A Highland community has complained to the European Commission that the Scottish government is failing to take responsibility for protecting a colony of dolphins.
Local residents say that the future of Europe’s most northerly bottlenose dolphin colony is uncertain because of plans for ship-to-ship crude oil transfers in the Cromarty Firth. Cromarty Rising, a protest group opposing the local port authority’s plan, say the government has neglected its legal duty to take responsibility for the protected species.
The Cromarty Firth is home to three other protected species: minke whales, harbour porpoise and otters.
Yesterday the protest group submitted a formal complaint to the European Commission about an alleged breach of European law. Arthur Bird, a spokesman for the group, said that Nicola Sturgeon’s failure to publicly accept responsibility to enforce legislation designed to protect wildlife had forced the group to take their case to Europe.
A Scottish govern-ment spokesman said: “Powers over the licensing of ship-to-ship oil transfers are reserved to the UK government and must be devolved for applications in Scottish waters. The waters of the Cromarty Firth are a haven for seals and dolphins and Scottish ministers are far from convinced oil transfers could take place there without an unacceptable risk to the marine environment.”
He said the government was not aware of new applications relating to the Cromarty or Moray firths, but would expect Scottish ministers and local communities to be invited to respond.
•A fisherman spotted three humpback whales feeding on mackerel 50 miles north of Cape Wrath. Magnus Polson, from Whalsay, Shetland, was working on the trawler Altaire when the whales surfaced next to it. Mr Polson, 39, said: “I always have my camera just inside the door just in case and I was glad I had it at hand.”
