THE country's top chef has hit out at moves towards legalising fishing with electricity in Scottish waters, warning the controversial process risks shattering fragile eco-systems.
SNP ministers are considering applying to Brussels for an exemption to an EU ban to allow electrofishing for razor clams, which involves trailing electrodes from boats to shock the sea bed, stunning the valuable shellfish causing them to rise up where they are easily pocketed by divers.
Advocates of the technique point to a recent Marine Scotland report, which found it did not do the environmental damage that had previously been feared and while the electric current had stunned other species making them vulnerable to predators, it did not cause direct fatalities.
Andrew Fairlie, Scotland's only chef with two Michelin stars, said he was strongly opposed to the practice, having banned razor clams from his menus at his prestigious restaurant in Gleneagles after learning the technique was being used illegally to land the shellfish. Razor clams are considered a gastronomic delicacy which can attract high prices in Europe and the Far East.
Meanwhile, MSPs indicated they would fight any application made to the EU, branding the technique "indiscriminate" and raising concern over the potential dangers to electro-sensory species such as sharks.
Mr Fairlie, whose father is a former deputy leader of the SNP and ahead of the referendum campaign served on the board of Yes Scotland, said any move towards legalisation without "absolute facts" would be a risk not worth taking.
He said: "I am puzzled about why they would apply for an exemption. Europe has banned this for a reason and I can't understand why the SNP would want to go back on that.
"I'm concerned about the impact on other species in what are such delicate eco-systems as well as long-term sustainability. I don't think it's worth the risk and we've been down the road so many times about the consequences of over fishing.
"If Scotland was to apply for an exemption, it will be open season. Then where does that leave us in 10 or 15 years? It's a dangerous form of fishing and I don't think it's worth allowing for the sake of however many millions of pounds for fishermen's bank balances."
Tom Kitchin, another of Scotland's Michelin star chefs, has also previously spoken out against electrofishing, branding it "idiocy" in an open letter to the Scottish Government.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead is weighing up applying for an exemption, despite admitting that the Marine Scotland investigation had not addressed the broader question of long-term sustainability nor the medium to long-term effects of electrofishing on marine life.
MSP and former SNP education secretary, Mike Russell, has said he supports a trial scheme while an EU derogation already applies to some Dutch boats.
The Scottish Government had announced a crackdown on electrofishing amid claims the razor clams were proving more lucrative than selling drugs to criminal gangs illegally using the technique off Argyll, before ministers softened their stance following the Marine Scotland research.
But Green MSP Alison Johnstone, the deputy convener of Holyrood's cross-party group on animal welfare, said she would make "every effort" to oppose any relaxation in the law, which has been in force across Europe since 1998.
She added: "Electro-fishing is indiscriminate, makes non-target fish susceptible to predators, and there is a lack of research on what impact it has on electro-sensory animals such as sharks.
"The restriction on electro-fishing was brought in for sound reasons, so it's alarming to hear that the Scottish Government is considering a derogation from EU law, and it's a concern to see a former minister promoting the idea. Animal welfare and sustainability must be paramount."
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