Scottish environmental campaigners and local councils have opposed a plan by Forth Ports to allow the transfer of oil from Russian vessels to other ships in the Forth. And they appear to have the sympathy of the Scottish Green Party.
Green Members of the Scottish Parliament have said that Forth Ports could be prevented from sanctioning such operations if the Scottish Executive rules that they pose a threat to a sizeable marine population, including protected species. Forth Ports' emergency plans to cope with accidents have, however, been approved by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.
During October and November last year, the Green Party ran a sightings hotline for the Forth, which recorded 99 sightings of creatures including bottle-nosed dolphins and minke, pilot and orca whales.
Even so, the party has stated that there is insufficient information about numbers of cetaceans in the Forth and the associated risk level - but that it will campaign to prevent the oil transfer scheme from going ahead until a clearer picture emerges.
Knowledge of local cetacean populations is held by groups including university research teams, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, and the Marine Conservation Society. |
