The bottlenose dolphins of the Moray Firth face further encroachment onto their habitat after the Highland Council agreed to a proposal to build a new marina.

The government only recently funded an independent scientific study into the area to determine what effect continued development may have. This report concluded that a maximum of 220 should be allowed in a marina in the Moray Firth to ensure the safety of the dolphins. It has come as a shock to the WDCS that the Highland Council has approved for a marina for 500 boats to be built.

What is even more worrying for the WDCS is that the marina is currently only one of many possible developments that could pose a threat to the dolphins.

Exercise Joint Warrior (Europe’s largest military exercise) will be occurring in Scottish waters again, as every year, in April and October 2010. As yet, it is not known whether the MOD (Ministry of Defence) plans to conduct sonar and other activities in the Firth.

The Moray Firth Zone is one of the key areas expected to be developed for wind farms. The Crown Estate, which owns the UK’s coastal seabeds on behalf of the UK Government, last month announced plans for up to 1,000 huge offshore wind farms with the announcement of two new development sites in the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth

In a post on their website the WDCS said: “It is only with your help that we can ensure that the right decisions are made by government departments. We must ensure the protection of the dolphins.”

“The coming months are crucial to the survival of Scotland’s only protected dolphin population with key decisions on oil and gas exploration, harbour developments, marine wind farms and military exercises in the area being made.”

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