Angry fishermen ban SNH from meeting 7/9/11
Scottish Natural Heritage was banned from a fishermen’s meeting over the Government agency’s role in imposing controversial environmental designations on fishing grounds around Barra.
The site off East Mingulay hosts the UK only example of the coldwater coral lophelia. Scallop trawling will be outlawed within the area and shellfish creels will be banned over reefs.
Flouting the Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) rules would be a criminal offence
but local fishermen stress it would affect their livelihoods and hit on-
Similar restrictions are proposed in the Sound of Barra -
SNH staff had been invited to give a presentation to the AGM. But fishermen say the agency is totally ignoring the views of islanders and riding roughshod over their concerns.
Feelings were running high against the agency and SNH staff were barred from going in.
SNH said they had changed their weekend plans to allow them to attend the meeting to deliver a presentation to the association as requested.
A SNH spokesman said: “We are disappointed that our staff did not have the opportunity to make a presentation, as they had been asked.
“We are committed to the consultation process and we are committed to talking to all those involved.”
SNP councillor Donald Manford previously accused SNH of “failing to abide by due process, withholding information and failing to provide answers to questions, the minister indicated that he would meet with the campaign group to address our concerns.”
He fears another “shameless sham consultation” over the latest “remorseless attack” on the Sound of Barra fishing grounds which, he says would led to destroying enterprise and jobs.