find unpleasant.
Critics of seal scarers – devices branded as “sonic torture” – claim they cause hearing damage and stress in dolphins, porpoises and whales and therefore breach legislation to protect cetaceans.
