UPDATE ON THE OBAN HEARING.

The SLAPP case brought by fish farm giant MOWI against the lone activist Don Staniford has been recognised by the international organisation CASE Europe and their latest report can be accessed here: 

Iain asked me for a report on the legal debate in the case, as he knew I would be watching the proceedings in Oban Sheriff Court by online link. While I was willing to do so, I was, in common with any other observer of the legal scene in Scotland just now, rightly fearful of doing anything that might be interpreted as contempt of court. When anyone not actually an accredited journalist risks being held to a higher standard than those who are, the effects are chilling. My fear was intensified by the knowledge that Don Staniford had already received a threat that anything he wrote might form the basis of a complaint to the sheriff. 

In the event I needn’t have worried, because the industry itself, via the trade magazine Intrafish, has put out a report from the journalist Dominic Welling, under the headline “Mowi court battle with notorious salmon farming opponent gets underway in Scotland” and in my view he’s done a pretty fair job, so here goes:

“Attorneys for both sides laid out their arguments in a court hearing Thursday as Mowi Scotland’s bid to obtain a permanent injunction against salmon farming activist Don Staniford officially got underway in the Scottish courts. The two sides presented their cases to the Oban Sheriff Court, after which the sheriff said he will reflect on the submissions and issue a decision in the future.”

“Staniford is well known in Scotland for entering salmon farms without permission and conducting undercover filming. Mowi is asking the court to stop Staniford from entering onto, attaching vessels to, or approaching within 15 meters of all structures, docks, walkways, buildings, floats or netpens at its salmon aquaculture farming sites in Scotland”.

“Staniford’s defense largely centers around the public right to navigate on the sea and sea lochs in Scotland. His attorney argued he has the right of passage to navigate on the water, and when accessing the cage structures, his actions could be considered “transitory” and, as they occurred during navigation, are lawful.”

“Staniford’s attorney called the injunction “unnecessary and disproportionate”. He also claimed Staniford’s actions were in the public interest because he carries out journalistic and watchdog functions. Information gathering is an essential step inherent in journalism and performing a watchdog function, the attorney argued, with the material gathered by Staniford used to inform mass media and make animal welfare complaints.”

“Staniford’s attorney argued Mowi is seeking the injunction to protect itself from reputational damage, a claim Mowi’s attorney vehemently denied. “I don’t need to address reputational damage because that’s irrelevant. We aren’t in any sense trying to gag what is said by Mr. Staniford,” he said. “I would like it known that is not the reason for this, and it’s certainly not accepted.”

“In reality, Mowi said, it is bringing this action to safeguard its employees, who have been harassed on a number of occasions at their workplace by Staniford over the years. “To have third parties gaining access without any safety protocols, is simply not acceptable,” said Mowi’s attorney. Ultimately there has been an invasion of Mowi’s property rights and there is a reasonable apprehension there will continue to be an invasion, said the attorney.”

To summarise, interdict, our Scottish version of an injunction, is a remedy used to protect a potential victim from harm, typically in a domestic violence situation. To obtain the order, MOWI must show that they are being, or likely to be caused, some harm, which they identify as due to their employees being harassed. In his defence, Don Staniford states that he has tried at all costs to avoid any interaction with employees, by visiting offshore fish cages early in the morning. It’s beyond dispute that MOWI only got to know about most of his visits, to under a dozen sites, because he immediately publicised them and, where appropriate, reported incidents of fish death and abuse to the authorities. There is no suggestion that he has ever damaged anything; in this critical respect his activities are almost the opposite of groups such as Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion and its sister, Ocean Rebellion. He maintains that his work feeds into mainstream journalism, indeed his reports have featured in programmes on BBC, Channel Four and France 5. 

What is absolutely clear is that the activities of people like Don Staniford in visiting the battery cages and recording the sordid conditions under which  your supermarket sandwich is produced is hugely damaging to an industry which markets its products on the concept of the wild Scottish salmon, leaping up its natal river after years on the ocean. But, rightly, MOWI know that the court will not protect them from reputational damage. We now await the written judgement, which can be expected in two or three months time. 

Meantime, life, or perhaps death, on the farms goes on. Yesterday my inbox received a message that included the following:

“Please spread the word that there seems to be an incident in progress at Carradale fish farm, which journalists or eco-investigators like Corin or Jon Staniford might like to know about. I heard last night that tankers with ‘Bowie’ written on them have been travelling backwards and forwards to the village by road for about five days and there is apparently an awful smell in the village. I think they may have a major mortality incident occurring….Interestingly, when we alerted the Council a week or so ago to the Google Earth satellite photograph showing a well boat spewing out pollution at Carradale, it provoked an emotional reaction from Mowi (using words like defamatory) and it is perhaps not a coincidence that Google updated the photograph to show a less offensive scene immediately afterwards.”

MY COMMENTS

As always I am grateful to Ewan for his knowledge and experience on all matters legal. I have been interested in this case since Ewan’s first article, clearly for environmental reasons but also it is very much in the public interest that there is effective monitoring of salmon farming practice in our waters. Past experience strongly evidences this is necessary. Moreover there are Constitutional elements to this, licences for this industry fall under the auspices of the Crown in Scotland. Unlike England where the Crown is the monarch in Scotland the Crown is the people of Scotland with the Crown Office in Scotland being like a trustee for the people. Cases like this denying people access to the sea and sea bed seems contrary to what is in the best interests of the Scottish people. Finally please consider Ewan’s opening remarks where he indicated he felt threatened writing anything about this because of Lady Dorian’s statement during Craig Murray’s trial that anyone, other than those employed by the giant news organisations, can be judged at different, higher standards. This is clearly a intimidatory statement that should have no place in any country where justice and free speech is present. It should be out of place in Scotland. Is it?

I am, as always

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