Data Analysis

Data analysis of the SEPA classifications of Environmental Monitoring Surveys at the Veantrow Bay compared to other sites.

Since Scottish Sea Farms Ltd acquired the Shapinsay (Veantrow Bay) salmon farm in 2007, 78% of SEPA environmental surveys have rated it Unsatisfactory. This is nearly three times higher than the national average.

Bar graph comparing Veantrow Bay environmental surveys to the national average. Veantrow Bay is significanly worse than the national average.

Shapinsay (Veantrow Bay) is environmentally the worst-performing salmon farm in Orkney and ranks 6th worst out of 232 active sites in Scotland.

Bar graph ranking all Orkney fish farms by percentage of SEPA surveys rated Unsatisfactory. Shapinsay is on the far/worst end.

Scottish Sea Farms Ltd operates 7 of the 10 worst-performing salmon farms in Scotland.

Bar graphs showing average survey outcomes of 10 worst-performing sites with operator names beside.

Before Scottish Sea Farms Ltd took over in 2007, all environmental surveys at Veantrow Bay were rated Satisfactory.
After the takeover, results fell to Borderline, then Unsatisfactory, and stayed that way for over a decade.
In 2020, the site’s maximum biomass was cut from 1,264t to 948t. Yet even after this reduction, the farm managed just one Compliant survey in 2022, before slipping back to Unsatisfactory.

Plot showing environmental surveys at Veantrow Bay over time. If Scottish Sea Farms Ltd cannot maintain compliance even after a max biomass reduction, they should not be permitted to increase biomass by 2.5 times.