Hope for seabirds compromised by devastating decision
Posted Featured image credit: Jonathan Greenaway on Unsplash.com
Today was meant to be an important day for Scotland’s seabirds.
The Scottish Government has launched its seabird conservation action plan – a welcome and long overdue commitment to protect and restore some of our best loved yet most threatened wildlife.
But it has been completely overshadowed by the devastating decision by the Scottish Government just 13 days ago to consent Berwick Bank, a mega offshore windfarm next to vital seabird sites like the Bass Rock.
We need offshore wind to help tackle climate change, but it can’t be at any cost. It is estimated that Berwick Bank will kill tens of thousands of seabirds over its lifetime, including Kittiwakes, Guillemots, Puffins and Gannets. Seabirds are already in crisis. This development could be the final nail in the coffin – fast-tracking species towards extinction.
Now the Scottish Government has launched an action plan which aims to protect and restore seabirds – but it really is pulling out a sticking plaster to try to deal with a self-inflicted gaping wound after the Berwick Bank decision.
Anne McCall, director of RSPB Scotland, said:
“The seabird conservation action plan was meant to be a moment of hope for Scotland’s iconic and struggling seabirds. But the decision to consent Berwick Bank has changed that. This plan now looks like applying a sticking plaster to a gaping wound.
Done right offshore wind and seabirds can coexist. But it’s difficult to convey the damage that is predicted to be done by this one, devastating project. Seabirds are already on the brink, Berwick Bank could push them over the edge – quickening some species toward extinction in Scotland.
The Scottish Government has said positive words about saving seabirds. But it is actions, not words, that nature needs. It’s hard to see how the Scottish Government can claim to be safeguarding our seabirds when decisions like this are taken without any detail on what urgent measures will be delivered where and when.
The Scottish Government needs to prove this seabird action plan is worth the paper it is written on. We need to see immediate, ambitious and urgent action combined with funding if we are to have any hope of saving our internationally important seabirds.”
What are the good parts of the plan?
To help save seabirds, we need to address three key needs – to ensure safe places for them to breed and rear their young, plentiful food supplies and to avoid adult mortality.
RSPB Scotland helped shape the seabird conservation action plan and we believe it addresses the first two needs – but not the third.
Earlier this year, we encouraged 5,000 of our supporters to add their voices to the seabird action plan consultation through our campaign.
They made an impact:
- The action plan will now include an action on the management, monitoring and protection of seabirds in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).
- Two important species have also been added to the plan. Black-headed Gulls and Common Gulls need help just as desperately as other seabird species. They are both now included.
However, we were disappointed by the lack of a clear commitment to roll out Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) with cameras on fishing vessels – a vital measure which is needed to help reduce the thousands of seabirds killed each year as bycatch.
There was also a lack of commitment to deliver nature-positive offshore wind, a real missed opportunity which could spell tragedy for seabirds – as the Berwick Bank decision shows.
There’s still work to do
We’re currently closely scrutinising the details of the Berwick Bank decision and considering the next steps.
The Scottish Government must implement the measures in the seabird action plan and go much further in light of this decision.
We’ll be pressing Scottish Ministers to take immediate action to restore Scotland’s beloved seabirds.
In the meantime, if you feel strongly about this issue, you can contact your MSPs or write to the First Minister directly: firstminister@gov.scot.