Anti-salmon farming activist fails to secure new appeal against Mowi ban 

Anti-salmon farming activist Don Staniford has lost his bid to appeal against a decision made by the Sheriff Appeal Court earlier this year, which upheld a ban from Mowi fish pens. He is also facing an order to pay legal costs incurred by Mowi.

Staniford was banned from going within 15 metres of pens used by Mowi Scotland when the company was granted an interdict (the Scottish version of an injunction) against the activist at Oban Sheriff Court in September last year.

He appealed that ban at the Sheriff Appeal Court in Edinburgh in February and won a partial victory when Mowi’s counsel, Jonathan Barne KC, said he would be prepared to accept the removal of three conditions of the interdict.

Barne said he would agree to the lifting of bans on Staniford approaching closer than 15 metres from a pen, and the removal of a clause forbidding the activist from “encouraging” people to take part in similar activity to his own.

He also conceded that a ban on flying drones over farms – which Staniford says he has never personally done – could be removed.

No access to pens

Those conditions were removed in the Appeal Court’s ruling, but a ban forbidding Staniford “from boarding, entering onto, physically occupying, attaching himself to, or attaching vessels to all structures, docks, walkways, buildings, floats or pens” of 47 Mowi seawater and freshwater sites, and “instructing, procuring or facilitating others to so act” remained in place.

Staniford, who has a history of climbing on to salmon pen walkways to film moribund fish with a GoPro camera attached to a long pole for use in anti-salmon farming videos, wanted to appeal against that ban.

“I am obviously extremely disappointed,” he told Fish Farming Expert after failing to secure leave to appeal at a hearing in the Extra Division of the Inner House of the Court of Session, Scotland’s supreme civil court, in Edinburgh today. “It sets a dangerous precedent and chilling effect.”

He said Mowi has also been awarded costs.

Other hearings coming

The decision is relevant to salmon farmers Scottish Sea Farms and Bakkafrost Scotland, who are both seeking interdicts against Staniford but had suspended legal action because of his appeals. The activist has previously given an undertaking to a court that he will not visit SSF farms until the company’s application for an interdict has been heard.

An application by Bakkafrost Scotland for an interdict was due to be heard in late September but was postponed until December 23 for legal reasons.