Moray Firth dolphins given extra protection from boats, development, dredging and the military

September 2009. Fresh measures to protect the most northerly population of bottlenose dolphins in the world have been launched. These will see the Moray Firth's vulnerable dolphins given protection from potentially intrusive activities such as oil and renewable energy developments, boat traffic, water quality, coastal development, dredging, aquaculture and military activities as well as non-native species.

The updated management scheme for dolphins in the firth's Special Area of Conservation (SAC) will also help safeguard underwater sandbanks.

The conservation measures have been put forward by the Moray Firth SAC Management Group which has worked over the past year to bring the scheme up to date and introduce a new action plan.

3 year action plan
Jim McKie, the management group chairman, confirmed: "The latest revision of the scheme follows the same principles as earlier versions and includes new information and actions covering activities that are now considered to be potentially significant for the Moray Firth, e.g. offshore renewable energy. We have created a new, three-year action plan focusing on priority areas of work alongside a list of ongoing actions which represent long-term continuing work."

Mr McKie, who is also licensing operations team leader for Marine Scotland added: "This revision is a distillation of a wide range of expertise and we are indebted to the many individuals and organisations that have contributed their experience, knowledge and resources to the process. The response to the public consultation provided for the management group was tremendously helpful to us and I would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate."

Underwater sandbanks
The Moray Firth  was designated a candidate SAC under the EU Habitats Directive in 1998 in recognition of the national and international importance of the Moray Firth dolphins, the most northerly bottlenose dolphin population in the world.  The sandbank feature was added in 2001.

Underwater sandbanks have an important role in maintaining sediment balance within the firth and provide important spawning grounds and habitats for a variety of invertebrate and fish species. The SAC designation was confirmed in 2005.