September 2008

Lamlash Bay Marine Reserve approved
On 22nd September 2008, MCS welcomed the announcement by Scottish Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead that the north part of Lamlash Bay will be closed to all forms of fishing, forming a No-Take Zone. This vindicates all the hard work by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust, working with Clyde Fishermen's Association, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Government, in talks chaired by the Firth of Clyde Forum. Many thanks to all MCS members who sent positive responses to the Scottish Government's proposal for the Lamlash Bay closed area, helping convince the Scottish Government to approve the proposal. From the number of substantive responses, 520 were for the No-Take Zone and only 5 (less than 1%) were against! (Responses can be viewed on the Scottish Government's website along with the MCS response).

COAST Chairman and Seasearch Surveyor Howard Wood said "COAST was started by two members of ScotSAC who saw with their own eyes through the seventies, eighties and nineties the diminishing marine biodiversity in the waters around their island. With the help of Seasearch training we then started to survey what really was there. This enabled both ourselves and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to move forward the community's plans for some marine protection for Lamlash Bay."

To help underpin their successful marine reserve proposal, COAST divers sought Seasearch training from MCS Scotland in 2003 and 2006 to enable them to describe the important seabeds, including maerl, found in Lamlash Bay. Since 2003, they have surveyed over 80 sites in Lamlash Bay, Whiting Bay and the Isle of Pladda, in the process becoming the local experts for their patch. Seasearch evidence gathered by COAST divers helped provide the underpinning evidence for their proposals for Lamlash Bay and also ensured that a sewage outfall was re-routed to avoid discharging on a fragile bed of maerl, one of the healthiest in the Clyde.

Beachwatch 2008

The MCS flagship Beachwatch 2008 event in Scotland at Cramond beach, Edinburgh attracted one of the biggest turnouts ever with over 50 people taking part! The weather was excellent, which contributed to the events popularity, and unusual items found included an old golf bag (although outside the survey area!) and a traffic bollard.

July 2008

Scottish Marine Bill
After many years of campaigning by MCS and other organisations in Scotland, the Scottish Government announced the consultation for a Scottish Marine Bill on Monday 14th July. MCS welcomed the consultation. Since the Scottish Government controls most activities within 12 nautical miles of Scotland's shores, and fisheries and renewables all the way out to 200nm, it is very important that the Scottish Marine Bill links closely to the UK Marine Bill. MCS is calling for the Scottish Marine Bill to deliver:

• Effective protection for our marine wildlife, including a robust network of marine protected areas for marine life important to Scotland, designated using scientific criteria alone.
  
• A marine planning system founded on sustainable development principles to protect and restore Scotland's marine environment, delivering enforceable local plans.
  
• A Scottish Marine Management Organisation to ensure Scotland meets tough targets for the sustainable management and recovery of our seas, protects wildlife and resources for future generations and works closely with UK and other governments.

CLICK HERE AND TAKE ACTION TO SAVE SCOTTISH SEAS

June 2008

Adopt-a-Beach
The MCS team in Scotland organised a successful summer Adopt-a-Beach survey at Cramond beach. Although one of the quieter events, with 14 people, over 1,900 items were collected from just 50m of beach since, due to the beach management discussions, City of Edinburgh Council hadn't cleaned the beach in three months. The results were the most littered the beach had been since MCS surveying began in September 2000. A PR was sent including details of the agreed way forward with Edinburgh Council and AaB results and was covered in the Edinburgh Evening News.

Calum and Anne from MCS and John Dods (Cramond Heritage Trust) met with the City of Edinburgh Council West Edinburgh Environment Manager and beach-cleaning employees to discuss the council cleaning regime at Cramond beach. After MCS and John Dods gave their view, calling on hand-cleaning of all the beach, a compromise was reached whereby Edinburgh Council would hand-pick the upper 3-4m of beach, to protect the marram grass roots at the top of the beach, and mechanically clean the remainder, due to limited Council resources. MCS agreed that this was a reasonable compromise since Cramond can be prone to gross litter aggregations due to the local causeway trapping debris.

Cool Seas
MCS staff in Scotland have been busy raising awareness of Scotland's seas life, with Cool Seas stalls at Scottish Seabird Centre Wildlife Weekend and the Dundee Seashore Festival and talks to Troon Rotary Club (Adopt-a-Beach), Kirkintilloch Rotary Club, North Queensferry Heritage and Deep Sea World.

Seasearch
A successful weekend of Seasearch diving in the Sound of Mull and Lochaline in collaboration with the Sound of Mull Scottish Sustainable Marine Environment Initiative (SSMEI) was organised by MCS using the MV Silver Swift. During the weekend, historic records of flame shells and sea grass beds were confirmed from as well as new records of tall sea pens (BAP species) in Loch Aline and maerl in Calve Island narrows (BAP habitat). Seasearch divers travelled from as far afield as North Wales and Loch Carron to take part in the weekend.

A Seasearch Observation course organised by Calum with Seasearch northeast Scotland co-ordinator Marion Perutz was held at St Andrews University on 31st May. Training dives at Elie, Fife were organised on 1st June. Small Sabellaria spinulosa reefs, previously unrecorded at this site, were found at 6m depth.

May 2008

Marine Reserve in Lamlash Bay Now! - please have your say
The Scottish Government is currently consulting on a proposed Marine Reserve in Lamlash Bay, to form part of a Community Marine Conservation Area for the whole Bay. This is welcome news, following years of hard work by the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), including Seasearch training and advocacy assistance from MCS in Scotland.

BUT it is not yet a done deal! Your input is needed to approve the plan. Please complete and send, before the 5th June, the simple consultation document. The MCS response is here to help inform you. You will be asked the following questions, and we suggest the replies below (but feel free to comment as you wish).

Question 1: Do you agree or disagree with the proposal to establish a Marine Reserve in Lamlash Bay? Agree

Question 2: Do you think there would be any a) positive and b) negative implications should the reserve be established in Lamlash Bay? There will be only positive impacts for marine biodiversity, scientific monitoring, sustainable diving tourism, and overspill of scallop spat for fishing outside the reserve boundary.

Question 3: Are there any other points which you would like to make in relation to the proposed Lamlash Bay Marine Reserve? The Marine Reserve would only cover one small part of Lamlash Bay. I/we support the remainder of the bay also becoming a controlled Fisheries Management Area.

You do not have to be a resident of Scotland to submit a response. Find out how MCS is campaigning for more marine protected areas through a Scottish Marine Bill in collaboration with other organisations at http://www.savescottishseas.org/


April 2008

Cool Seas come to the Scottish Coastal Forum
MCS featured prominently at the Scottish Coastal Forum conference in Glasgow, where the MCS Cool Seas project was promoted and materials displayed and disseminated. For further information or to get involved, please contact MCS Scottish Projects Officer Anne Saunders.

Successful Cool Seas Scotland launch, Largs
The exciting MCS Cool Seas Scotland programme was launched by MCS staff with Scottish Environment Minister Michael Russell MSP and Chair of the Firth of Clyde Forum, Lady Isabel Glasgow, at Largs Sailing club on Friday 18th April. The successful event was also attended by local (Cunninghame North) MSP Kenneth Gibson, Lord Provost for North Ayrshire and Cumbraes Robert Rae, MCS members, local countryside rangers and other coastal education and outreach contacts. Kenneth even lodged a parliamentary motion with cross-party support in recognition of the MCS Cool Seas Scotland project. MCS is especially grateful to rangers from Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park and Eglinton Country Park for helping with a fun and informative seashore safari at Seamill beach.

The MCS Cool Seas Scotland project expands on a successful programme of marine conservation activities in Scotland. Launched at the event were an exciting Cool Seas Scotland activity booklet, Go Wild in the Clyde action leaflet, stunning colour banners raising awareness of Scottish sea life and other new MCS materials for use in Scotland. These complement the fun learning activities on the colourful Cool Seas web-pages (see www.mcsuk.org/coolseas/home). For further information or to get involved, please contact MCS Scottish Projects Officer Anne Saunders.

Spring clean at Cramond
The MCS team in Scotland organised a very successful spring Adopt-a-Beach event with 35 participants, including Cramond Heritage Trust members, collecting 62kg of rubbish! Anne featured with John Dods in the Edinburgh Evening News following the event raising concerns about the effect of mechanically cleaning the beach on the local ecosystem.

March 2008

MCS speak at Scottish Liberal Democrats conference
MCS helped organise a successful fringe event 'A Marine Bill for Scotland - safeguarding our environment, tourism and coastal communities' at the Scottish Liberal Democrats Spring conference in Aviemore on 1st March. This exciting event was organised by MCS and Scottish Environment LINK as part of the http://www.savescottishseas.org/ campaign, and was chaired by Liam McArthur, spokesperson on Enterprise, Energy and Tourism and MSP for Orkney. It was attended by around 40 people. MCS set the Scottish context for links between the health of the marine environment, sustainable tourism and the survival of local business and coastal communities and Claire Matthews, North 58 Sea Adventures, a wildlife tourism operator in the Moray Firth, gave an impassioned local perspective. The audience included Elspeth Attwooll MEP, a representative from the European Commission, Charles Kennedy's researcher and many councillors.

MCS against oil exploration in Moray Firth SAC
MCS submitted concerns regarding the Appropriate Assessment on oil & gas licensing in the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, as part of a Scottish Environment LINK Marine Task Force response. MCS also signed up to a joint response at the UK level. Along with other organisations, MCS is against oil exploration and extraction in the Moray Firth Special Area of Conservation, designated for bottlenose dolphins and sandbanks.

MCS call for more action to protect marine biodiversity
MCS submitted a response to the draft Scottish Marine Biodiversity Implementation Plan 2008-2010, in particular welcoming targets in the plan such as establishing an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas around Scottish waters and proposing Marine Ecosystem Objectibes are established. MCS volunteer projects are highlighted as a practical contribution toward marine biodiversity protection.

February 2008

MCS welcome fine given to Forth polluter
Following the sewage spill from Seafield Sewage Works in April 2007 that MCS recommended an inquiry into, MCS welcome the fact that SEPA fined the polluters, Veolia Water Outsourcing Ltd (previously known as Thames Water Services limited) the operators of Seafield Sewage Treatment Works, £13,500. Temporary back-up pumps should have been in place to prevent the spill, which occurred when the main pump failed after the spare had been taken away for repair.

Cool Seas Scotland
The first Scottish Members' Newsletter was published this month, containing the latest news on the Cool Seas Scotland project, plus an exclusive invite for Scottish MCS members.

MCS prominent at Scottish Environment Week
Calum made a keynote speech at a major marine seminar on the Scottish Marine Bill held at the Scottish Parliament organised as part of Scottish Environment Week. The successful event was hosted and sponsored by Peter Peacock MSP at which oyster farmer Bill McDermott also spoke from a practitioner's perspective in favour of the need for improved marine protection measures through the proposed Scottish Marine Bill. Over 60 delegates from industry, government, parliament and community groups attended and had the opportunity to give their perspective on what a Scottish Marine Bill should deliver.

With many thanks to underwater photographer Paul Kay, MCS also sponsored two striking framed quality prints of a compass jellyfish and reef life that were exhibited at the Scottish Parliament to celebrate Scotland's marine biodiversity as part of Scottish Environment Week and will tour visitor centres throughout Scotland.

A welcome "No" to ship-to-ship transfer proposals for the Firth of Forth
MCS welcomed the announcement by Forth Ports, as also reported by the Scottish Government, to reject proposals by SPT Marine Services for ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth. MCS long opposed the proposal along with local communities, councils and other environment bodies. The risk of spillage during ship-to-ship transfer of oil was unacceptably high for the internationally important marine wildlife and taxpaying residents of coastal communities depending on this stretch of sea. The decision by Forth Ports is sensible, but the regulatory framework that enables such an important decision to be made by a commercial body is far from ideal. MCS therefore also welcomed the recent call to better regulate ship-to-ship oil transfers throughout the UK tabled by Edinburgh North MP Mark Lazarowicz at Westminster.

The decision is a vindication of all the efforts of coastal communities who opposed the ship-to-ship proposals. Worthy of particular mention is Mary Douglas, former MCS Adopt-a-Beach Organiser for Kinghorn Harbour in Fife (wearing glasses in picture). As founder of Kinghorn Harbour Residents Environment Group, Mary submitted a petition to the Scottish Parliament, supported by thousands of local residents and MCS, raising concerns about the ship-to-ship proposals in the Forth.

January 2008

MCS welcomes protection for Lamlash Bay, Isle of Arran
Monday 21st January 2008 was an exciting day for marine conservation in Scotland. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead announced that Lamlash Bay is to become the first Community Marine Conservation Area in Scotland, and indeed the UK. The local Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), with help from MCS in Scotland along the way, have worked tirelessly to make this news come about.

COAST divers sought Seasearch training from MCS Scotland in 2003 and again in 2006 to enable them to describe the important seabeds, including maerl, found in Lamlash Bay. They have been busy over the years, with over 80 sites in Lamlash, Whiting Bay, the Isle of Pladda and throughout the Clyde surveyed, becoming local experts for their patch in the process. COAST’s Seasearch work ensured that a sewage outfall was re-routed to avoid discharging on a fragile bed of maerl in Lamlash Bay, one of the healthiest in the Clyde and underpinned their whole proposal for a No-Take Zone and wider conservation area in Lamlash Bay.

MCS look forward to continued support for COAST and other communities interested in their local seabed and wanting to help protect them.

Cramond Winter Adopt-a-Beach

The MCS team in Scotland organised a very successful winter Adopt-a-Beach event with over 45 participants and an astounding 172kg of rubbish collected! The weather was kind (it didn't rain!) and it was a great morning to fulfil New Year's resolutions of 'doing your bit' for the environment!

Scotland needs Nationally Important Marine Areas!
MCS led on commissioning, writing and producing the colourful and informative report ‘Finding NIMAs: the case for Nationally Important Marine Areas’ as part of the campaign for a Scottish Marine Bill. This document has now been published and sent to over 300 key contacts throughout Scotland, including Members of the Scottish Parliament and Westminster MPs for Scottish constituencies. It highlights the limited range of marine features that can be protected under the EU Habitats Directive, species and habitats such as spiny lobster and flame shell reefs that are currently unprotected and merit area-based protection in NIMAs, and a selection of sites that might be expected to qualify should a process for identifying such sites be part of a Scottish Marine Bill, as is hoped.

December 2007

Anne attended the Forth Estuary Forum's annual conference in North Queensferry, and provided information on the work of MCS in Scotland and the Cool Seas Scotland project.

November 2007

Cool Seas Scotland
Anne gave a presentation on the Cool Seas Scotland project to the Firth of Clyde Forum annual conference, in Glasgow City Chambers on the 7th. The event was well attended, with many Clyde-based tourism and educational groups represented, and local council officials in attendance. Everybody loved Tallulah the Leatherback Turtle!


October 2007

Scottish Marine Bill
MCS Scotland had a key role in the impressive Scotsman newspaper campaign for a Scottish Marine Bill that ran throughout October until Friday 9th November. The Scotsman supported the calls of MCS and other environment groups for a Scottish Marine Bill that will deliver marine planning, a network of marine protected areas and a marine management group and featured marine articles for every issue during this period, including many featuring MCS or the LINK Scottish Marine Bill campaign that MCS is chairing. The Scotsman received over 1000 emails and cut-out coupons in support, an impressive number compared to other newspaper campaigns.


Cool Seas Scotland
Anne attended the Solway Firth Partnership's annual conference, Gretna, 1st, and promoted Cool Seas Scotland and Adopt-a-Beach. Many sectors were represented, including aquaculture, community groups, tourism, as well as the environment and education.

Anne represented marine interests in Scotland at the UK Biodiversity Partnership Conference, Aviemore, 9-11th.

The Cool Seas Scotland project was represented at the GRAB (Group for Recycling in Argyll and Bute) Trust's Information Day, Oban, 23rd, with a display and information stall.


September 2007

Beachwatch 2007

The flagship MCS Scotland Beachwatch event at Cramond Beach on Saturday 15th September was a big success with 30 volunteers recording a comparatively low 800 items from the 100m survey stretch of beach. A fortnight of dry, calm weather may have reduced recreational litter and sewage-related debris from washing down the River Almond or out sewer overflows and into the sea. We were delighted that Green MSP Robin Harper and Labour MP Mark Lazarowicz (both pictured) came along to the event to support both MCS Beachwatch and our Marine Act Now campaign (for both UK and Scotland Marine Acts). A total of 69 Scottish beaches were registered to take part in Beachwatch 2007.

Anne also attended Beachwatch at Wine Bay, Isle of Cumbrae, Sunday 16th. Unfortunately the event had to be cancelled due to bad weather.


Scottish Marine Bill
MCS Scotland, along with other environment groups, were disappointed that the legislative programme announced by Alex Salmond, Scotland's First Minister, on 5th September 2007, did not commit to developing a Scottish Marine Bill within their first year in power. Instead, there was only a commitment to consult on new marine legislation. For the full response click here. MCS is chairing the Scottish Marine Bill campaign to keep up the pressure over the months ahead. See http://www.savescottishseas.org/ for details.


August 2007

MCS contributed a prize of MCS membership to the annual St Abbs Splash In Underwater Photography competition on 25-26 August, at which MCS also exhibited. The MCS mid-season health check for Scotland's beaches reported that due to heavy rainfall, eight beaches had already failed the minimum EU water quality standards. MCS warned in May that climate change is forecast to bring summers punctuated by violent storms and flash floods, and the mid-season report showed the pollution pressures that such weather can bring. Heavy rain will periodically sweep waterborne pollutants such as raw sewage, organic refuse and farm waste from the land into rivers and the sea. The problem for swimmers is knowing when that has happened. MCS therefore supports the groundbreaking electronic bathing water quality forecasting signs developed by SEPA and the Scottish Government but are still calling on more water quality sampling, not less, and information for all bathers at all beaches advising them not to swim within 24 hours of any heavy rainfall.


July - August 2007

Cool Seas Scotland
This was a busy two months for Cool Seas Scotland outreach work, with Anne attending the Kirkcaldy Environment Fair, the Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Marine Day at Ardentinny Beach, and the Arran Show.

A successful Adopt-a-Beach event was held at Cramond Beach on 14th July, with 18 volunteers collecting a fantastic 45kg of litter!


June 2007

Cool Seas Scotland
Anne attended the BBC Breathing Places event, in Kelvingrove Park, Glasgow, on the 9th, and provided educational games for children and promoted Adopt-a-Beach. Over 25,000 people visited the event on what was probably the only sunny day of the summer!

Scottish Marine Bill
Cabinet Secretary for the Environment, Richard Lochhead MSP, announced at the Oceans '07 conference in Aberdeen on 19th June that the new Scottish government intends to introduce a Scottish Marine Bill. After many years campaigning MCS, along with other environment groups, welcomed this announcement.

MCS will be chairing the LINK Scottish Marine Bill campaign team. This includes exciting new posts in the shape of a LINK Marine Bill Research Officer and LINK Marine Bill Campaigns Officer, recently recruited with funding from the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and the Tubney Charitable Trust, to help make sure we get the Bill we need to properly protect Scotland’s marine life.

A Scottish Bill is needed to dovetail with the UK Bill since most matters within 12 nautical miles of Scotland’s coast, and fisheries and some aspects of renewable energy development to 200nm, are managed by the Scottish Government.

MCS also co-ordinated the Scottish Environment LINK response to the UK Marine Bill White Paper.

Seasearch - June was an active month for Seasearch, with two weekend’s diving in Berwickshire, recording less dived sites such as Fast Castle and Brander reef west of St Abbs, the Horn off St Abbs harbour, The President near Eyemouth and the Ross Carrs off Burnmouth, all rich in fliter-feeding soft-corals with interesting sightings including St Abbs staples octopus, bottlebrush hydroids and wolf-fish. Snake pipefish were also recorded in abundance, the focus of a UK-wide Seasearch Dive-In on 9-10 June. Pipefish surveys also took place in Loch Fyne and off Lossiemouth in the Moray Firth organised by Seasearch regional co-ordinators.


May 2007

Cool Seas Scotland
Anne Saunders, formerly Assistant Warden at RSPB Loch of Strathbeg and Troup Head reserves, started in the MCS Scotland Office as Scottish Projects Officer. Her role will be to run the Cool Seas Scotland outreach project. This project aims to raise awareness of Scotland’s amazing marine environment through talks and events. Anne will also promote Adopt-a-Beach, Beachwatch, Basking Shark & Turtle Watch and Jellyfish surveys in Scotland.

Anne attended her first event, B in the Park environment day, Motherwell, on the 27th, and promoted Cool Seas Scotland.

Following the Scottish elections on 2nd May 2007, the SNP became the governing party in Scotland, with a minority administration.


April 2007

Beaches, litter and sewage pollution featured heavily this month with front page coverage in the Edinburgh Evening News of the plastic pellets recorded, as routine, during the Spring MCS Adopt-a-Beach survey at Cramond beach, extensive media coverage of the Beachwatch 2006 report launch in Scotland and further coverage following MCS response to the sewage spill at Seafield treatment works, Edinburgh.


March 2007

MCS gave a presentation to the National Trust for Scotland Members of Council to help raise the profile of the marine environment within the organisation. A number of Adopt-a-Beach workshops were also run as part of a Scottish Natural Heritage Leading Edge best practice seminar on water at Battleby in Perth.


February 2007

Help save Scotland's seas before May 3rd!

Through the http://www.everyonecan.org/ campaign, run by a coalition of Scottish environment groups, including MCS, YOU can have your views heard before the next Scottish Parliamentary election in early May. Simply visit the website, find out why we are calling for a Marine Bill for Scotland to complement the UK Marine Bill (you can also find out more on the MCS policy pages) and let prospective Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) know that you care about Scotland's seas and want to see them managed properly. We are calling for a Marine Bill for Scotland to:

• set up a proper system of spatial planning at sea
• provide proper protection for species and habitats of national and international importance, including new sites for species, habitats and marine landscapes important to Scotland
• set up a Scottish Marine Management Organisation to manage activities at sea in close co-ordination with a UK MMO
• give local communities a voice in how their local marine and coastal environment is managed

Everyone can raise their voice to help Scotland's seas.


September 2006

Ship-to-ship oil transfers given go ahead in Firth of Forth

Despite unanimous objections from environment groups, including MCS, government environment agencies, Local Authorities, some Members of the Scottish Parliament and local communities, Forth Ports plc has been given permission by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to carry out ship to ship transfers of oil at swinging anchorage off Burntisland in the Forth of Forth. Forth Ports plc must still apply for a licence for the activity if is is found it could have a negative impact on protected species such as cetaceans. MCS was asked to provide evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Environment and Rural Development Committee that was responding to a petition submitted by Mary Douglas MCS Adopt-a-Beach organiser for Kinghorn Habrour, Fife. You can read the submitted MCS evidence here.

Although there is limited regulation of ship-to-ship transfers, since the MCA cannot reject submitted plans, the Scottish Parliament could still block the proposals. MCS therefore support the KIMO campaign against the ship-to-ship proposals. Click here to add your name to the petition.


July-August 2006

Busy summer for Seasearch

It has been a busy summer for Seasearch in Scotland, with expeditions to Handa Island, Sanda Island, South Uist, Shetland, Fife Ness and the Aberdeenshire coast and records sent in from St Abbs to Loch Fyne. Courses have included a Seasearch Surveyor course in Tarbert, a Fish identification course at Deep Sea World, Fife and Seasearch Observation courses planned for later in the year (see http://www.seasearch.org.uk/). Well over 100 Seasearch forms have been sent in from all over Scotland. Highlights have included three John Dory at Handa Island, the rare deepwater sea cucumber (Parastichopus tremulus) from Loch Boisdale, a red blenny west of the Isle Muck, pink sea fingers (Alcyonium hibernicum) on Sanda Island and South Uist and unprecedented numbers of snake pipefish at St Abbs and Fife Ness. Thank you to all who contribute and continue to make this such a successful project.


June 2006

MCS Scotland co-ordinate Scottish environment groups response to UK marine bill consultation

MCS in Scotland supports the UK Marine Bill as en excellent opportunity to establish a framework for managing activities in UK seas. However. since many marine matters are devolved to the Scottish Executive. we also believe that a Marine Act for Scotland is urgently needed to integrate with UK legislation. MCS in Scotland co-ordinated the Scottish marine environment groups' response to the UK Marine Bill consultation which can be read in full here. We continue to lobby for parallel legislation in Scotland to deliver Marine Spatial Planning and a network of Marine Protected Areas for nationally important marine species and habitats in Scottish waters.


May 2006

MCS say 'no' to ship to ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth

MCS is supporting calls from residents. Local Authorities and other environment groups to reject plans put forward by Forth Ports plc and Melbourne Marine Services to transfer up to 8 million tonnes of oil annually from the Russian Baltic to massive carriers at swinging anchorage off the Fife coast in the Firth of Forth.

The Firth of Forth is a Ramsar site and European marine Special Protection Area (SPA) for waterbirds. the Forth islands are a marine SPA for seabirds and the Isle of May a marine Special Area of Conservation (SAC) for grey seals and reefs. Furthermore. the UK Government has also recently identified Dunbar. Bass Rock and the Isle of May. world famous for their wildlife. as Marine Environment High Risk Areas vulnerable to shipping accidents and pollution.

The deadline for submissions to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) in response to the proposed Oil Spill Contingency Plans (OSPC) for the ship-to-ship proposal has now passed. You can read the MCS response here. The image is an oil tanker passing south of the Isle of May.