A study launched following claims that 200 lambs were killed by sea eagles has uncovered no such attacks.
But crofters who made the accusations claim the five-month project which saw 60 lambs tagged was doomed for failure - because the tags were so big they put the birds of prey off.
The experiment was set up following claims by farmers in Skye and Wester Ross that sea eagles were responsible for killing more than 200 newborn lambs last year.
The birds were reintroduced to the area in the 1970s and 80s.
Scottish Natural Heritage appointed the Food and Environment Research Agency to carry out a five-month investigation.
Officers tagged 60 lambs with spy-style tracking devices and monitored their fortunes from birth to weaning in a bid to gain an insight into lamb predation.
The study used lambs on two farms at Gairloch in Wester Ross.
The investigation ended in August and a draft report into the study is expected to show that none of the tagged lambs were attacked by eagles.
An SNH spokesman said: "The indications on the impact of sea eagles on lambs appear to be low.
"In fact an analysis of the content of the eagles' nests showed that the most common prey were seabirds."
The draft report will now be sent to a working group involving SNH, crofters and the RSPB, and is due to be formally released next month.
But Willie Fraser, a local crofter and member of the project steering group who has seen the draft report, claims the results are not realistic.
He said: "I'm not surprised that the sea eagles did not take a single one of the radio-tagged lambs.
"The tags were so big and black it would have put the eagles off. They are still a major problem though they have not been so bad this year."
However, he added: "People started losing lambs again at the end of the study period after August. It is something that will need sorting out."
Crofters who claim to have had lambs killed by sea eagles had been seeking compensation for their loss.
Last updated: 03 November 2009, 13:10
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