From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2021, 04:07
Subject: Welfare complaint re. Kames at Shuna Castle & Kames Bay
To: <[email protected]
Cc: Gougeon M (Mairi), MSP <[email protected]
Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2021, 04:07
Subject: Welfare complaint re. Kames at Shuna Castle & Kames Bay
To: <[email protected]
Cc: Gougeon M (Mairi), MSP <[email protected]
Please consider this a formal complaint for breaches of the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 (Section 19: Unnecessary Suffering; and Section 24: Ensuring Welfare of Animals) by Kames at two RSPCA Assured fish farms on 1 & 2 September 2021; namely:
#1: Shuna Castle in the Sound of Jura at the North East side of Shuna Island (adjacent to the castle) near Craobh Haven and the entrance to Loch Melfort:
#2: Kames Bay in Loch Melfort just west of Kames Pier near Kilmelford:
Note the site is listed via:
FS0462 Kames Bay (east) - Scotland's Aquaculture
Note that the cages which Scottish Salmon Watch filmed at on 1 September were not the cages right by Kames Pier with the red pins in the map but the cages further out in Kames Bay - I cannot find if these are called Kames Bay West or some other name. i.e. these cages further out into Loch Melfort:
Apologies but I am currently still in the field and my internet connection does not like the Scotland's Aquaculture web-site for some reason.
I have managed to upload photos and video of Scottish Salmon Watch's visits to Kames Bay (1 September) and Shuna Castle (2 September) fish farms via:
Kames Fish Farming on 2 September 2021 at Shuna Castle: online here
Kames Fish Farming on 1 September 2021 at Kames Bay and Kames Pier: online here
Photo summary of secret filming at Kames Fish Farming on 1 & 2 September: online here
Video footage is available via (note that in the commentary I thought the fish may have been salmon but it seems that the fish are steelhead trout - a species of salmonid and considered to be more salmon than trout):
https://vimeo.com/597073481/
https://vimeo.com/597055375/
https://vimeo.com/597068543/
The photos clearly show shocking levels of lice-infestation, disease and mortalities at Kames.
Scottish Salmon Watch recommends an urgent inspection visit to Shuna Castle and Kames Bay - the four Mowi salmon farms subject of Scottish Salmon Watch's welfare complaint on 19 July 2021 (as detailed below) have all been harvested out and there are no fish in the cages (although last night we saw a well boat which may have been re-stocking Bagh Dail nan Ceann).
Last night at 10.30pm on the road near Kilmelford I saw three lorries carrying what appeared to be dead salmon. It seems that Mowi workers - who transport morts to Kames pier - are being employed by Kames to work on the Shuna Castle fish farm.
Please acknowledge receipt of this welfare complaint.
Thanks,
Don Staniford
Scottish Salmon Watch