MARINE campaigners have accused government officials of endangering the public after they refused to reveal the fishfarm sites where seals are shot.

Don Staniford, of Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture, spoke out after the names of companies licensed to shoot seals were published in response to a Freedom of Information request. They include Hjaltland Seafarms, The Scottish Salmon Company, Scottish Sea Farms, Marine Harvest (Scotland), Northern Isles Salmon (Meridian Group) and Lakeland Marine Farm.

But the Government refused to identify the particular sites of seal shooting, claiming it would endanger fishfarms and their workers.

Mr Staniford said: "If [the government agency] Marine Scotland was interested in public safety, shouldn't the public be informed of the locations at which seals will be shot and a safety cordon placed around the area?"

However, Marine Scotland said that revealing precise locations of the cull "could possibly lead to criminal damage [from activists] and endanger the safety of individuals employed on those sites and/or result in environmental contamination".