Shellfish Production

The industry is predominated by small scale businesses, providing employment opportunities in remote locations throughout the west coast and Outer Isles of Scotland. The cultivation methods employed are labour intensive and the stock held in the water is prone to many risks, often resulting in significant losses.

Production of mussels farmed in Scotland has increased steadily, with a recent sharp rise in Shetland.

Seabed rentals for shellfish are formula-based, linked to the amount of equipment on site. The majority of farms pay a relatively small amount which reflects the nature of the industry, largely comprised of small scale farms.

Important Changes to the Granting of Fish Farming Consents

On 7 March 2007 an order was approved by the Scottish Parliament that will give planning authorities statutory planning powers for aquaculture developments in marine waters.

The Town and Country Planning (Marine Fish Farming) (Scotland) Order 2007 came into force on 1 April 2007 and replaced the previous 'interim scheme' which had been in operation since the late 1990s. There were changes in Orkney and Shetland too where applications for fish farms are now being made under the new scheme rather than the current works licence system.

Applications for new sites, or modifications to existing ones, should now be made to the relevant planning department, including the payment of a planning fee based on the scale of development. Wide consultation will take place and the environmental impact assessment regulations will continue to apply.

If a site is approved then there will be a presumption that the planning consent will be granted without time limit, an important change to the current system where finfish sites go through a renewal process every fifteen years.

Applications made under the previous scheme, but where a decision was not made by 1 April 2007, will be considered under that scheme through to a conclusion. A cut-off date of 1 April 2010 will be set to consider these applications and any applications still with us on that date will be deemed to have lapsed.

Existing fish farms will be given permanent planning permission once they have been through a review process and they are found to be compliant. The review's primary aim will be to ensure that a farm has been properly assessed against environmental and nature conservation regulations. This process will be handled by the Scottish Executive directly.

The Crown Estate Lease

An important point about the new scheme is that the planning permission will be attached to the area of foreshore / seabed in question and will not be company specific. Where the foreshore / seabed is Crown owned then the right to occupy the site will be by means of a lease from The Crown Estate as landowner.

Seabed Rent

An annual rent will continue to be charged for the lease. The rent is based on the level of authorised equipment regardless of whether the site is developed to its full capacity.

Rents are charged annually in advance on 1 January and an apportionment will be charged for the first year if the lease starts on a date other than 1 January.

The rents for shellfish farms are reviewed every five years in consultation with representatives of the shellfish industry. The current rates are as follows (figures rounded to the nearest pound):

Further Information

• The Town and Country Planning (Marine Fish Farming)(Scotland) Order 2007
• Scottish Executive
• Scottish Councils Gain Formal Marine Aquaculture Planning Role
  21 November 2006

Any questions relating to the current application and consultation process should be directed to:

Paul Bancks
Coastal Manager
The Crown Estate
6 Bell's Brae
Edinburgh
EH4 3BJ

telephone 0131 260 6083
fax 0131 260 6090
email

For further information on our Scottish holdings, please visit our Scotland page.