Fears for birds as more wind farms at sea get go-ahead – Sunday Post
They are being hailed as the future of green energy, offering clean
electricity for millions of Scots.
Seventeen new offshore wind farms are set to be built after an auction of
seabed plots off the Scottish coast earlier this year.
The wind farms, around Scotland’s east, north east and north coasts, will
reduce the country’s carbon dioxide emissions by around one eighth.
But not everyone has welcomed the plan for giant new turbines. RSPB
Scotland criticised the announcement, claiming it could “accelerate some
seabird species towards extinction in Scotland”.
Now the threat to whales, dolphins, porpoises and other marine mammals is
to be studied more closely.
Naturescot, Scotland’s nature agency, is to appoint a full-time Marine
Mammal Ecologist.
The agency’s advert says: “Naturescot are committed to supporting the
transformation required to tackle both the climate emergency and
biodiversity loss crisis to ensure a nature-rich future with sustainable
use of our seas and land.”
The post will involve developing conservation measures to help protect sea
mammals. Last year a leading scientist warned the Scottish Government that
expanding the size and range of marine industries while simultaneously
recovering the natural environment “seems counter intuitive”.
Dr Sam Collin, the Scottish Wildlife Trust’s living seas manager, said the
“most effective way to enhance our seas is to reduce the pressure from
human activity”.
In March a study examining the effects of excessive underwater noise on
whales, dolphins and porpoises revealed that underwater noise disturbance
created by humans can be mistaken by sea creatures as coming from
predators, causing them to stop foraging for food and, therefore, become
weakened and more vulnerable
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-sunday-post-inverness/20220619/281552294527295
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