Kevin KeaneEnvironment, energy and rural affairs correspondent, BBC Scotland
Bally Philp
One of the two boats filmed fishing inside the marine protected area
The Scottish government is investigating after two boats were filmed allegedly scallop dredging in a marine protected area (MPA) in the north-west Highlands.
The footage shows the Dawn Maid, and one other boat, hauling up its gear after being challenged in Loch Alsh between the Scottish mainland and Skye.
Environmental group Open Seas says it shows that monitoring of protected waters isn’t working.
The boat’s owner says the skippers chose the area after advice from the local fishery officer and left when they realised their mistake.
The activity was spotted on Sunday morning by a creel fisherman who said the scallop dredging had been happening for many hours.
He approached the boats on a rib to inform the skippers that the area was closed to mobile fishing and had been for the past ten years.
One skipper told him he believed fishing was allowed until the 1st October.
After a short time, both boats hauled up their dredging equipment and left the area.
NatureScot/Scottish Government
Millions of flame shells, normally found in deeper waters, live on the seabed
The campaign group Open Seas has condemned the “reckless and illegal” dredging and has described it as a betrayal of Scottish society’s investment in our seas.
Director Phil Taylor added: “Scallop dredging is so damaging that dredge boats use an area, causing enormous damage, and then simply move on from the depleted seabeds.
“This incident shows that the dredge industry is out of control and measures to establish a sustainable management system for it are not working.”
He said the vessel tracking systems which are meant to monitor fishing activity and alert authorities when incidents occur “appear not to be working”.
Local creel fisherman Bally Philp says the dredger has undone a decade of restoration
The Marine Protected Area covers three deep sea lochs; Loch Alsh, Loch Duich and Loch Long.
It’s home to about 100 million bright red flame shells and is the largest known habitat of the animal anywhere in the world.
The muddy seabed contains a network of burrowed chambers which are home to many species which would only normally be found in much deeper waters offshore.
Bally Philp, the creel fisherman who filmed the scallop dredgers, said the local fleet sacrificed a lot for the marine protected area.
He added: “It’s really frustrating because we’ve invested in trying to improve the health of our marine environment and that investment has been undermined by someone outwith our community.”
Fishery officers
In 2017, emergency measures were introduced on nearby Loch Carron after a dredger caused significant damage to a large flame shell reef.
The reef had been discovered five years earlier and was estimated to contain about 250 million flame shells.
Subsequent dives to the seabed revealed the extent of the damage but the skipper involved had legally done nothing wrong because the site contained no restrictions.
That wasn’t the case though at Loch Alsh where an MPA has been in place since 2014.
One of the boats involved in the Loch Alsh incident, the Dawn Maid, is part owned by Mull-based businessman Calum MacLachlainn.
He told BBC Scotland news that he wanted answers from Marine Scotland on why his skipper was given incorrect information by fisheries officers.
He added: “Both skippers involved acted on advice given to them.
“I was told a number of years ago by Marine Scotland to check with local fishery officers if there was any ambiguity at all.”
Mr MacLachlainn said he would welcome a discussion with the fisheries authority.
The Scottish government confirmed it had received a report of illegal fishing, adding: “We can confirm we are investigating an incident in the Loch Alsh area over the weekend.”
The spokesperson was asked specifically about reports that fishermen had been given incorrect information to which they added: “As this is a live investigation the Scottish Government is not able to comment further.”