Cetaceans, basking sharks and seals Scottish Natural ......Scottish Natural Heritage Basking shark...
Transcript of Cetaceans, basking sharks and seals Scottish Natural ......Scottish Natural Heritage Basking shark...
Scottish Natural Heritage Cetaceans, basking sharks and seals
Out of sight, out of mind?
Fiona Manson Scottish Natural Heritage
Sharing Good Practice, 30 August 2018
Scottish Natural Heritage
1. Species & relevant legislation
• Cetaceans
• Basking shark
• Seals
2. Pressures / “crimes”
3. Challenges (& solutions…)
What I’ll cover today
Scottish Natural Heritage Cetaceans
• Whales, dolphins and porpoises
• 23 species recorded
• Common / regular / resident
• Occasional / rare
• Long-lived, slow breeding mammals
• Sensitive to noise
Scottish Natural Heritage
EU Habitats Directive
Conservation (Natural Habitats &c) Regulations 1994:
• Offence to deliberately or recklessly kill, capture, injure, harass or
disturb a European Protected Species (cetaceans, otters, turtles)
• 39(2) – Offence to deliberately or recklessly disturb any cetacean
• Offence to possess, transport, sell or exchange,
any live or dead EPS (or any part of…)
• Licence can grant exemption for certain activities
Cetaceans – legislation
Scottish Natural Heritage
Nature Conservation Marine
Protected Areas proposals
Risso’s dolphin
Minke whale
Cetaceans – protected sites
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)
• Bottlenose dolphin – Moray Firth
• Harbour porpoise – Inner Hebrides &
the Minches
Scottish Natural Heritage Basking shark
• Second largest fish
• Filter feeder
• Migrate large distances
• In Scotland, mainly seen in summer months
• Populations still recovering from fishery
Scottish Natural Heritage Basking shark – the legislation
Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981:
• Offence to deliberately or recklessly kill, capture,
injure, harass or disturb a basking shark
• Licence can grant exemption for certain activities
Nature Conservation Marine
Protected Area proposal
Sea of the Hebrides
Scottish Natural Heritage Seals
• Two species: harbour seal and grey seal
• Distinct breeding seasons
• Large declines in harbour seals in some regions
Scottish Natural Heritage Seals – the legislation
Marine (Scotland) Act 2010:
Offence to:
• Deliberately or recklessly kill, injure or take a seal
• Intentionally or recklessly harass seals at significant haul-out
sites
Supersedes Conservation of Seals Act 1970
Removes “netsmen’s defence” and closed/open seasons
Licence can grant exemption for certain activities
Habitats Regulations 1994:
Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)
• Harbour seals – 9 sites
• Grey seals – 6 sites
Scottish Natural Heritage Concerns / Pressures
Potential Impacts
Collision
Entanglement
Loss of prey
Pollution
Underwater noise
• Auditory injury
• Disturbance & displacement
Management
• Processes in place for assessing and managing impacts
e.g. EIA, licensing
• Dolphin and Porpoise Conservation Strategy
– under development
Activities
Fishing
Aquaculture
Coastal developments
Energy
Shipping
MoD
Marine wildlife watching
• Commercial
• Recreational
Scottish Natural Heritage
Recreational
activities
Wildlife
tourism
Scottish Natural Heritage Scottish Natural Heritage
Value of marine wildlife watching
Globally – Whale watching tours are run in 119 countries with an estimated 13 million
participants generating in excess of $2.1 billion (£1.1 bn) annually
Data: Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism
in Scotland report, 2010
In Scotland “Visitors who are primarily motivated by wildlife”
Marine and coastal
• Visitor spend – £163 million
• Net economic impact – £40 million
• 1,600 jobs
• Mainly in rural areas
• Growing…
Scottish Natural Heritage Potential impacts
Short-term impacts • Disturbance – noise, presence of vessels or people
• Displacement – from foraging areas, breeding sites
• Separating calves and mothers
• Injury – collision, propeller damage, stranding
Long-term impacts • Reduced survival
• Reduced fertility
• Population-level effects – abundance and distribution
Cumulative impacts
Scottish Natural Heritage
• Understanding of animal behaviour – what is disturbance?
Challenges (& solutions….?)
Scottish Natural Heritage
Deliberately or recklessly kill, capture, injure, harass, or disturb
What is disturbance?
The result of interaction with people
that changes the behaviour of an animal
which affects the well-being or survival of an animal
in the short, medium or long-term.
Scottish Natural Heritage
• Understanding of animal behaviour – what is disturbance?
• Perceptions of disturbance
Challenges (& solutions….?)
Scottish Natural Heritage
• Understanding of animal behaviour – what is disturbance?
• Perceptions of disturbance
• Lack of awareness of consequences for animals
• Lack of awareness of offences
• Most disturbance is unintentional
• Need for awareness raising and education
Challenges (& solutions….?)
Scottish Natural Heritage
Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code
WiSe scheme
Accreditation for wildlife tour operators
Public training courses
www.wisescheme.org
• Provide guidance, advice and information
• Minimise disturbance to wildlife
• Help you enjoy watching marine wildlife
• Provide a standard for the industry
• Help you stay within the law
Awareness raising and education
Scottish Natural Heritage
• Understanding of animal behaviour – what is disturbance?
• Perceptions of disturbance
• Lack of awareness of consequences for animals
• Lack of awareness of offences
• Most disturbance is unintentional
• Need for awareness raising and education
• Uncertainty about who to report to
• Difficulties of enforcement
Challenges (& solutions….?)
Scottish Natural Heritage
Concluding slide??
Happy pictures