This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Seal management plan for Moray Firth
28/04/2005
A plan to balance the conservation of the Moray Firth's seal
population with the interests of salmon fisheries was today
welcomed by Deputy Environment and Rural Development Minister
Lewis Macdonald.
The first of its kind, the Moray Firth Seal Management Plan
will reduce the impact of shooting by at least 60% compared to
2002. The Plan will also involve trialling non-lethal seal
management options to explore the potential for reducing the
level of shooting further still.
These non-lethal measures will include the use of acoustic
scarers, with a view to the implementation of practical methods
without affecting the local bottlenose dolphin population.
Lewis Macdonald said:
"This pilot seal management plan for the Moray Firth seeks
to develop a more co-ordinated approach to protecting the
area's fisheries and seal populations.
"The trialling of non-lethal methods of seal management
under-pinned by a substantial research and monitoring programme
will help inform the future development of the plan."
Mike Comerford, Chairman of the Moray Firth Partnership
said:
"The Seal Plan is a constructive and positive step towards
addressing this challenging issue. The Moray Firth Partnership
welcomes this process of coming together and working hard to
find common ground between the different parties involved."
Andrew Wallace, Director of the Association of Salmon
Fishery Boards, commented:
"This innovative project is an attempt to reconcile the
competing demands associated with two important Habitats
Directive listed species. The fact that the initiative has such
a wide cross-section of support, and has Scottish Executive
endorsement, is a credit to all those who have worked so hard
to bring this plan into being."
Superintendent Mike Flynn from the Scottish SPCA
commented:
"The Society supports the Plan as it should dramatically
reduce the numbers of seals taken. From a welfare perspective,
it will also ensure that anyone involved in the taking of the
seals will have received appropriate training and will be
competent for the task. Finally, the Plan will place a greater
emphasis on the use of non-lethal methods when dealing with the
various seal issues."
The Moray Firth Seal Management Plan is an initiative
involving all the Moray Firth District Salmon Fishery Boards,
local salmon netsmen, the Sea Mammal Research Unit, the
Fisheries Research Services and Scottish Natural Heritage. It
has been endorsed by the Scottish Executive and has broad
support from the Scottish Seals Forum, the Moray Firth
Partnership and the Scottish Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (Scottish SPCA).
It is intended as a pilot initiative to enable the District
Salmon Fishery Boards, based in the Moray Firth area, to manage
seal impacts on salmon stocks and salmon Special Areas of
Conservation (SAC), whilst safeguarding the integrity of the
Dornoch Firth SAC for common seals. It will also be used to
inform seal management operations elsewhere in the country.
The Plan encompasses 12 DSFBs, 17 major salmon rivers and 19
active salmon netting stations. It also covers six SACs for
Atlantic Salmon, as well as the Dornoch Firth SAC for common
seals and the Moray Firth SAC for bottlenose dolphins.
Any shooting of seals under the Plan will be carried out
under licence by experienced individuals who have attended
training courses and will follow a code of practice. It will
take place within tightly defined 'management areas', where
predation of salmon by seals is considered to be most
significant, and away from known seal breeding and haul out
sites in the estuaries. No shooting is planned within the
Dornoch Firth SAC itself.
Seal management under the Plan will be reviewed
annually.
A £356,000 research and monitoring programme will run
alongside the Plan. SEERAD is contributing £219,000 and the
programme is also supported by the Association of Salmon
Fishery Boards, Scottish Natural Heritage, the Atlantic Salmon
Trust and private sources, This will highlight the effects of
seal management on salmon fisheries and on seal populations and
will inform the future evolution of the Plan.