WDCS Protect Our Dolphins booklet

Protect Our Dolphins

The Moray Firth dolphins are an amazing group of animals, and a much loved part of Scotland’s natural heritage… but they are also incredibly vulnerable.

Our Protect Our Dolphins campaign aims to ensure that these animals have a future. And that requires change: in how we protect the dolphins legally, in how we regulate industry and in how we behave around them.

© WDCS

These dolphins have a future… if we act now.

Chris Butler Stroud WDCS Chief Executive

Protect Our Dolphins Protect Our Dolphins is WDCS, the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society’s campaign to protect the bottlenose dolphins that live in Scotland’s Moray Firth.

These dolphins face a broad range of threats. Activities such as oil and gas exploration and production, large marina development, chemical pollution, fisheries interactions and more are increasingly putting pressure on the dolphins and their environment.

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Yet, in spite of evidence that the population may be in decline, little is being done to protect this unique, vulnerable and important group of animals.

Our vision is that the whales and dolphins of the Moray Firth, including the bottlenose dolphins, will survive and in due course thrive in a clean and safe environment.

This booklet is about the animals, the threats they face and most importantly what WDCS, with your support, can do for them.

The Moray Firth bottlenose dolphins Bottlenose dolphins are one of the best known and most loved of all dolphin species.

A small population of around 130 of these very special animals lives in Scotland’s Moray Firth.

But for how much longer? Such a small, isolated population is extremely vulnerable.

These highly sentient animals, which make up the only surviving population of its kind in the North Sea, need protection from the many threats they face. In recognition of their special status and vulnerability, in 2005 part of the Moray Firth was designated a bottlenose dolphin Special Area of Conservation (SAC) one of only two such protected areas in the UK.

Yet the SAC only covers a percentage of the area the dolphins make their home, and whilst some of the dolphins seem to spend their entire lives within the SAC, others range along the coast of the Moray Firth to Aberdeen, Tay, the Firth of Forth and possibly beyond!

We must ensure the dolphins have a future, both by protecting the SAC and the dolphins’ wider habitat, and by carefully monitoring and regulating activity that threatens these amazing animals. We can only protect the dolphins by effectively protecting their habitat!

Threats

Oil and gas exploration and development Oil and gas exploration and development can generate intense noise pollution and habitat degradation over long time periods spanning many decades. Such activities should be unacceptable within an area so important to such a vulnerable dolphin population and especially an area which the government has made a safe-haven for them.

The lifetime of an oil and gas platform is measured, not in years, but in decades. In that time oil and gas production can affect the dolphins in a whole range of ways.

Dolphins are highly sensitive to sound. The introduction of loud noise into their environment can impact their ability to navigate, find food and communicate with each other. It can cause them to flee from areas important to their survival and may harm or in extreme cases even kill.

Oil and gas deposits are found through seismic surveys which use air guns to send bursts of intense

sound through the water in all directions. Later, noisy drilling and production commence including the transportation of supply vessels and pipelines.

At the end of a production facility’s life, decommissioning may involve removing structures from the seabed using explosives.

There are already oil and gas platforms in the outer Moray Firth, adjacent to the Special Area of Conservation (SAC). Whilst no production has occurred within the SAC, considerable boat traffic associated with the industry does travel through it and oil pipelines and an oil terminal lie within the SAC. There is a small, but ever present, risk of an oil spill.

The greatest risk comes from future exploration and the production of new sites in areas important to the dolphins. Blocks of seabed within the dolphins’ habitat have been included in recent oil and gas licensing rounds.

“We must be satisfied that there will be no adverse effect on the integrity of the special area of conservation in the Moray Firth and its local bottlenose dolphin population.”

Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Environment

© Miranda Krestovnikoff

“The Moray Firth is such a wonderful spot, and made all the more magical by the bottlenose dolphins and other marine life that depend on the area for their survival. It’s unthinkable that anyone would even consider oil exploration and production there, we need as many people as possible to support WDCS and their campaign to protect these amazing animals for good!”

Miranda Krestovnikoff, BBC Presenter, Coast and the One Show

Threats

Increasing and uncoordinated coastal development Tourism is expected to increase in Scotland in coming years. This is a positive thing – if it is done with protection of the marine environment at its heart.

As Scotland moves towards its target to increase tourism revenue by 50% by 2015, the Moray Firth is undergoing a transformation. This includes expansion and development of harbours and marinas and increases in numbers of recreational, racing and commercial boats. Unregulated increases in recreational boat traffic and poorly co-ordinated inshore developments will lead to increases of boat users in the habitats important to dolphins.

WDCS has been instrumental in funding, supporting and operating the Dolphin Space Programme (DSP) to ensure that the dolphinwatching boats in the Moray Firth sign up to a code of conduct that is set out to protect the dolphins. WDCS is working towards educating all other boat users who need to be aware of the dolphins’ presence and their vulnerability.

Evaluation of how such development can be undertaken whilst ensuring compliance with environmental legislation is now required. The solution is coordinated planning of all marine activities and real, long-term consideration for the dolphins’ requirements.

Threats

They all add up!

The Moray Firth is a busy place. In their day to day lives, dolphins may encounter many threats: boat traffic, oil spills, chemical pollution, entanglement in fishing nets, coastal developments, disturbance from increasing commercial and recreational activities. All of these threats combine to impact heavily on the dolphins and the other whale and dolphin species that make Scottish waters their home.

ical Chem ion t pollu

Development of Marinas

Fisheries

ased Incre affic tr boat

Marine litter

Oil and G as developm ent

Marin e

rene energ wable y

Bottlenose Dolphins

Har deve bour lopm ent

Marine wildlife of the Moray Firth The Moray Firth contains a rich diversity of marine life all year round, including European Protected Species such as harbour porpoises and otters. It is also important habitat for a number of important seabirds, harbour and grey seals and a host of seasonal visitors including vulnerable basking sharks, humpback and fin whales, as well as white-beaked and Atlantic white-sided dolphins.

Š WDCS/Lucy Ivitsky-Molleson

Harbour porpoises are a highly vulnerable species, and seem to be in decline in the outer Moray Firth. They are deserving of Special Areas of Conservation under European legislation, yet we have none designated for them in the UK. Minke whales, common and white-beaked dolphins, and numerous other important whale and dolphin species are also found in the waters of the Moray Firth. Yet there are few, if any, protection measures provided for these species.

Š Scott Portelli

Legislation Since the massive exploitation of marine resources began, there has been little effort to regulate the swelling tide of activities carried out in our seas and we are now at a critical stage where we risk losing some of the best-loved of all our marine species.

Precaution in the face of uncertainty: The onus is on the competent authorities to determine no significant impact to the Moray Firth bottlenose dolphin population from development, even outside the SAC. This is required under the EU Habitats Directive that protects the dolphins and should be enforced.

Š iStockphoto

We need better, stronger, co-ordinated and enforceable laws to protect our dolphins and all other marine wildlife, plus proper co-ordination of marine activities which takes into account their combined impacts on the animals, including within Special Areas of Conservation.

Strandings Stranded whales and dolphins have an important role to play in increasing our understanding of the animals, their general health and the threats that they face.

Information collected from stranded animals can often provide us with an indication of a bigger problem within a population.

WDCS leads and supports the work of the UK’s Marine Animal Rescue Coalition (MARC).

If you find a stranded whale or dolphin in Scotland, you can help by calling:

Live animals British Divers Marine Life Rescue:

01825 765 564 Dead animals Scottish Agricultural College:

Š Susan Phillips

01463 243 030

Professor Paul Thompson (centre) and the team from the Aberdeen University Lighthouse Field Station. WDCS has supported their research since 1993.

Our vision is that the whales and dolphins of the Moray Firth, including the bottlenose dolphins, will survive and in due course thrive in a clean and safe environment.

We campaign for better protection, lobby decision-makers, support and conduct research, run education initiatives and bring the world of whales and dolphins alive for thousands through our visitor centres. Here’s a snapshot of our work: We contribute funding to the University of Aberdeen to study the Moray Firth dolphins (since 1993). Critical research which led to the designation of the dolphins’ Special Area of Conservation.

We conduct our own surveys to find out about the habitat requirements of all the whale and dolphin species that make the Moray Firth their home.

We have been instrumental in funding, supporting and operating the Dolphin Space Programme, which works with commercial boat operators in the Moray Firth to ensure that they follow a set of guidelines designed to protect the dolphins.

We research the potential impacts of all threats, provide expert advice to governments, and industries and work hard to effect real change for the animals.

We conduct land-based dolphin watching and listening and enable visitors to see and hear the dolphins for themselves at our Wildlife Centres.

We operate a schools activity programme in Scotland designed to enthuse and educate children about whales and dolphins.

We run exhibitions and events at our Moray Firth Wildlife Centres to engage people in the world of whales and dolphins.

We campaign for better protection.

Together we can protect our dolphins.

© Chris Fryatt/Aberdeen University

What WDCS is doing

Where to watch dolphins in the Moray Firth If you do choose to watch dolphins from a boat, please choose a Dolphin Space Programme accredited operator: www.dolphinspace.org

Balintore Lossiemouth Cromarty

Spey Bay

Aberdeen University Lighthouse Field Station Chanonry Point North Kessock

Burghead

Portknockie

Buckie

Cullen

Banff

Nairn Fort George

Inverness

Best shore-watching locations for dolphins WDCS Wildlife Centres Whilst this is one of the best places in the world to watch for bottlenose dolphins from land, and many visitors are rewarded with wonderful memories of these and other magnificent marine animals, sightings can not be guaranteed.

“Scotland is one of the best landbased dolphin watching hot spots in the world.”

Says BBC Springwatch’s Simon King

© Simon King

WDCS Wildlife Centre Spey Bay FREE ADMISSION

WDCS Dolphin and Seal Centre North Kessock FREE ADMISSION

Directions

Directions

The A96 runs between Inverness and Aberdeen and Spey Bay lies about half way along. Turn off the A96 between Mosstodloch and Fochabers onto the B9014 which branches off along the River Spey. Turn where you see the brown Tourist Information sign for the Moray Firth Wildlife Centre. Follow this road all the way to the end where it forks and the right fork will lead you to the WDCS Wildlife Centre car park.

Take the A9 Northbound across the Kessock Bridge, 100m after the bridge take the slip road to the left, signposted Tourist Information Centre & Dolphin and Seal Centre.

Postcode: IV32 7PJ Tel: 01343 820339 Email: wildlifecentre@wdcs.org

Opening times April to October, 7 days a week 10.30am to 5pm November to December, Weekends only

Postcode: IV1 3XB Tel: 01343 820339 Email: wildlifecentre@wdcs.org

Opening times June to September, 10.30am to 5pm

Join our campaign We need to act now, together, to protect the bottlenose dolphins in the Moray Firth. Their future can only be secured if the ‘Special Area of Conservation’ is exactly that – ‘special’ and aimed at ‘conservation’ of the dolphins. You can see that we have some hard work ahead to achieve this!

You can support our campaign by adopting a Moray Firth dolphin at

www.adoptadolphin.com Or become a WDCS Pod Protector at

www.podprotection.org To find out more about how you can help us protect our dolphins visit

www.protectourdolphins.org

Your support really does make all the difference Your donation will help us pay for: • More people and equipment, including high quality

binoculars to monitor the dolphins from shore.

• Meetings with government officials, industry

and other stakeholders.

• Acoustic equipment so you can hear the

underwater world at our Wildlife Centres.

• Maintenance of the WDCS Wildlife Centre and

North Kessock Dolphin and Seal Centre.

• Educational materials to help more people to

protect the dolphins.

• The essential research undertaken by Aberdeen

University and WDCS.

To make a donation please visit www.protectourdolphins.org/donate

Thank you!

www.protectourdolphins.org WDCS is the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins and their environment.

WDCS is a company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No.2737421.

Registered Charity No. 1014705. All photos Š WDCS/Charlie Phillips unless otherwise credited.