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