Kinlochbervie Fish Selling Company, a subsidiary company of Don Fishing Co., were fined £3000 for causing pollution in the harbour at Loch Bervie, at Dornoch Sheriff Court recently. The case was taken to court after the Scottish Environment Protection Agency submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal.

SEPA received information about the oil spill on 8 July 1998, and our investigations revealed that procedures for transferring oil from one storage tank to another had not been carried out correctly, which led to a 100ft long slick in Highland Harbour last summer.

Tom Inglis, Divisional Manager for SEPA North Region, said of the fine:
"SEPA welcome the fine imposed for this serious incident. Pollution incidents associated with oil or fuel storage continue to be a significant proportion of pollution incidents recorded each year.

"SEPA is concerned about the pollution potential of any inappropriately sited or poorly operated fuel or oil stores close to watercourses, in both urban and remote areas. In this incident, the ecosystem is relatively unspoilt and fish and shellfish farms help to support the local economy, which could be threatened by a pollution incident like this. Organisations need to be aware of the potential damage that can be caused to the environment by an oil spill and the penalty for causing pollution."