The company planned to locate small salmon cages on a loch and "let the locals get used to it" before applying to introduce larger ones in two or three years' time. The aim was to avoid "lengthy, tiring, negative PR battles". The revelations have sparked fury amongst fish farm opponents, who accuse the company of betraying "cynical contempt" for local people by hiding their plans for future expansion. However, the company alleges that campaigners have distorted the facts in an attempt to discredit the fish farming industry.