Click on image to enlarge.

Britain’s seabird populations are suffering a steep and perilous decline, according to new figures released by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the government’s conservation adviser.

The figures, which bring together data from 1999 to 2009, from across the UK, show that many of our best known species are disappearing at an alarming rate.

According to the JNCC, numbers of northern fulmars have fallen 38 per cent nationwide in the past 10 years. The population of Arctic skuas has fallen 33 per cent in the same period.

The drop in kittiwake numbers is 40 per cent; in lesser black-backed gulls it is 31 per cent; in herring gulls 43 per cent; great black-backed gulls 30 per cent; and razorbills 11 per cent. The figures for gannets, great skuas, black guillemots and puffins are not currently available.

Across the UK, numbers of some species do seem to be rising, however, including common guillemots, which show a small increase of three per cent, and Arctic terns, which have increased by 14 per cent. These scraps of good news nationally though, are not mirrored by the local situation, where the breeding success of both species has been patchy at best in recent years.

SOTEAG ornithologist Martin Heubeck said that while there was considerable variation, even across Shetland, “some guillemot colonies you couldn’t even describe as a shadow of their former self”.

Mr Heubeck stressed that it was extremely difficult to generalise about local changes in the last 10 years, as some species are better able than others to deal with changes in food availability. But overall, he explained, “the more sensitive species didn’t do well in the first part of this last decade”.

“In terms of breeding performance and breeding numbers, 2000 to 2005 saw steep decline; since then it has been variable – good years and bad years. On the whole, since 2005, it’s gone to this patchiness.”

A regionalised breakdown of the JNCC figures should be available next month, and the results of 2010’s breeding season in Shetland will be known later in the year.

The sites have been put forward along with five other locations across Scotland and 32 from the UK and overseas territories and Crown dependencies and will now be assessed by an independent expert panel.

The experts will choose which of the sites – they also include Arbroath Abbey, the Glasgow buildings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the Flow Country, the Forth Bridge and St Andrews medieval burgh and links – to put forward to UNESCO next year for consideration.

The winners will join the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Statue of Liberty, the Great Pyramids and Red Square as well as several sites around Scotland – St Kilda, the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh, Heart of Orkney and New Lanark – on the list.

Scottish Secretary Michael Moore said: “All these sites have something special that draws people to them and they are recognisable across the world. I am delighted that so many of Scotland’s attractions have stepped forward and answered the UK government’s call for world heritage status.

“Scotland has a rich history that we should all be proud to celebrate. We have a world class heritage which contributes heavily both to the Scottish economy as well as to the local economies.

“To be successful in a UNESCO bid would be a great boost to Scotland’s economy and very welcome as we move forward from the recession and begin to rebuild our economy.”

The six common seals or harbour seals, a protected species, were found washed up on the shoreline at Bridge of Walls earlier this month. They included two females pregnant with pups.

Now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says it hopes to bring whoever was reponsible for the deaths to justice. It goes as far as to suggest that humans may even be in danger from the perpetrators.

Spokeswoman Suzanne Barnard said: “The term ‘common seal’ is misleading, as the species has seen a rapid decline in number across many areas of the UK. June is the time of year when the seals are actively breeding and having pups. Local authorities now fear that more dead seals might be found in the coming days.

“PETA is urging local residents to keep a watchful eye for anything suspicious in the area. Because animals cannot report their own abuse and can do little to fight back, they are the perfect ‘practice’ victims for people who tend towards violence.

“Research in psychology and criminology shows that people who commit acts of cruelty to animals often go on to commit violent acts against their fellow humans. As long as the perpetrators of this crime are at large, other animals in Shetland – and even human residents – might be in danger.

“Animal abusers are cowards. They take their issues out on the most defenceless beings available to them.”

Anyone with information about the case is encouraged to call the animal helpline of the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on 03000 999 999, the Shetland Wildlife Rescue Unit on (01595) 840321 or the local police on (01595) 692110. All information provided will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Animal welfare charity the Scottish SPCA said three of the seals, found at Mara Ness, had clear exit wounds to the head and the other three were too decomposed to be able to determine the cause of death. SSPCA is leading the investigation and said two of the female seals were carrying large pups.

Seals are protected year-round in Shetland under an additional conservation order which supplements the Conservation of Seals Act.

SSPCA senior inspector Ron Patterson, who is based in Shetland, attended the scene on Monday and said he believed there may be more seal carcasses washed up in other areas which have yet to be discovered.

Wildlife organisations view the unlawful killing of seals as particularly serious because of a drastic decline in the population of the mammals over the past decade.

The St Andrews-based Sea Mammal Research Unit estimates that the population of common seals has fallen by around 40 per cent since 2000 and believes the increasing presence of predatory killer whales in the waters around Shetland could be a factor in the decline.

In addition, organisations like the SSPCA and SNH have consistently criticised what they view as widespread incidences of unlicensed and illegal killing of seals.

John Uttley of SNH said he believed the seals were found around 10 days ago and police were contacted last week.

“They can be shot with a licence, but you do need a licence to shoot them and there is no licence in this case,” said Mr Uttley. “We don’t have a clue who has done it, but whoever did do it has made no attempt to hide the animals.”

Mr Patterson said the incident was a “serious wildlife crime” and called for any possible witnesses to come forward.

“Common seal numbers are decreasing and the illegal shooting of seals is a contributing factor,” he said. “In fact, it’s almost wrong to call these animals common seals because they are gradually becoming a rare sight in the waters around Shetland.

“Shooting a seal at any time of year is a very cruel and callous act, but June is the time when common seals are actively breeding and having their pups.

“It’s not only the adult seals that are killed, but any unborn pups are slowly starved of oxygen and any orphaned newborn pups are sentenced to a lingering death of starvation as they cannot possibly survive the early days without their mother’s milk.

“It is also likely once the pups are in a weakened state, but still alive, they will be attacked by birds which inevitably means the birds will attack the softest part of their bodies first while still alive. This is nearly always their eyes.”

Anyone with information related to the recent shootings can contact SSPCA’s animal helpline on 03000 999 999, call the Shetland Wildlife Rescue Unit on (01595) 840321 or get in touch with police in Lerwick on (01595) 692110.

Samples have been taken for testing, however the council’s environmental health department have advised people to avoid the algal scum evident at the water’s edge.

Notices are being posted in shops in the area and at various points close to the loch. Adjoining landowners and those with fishing interests are also being told of the situation.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) and Shetland NHS board have also been notified, although there has so far been no adverse effect on water supplies.

Blue green algae exist in fresh waters and are noticed when their concentrations increase to form blooms.

Possible effects of people coming into contact with toxic scums include skin rashes, eye irritations, vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as fever and pains in muscles and joints.

In the past toxic algae have also caused deaths among livestock and dogs.

The treatment of water supplies removes blue green algae and additional treatment may be applied to destroy or remove toxins should they arise. The behaviour of algae is erratic, and the level of its toxicity can fluctuate.

Click on image to enlarge.

A new project at the RSPB bird reserve at Sumburgh Head is fast becoming an internet hit. In what is believed to be a world first, live images from a puffin burrow are being broadcast on the internet, and people seem to be getting hooked on puffincam.

Following the success of a puffin camera in the BBC series Simon King’s Shetland Diaries, the RSPB set up “A Date with Nature at Sumburgh Head”, one of a series of projects across the UK which are all about getting people closer to wildlife.

Sumburgh-based Date with Nature assistant Newton Harper said: “What I want to do is make people even more passionate about Shetland’s seabirds, especially puffins, or tammy nories as they are known in the islands.

“Sumburgh Head is one of the most accessible places in Britain to see puffins and now with our puffincam people can also watch the puffins from the comfort of their own home. Puffins are perhaps the nation’s favourite seabirds and I have heard that people are watching the camera from dawn to dusk.”

Images from the cameras are fed live to a screen inside the Sumburgh Lighthouse engine room and via the internet at www.shetland.org and www.rspb.org.uk/shetlandsummer

There are two cameras in place, one inside and one outside the burrow, which have been revealing all sorts of behaviour.

Sumburgh Head warden Helen Moncrieff said: “The egg was first seen on 6th May and since then the puffin has generally just sat there incubating it. It may sound boring, but it’s amazing what compulsive viewing it is.

“There has been a couple of times when the puffin has been absent for over 10 hours causing a bit of anxiety for all who have been watching, and there’s been some intimate views of puffins billing which is a bit like a puffins version of having a snog.

“We estimate the egg will hatch around the 14th to 17th June. To see a puffin hatch live on screen will be truly amazing. I hope that as well as watching the puffincam people will come to Sumburgh Head to experience the seabird colony for themselves, including the sounds and smells adds to the spectacle.

“We have telescopes available and staff and volunteers will be on hand to share the stories of the birds as the breeding season progresses. I have to offer a word of warning. Watching a sleeping, sighing, shuffling puffin can become addictive but is not harmful to your health.”

The project is indebted to the support of Simon King (who donated a camera), Shetland Amenity Trust and Promote Shetland, the latter providing the technology and access to their video streaming network.

Promote Shetland manager Andy Steven said: “We are very pleased to be working with the RSPB and allowing the world to share the fantastic views of our puffins as they go about their daily routine and hopefully raising their young.”

Shetland Amenity Trust general manager Jimmy Moncrieff said: “We are delighted to be supporting this project and allowing public access to the impressive engine room. The trust has ambitious plans to redevelop Sumburgh Head as a world-class visitor attraction and hope that events like Date with Nature will become a regular feature at Sumburgh Head in the future.”

A Date with Nature at Sumburgh Head can be experienced on Thursdays to Sundays until 8th August, between 10am and 4pm.

A special event, Love and War, will be held on 29th May, with help from Shetland Amenity Trust’s assistant archaeologist and World Heritage Site rangers from Orkney.

Mr Scott had asked rural affairs minister Richard Lochhead what would happen to those working with sheep “given that pilots of the electronic identification … are reportedly demonstrating that it will not result in 100 per cent accurate information”.

Mr Lochhead replied: “The penalty regime which applies to farmers and crofters covering breaches of sheep identification and traceability is unchanged. Payment reductions will not be applied under cross compliance where discrepancies are purely as a result of any known technical limitations, including electronic identification equipment.”

However, Mr Scott criticised Mr Lochhead for failing to back the European Parliament agriculture committee’s call for an amnesty on penalties. He said that when he asked whether the Scottish government would seek the agreement of the European Commission for a three-year amnesty, the minister gave no such undertaking, merely stating that he sought a more proportionate approach.

Mr Scott said: “I welcome the news that farmers and crofters struggling with equipment which has still to be proved reliable will not be penalised for mistakes the equipment causes. But officials operating the scheme must comply with the spirit of that answer.

“I am pleased too that the minister says that he intends to keep pushing for a more proportionate penalty regime. But I am disappointed that he won’t come out in full support of the European Parliament agriculture committee’s three-year amnesty proposal.

“The minister’s department is pursuing the penalty regime on crofters very hard indeed. I’ve had a number of Shetland producers raise with me the aggressive approach being taken by the department. So Mr Lochhead’s warm words need to translate into a complete change of approach and attitude by his department.”

It is still not too late to take part and those groups or individuals not already registered can do so by calling Shetland Amenity Trust on (01595) 694688 or emailing info@shetlandamenity.org as soon as possible.

For those groups already registered, packs containing gloves, bags, safety vests, etc. are awaiting collection from the trust’s offices at Garthspool in Lerwick.

Groups are also reminded to inform the trust after their Redd Up is finished so the collection of bruck can be undertaken as soon as possible. The trust will have four environmental improvement teams deployed to collect the huge amount of bruck for safe disposal and recycling from all parts of Shetland.

Even though the main event is scheduled for next weekend, Redd Ups will continue over the next few weeks with the final tonnage of bruck collected being announced in June.

A spokesman said Shetland Amenity Trust would like to thank BP Sullom Voe Terminal for its continued support of the Redd Up.

Meanwhile Unst woman Sita Hughson has been appointed as Shetland Amenity Trust’s environmental improvement project officer.

Having previously worked for the amenity trust as a marketing officer, she succeeds Mick Clifton who left earlier this year for a new job with Shetland Islands Council.

A good knowledge of trust activities, a masters degree in business administration and a background in science should all stand her in good stead for the tasks ahead.

Ms Hughson said: “I am really looking forward to getting back into a management and technical role as well as developing this important area of the trust’s work. I care about Shetland and its environment and welcome the opportunity to help safeguard its future.”

She will take up her new post in late May.

Among the successful applicants for CCF funding is the Unst Partnership, which will receive £18,820 to put towards purchasing six polytunnels and equipment for the community allotment scheme.

The polytunnels are to be based at Baltasound primary school, although they will be for all of the community to use to grow their own fresh fruit and vegetables. They will reduce carbon outputs in the community by an estimated 3.16 tonnes.

While their construction is subject to planning permission, it is hoped they will be up and running this year. Local organic vegetable growing company Urge (Unst Regeneration Growers Enterprise Ltd) is also on hand to advise people on what to grow and how.

Gordon Thomson of the Unst Partnership explained: “It’s really to encourage people who may not have the space outside their house to grow their own veg.” He also said the funding was received thanks to the efforts of Community Powerdown officer Mike Smith.

The Sandwick Community Allotment Scheme will also receive £57,101 to put towards its allotment project, which will hopefully reduce carbon outputs by around 80 tonnes.

And Aith Community District Heating Scheme is to receive £32,450, which it is hoped will cut carbon emissions by a 53.28 tonnes.

Finally, Northmavine Community Development Company was awarded £41,821 to build 12 community polytunnels. It is hoped this will cut the community’s emissions by 30 tonnes.

A total of 232 communities across Scotland have received a share of the £27.4 million CCF grants to help reduce their carbon footprint. This week’s awards helped 90 new projects at a total cost of £5.5 million.

Over the last three years, CCF has invested to save an estimated 691,028 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of 225,000 cars off Scotland’s roads or filling Murrayfield Stadium 345 times.

Making the announcement, environment secretary Richard Lochhead said: “The Climate Challenge Fund (CCF) has captured the imagination of communities all over Scotland and demonstrated nationwide commitment to reduce carbon footprint.

“Since CCF launched it has attracted huge interest and I am very encouraged by the high level and quality of applications. We have tapped into communities’ desire to do more to help the environment and I look forward to seeing what will be achieved long-term through this exceptional fund.

Chairman of the CCF grants panel Simon Pepper said: “It has been astonishing, exciting and inspiring to see the number and diversity of project applications coming from every sector and size of community to tackle climate change from every conceivable angle. From gardens to back greens, from Unst to Stranraer, from cycling to schools, Scotland is alive with ideas to catch the imagination and make a practical difference.”

Professor Anne Glover, chief scientist to the Scottish government. Click on image to enlarge.

Shetland people possess the in­ventive­ness and forward-thinking outlook to lead the country in developing renewable energy and tackling climate change, according to Scotland’s chief scientist.

Speaking at a summit in Lerwick on carbon reduction, Professor Anne Glover said she talked to many people on her global travels but none who thought so much about the future or were as innovative. It is an outlook which she believes sets rural people apart and gives islanders opportunities ahead of the rest of the country.

She advised the council and the local community to engage with young people to get them involved in reducing carbon emissions and exploiting renewable energy because they have great ideas and it is they and their children who will have to face the consequences of global warming.

This praise for Shetlanders might be dismissed as a crude attempt by the government’s independent chief scientific adviser to woo her audience but in fact she does know the islands well, having spent several holidays in Shetland as well as being a regular visitor to Orkney. A keen sailor, she joked that Shetland “looks like heaven” after two days spent bobbing about on a yacht crossing from Norway.

During her hour-long lecture at the museum and archives, Professor Glover first shocked her audience with the bleak picture she painted of global flooding and disease due to rising temperatures and inaction to halt man-made damage. Then when all seemed lost she conjured up the inspiring vision of Scotland in the vanguard of renewable energy showing the way to cut pollution while simultaneously prospering from its status as a leader in world-saving technologies.

In particular she praised the Scottish government’s idea of put­ting up £10 million to the first company to generate 110 gigaWatts from wave or tidal power. The Saltire Prize is the biggest govern­ment innovation prize in the world ever, she said, and she believes it will help accelerate the nascent technology because humans love competing for prizes.

Although the challenge has not started yet there have already been 170 expressions of interest from 30 countries, including one from the Renault Formula 1 team which believes its expertise in making racing cars stick to the track might transfer into holding tidal power devices on the seabed.

Friday’s summit was hosted by Shetland Community Planning – the partnership between the council, NHS Shetland and other public bodies including the police. Around 40 people attended, including the local MP and MSP and council convener Sandy Cluness.

In Shetland a number of energy conservation activities are getting under way and the amenity trust is now running a website www.carbon reductionshetland.org which pro­vides advice and information on how individuals, groups and businesses can reduce their carbon footprint.

The summit took place just the morning after councillors had sealed their deal with Total to exploit un­tapped west of Shetland gas – a contributor to carbon dioxide emis­sions, albeit a cleaner one than coal or North Sea oil.

In Professor Glover’s opinion oil exploration and production should continue but not so that it can be guzzled up by cars and central heat­ing. She said it was “an incredibly valuable material” for its uses in products such as “fantastic” plastics in medicine but its use for transport and heating should stop. “That is madness,” she said, “it’s far too precious for that.”

A big issue for world politicians to tackle is what happens when countries feel they want more of the world’s remaining oil but it is not necessarily to be found in their territories – this was part of what she referred to as “a dark cloud” hanging in the future which appeared to hint at conflict and war over oil, which many would argue we already witness.

In Scotland the target is to cut carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions by at least 42 per cent by 2020 and by at least 80 per cent by 2050. But she warned of the danger that Scotland and the UK become complacent because of the progress being made. Our consump­tion of products made in China, India and Asia continues to soar, meaning that they are emitting all the carbon dioxide on our behalf. The world is a very small place and buying a TV made in China means we are responsible for a sizeable emission of pollution.

Global energy demand is rising because humans in the developed world keep demanding “more stuff”, she said. With the population grow­ing sharply there would soon be nine billion people wanting “more stuff”, she said. But if the rest of the world was to enjoy the lifestyle of the people of Scotland it would require the resources of three planets.

One of her more shocking stat­istics was that making just one pair of jeans for us in the west requires 10,855 litres of water in a world where already one in three people faces water shortages – one of the few commodities that nobody can do without.

Climate change had always hap­pened but what was being seen now was rapid change, some of it man-made. Despite the magnitude of the problem encouragement was to be taken from the action to halt depletion of the ozone layer which showed that human beings working together, banning CFCs, could change the planet.

There have been eight cycles of ice ages followed by warm periods, every 120,000 years, with a dif­ference in temperature of 5-10 degrees C and a sea level 3-5 metres higher during warm periods. Since the 1950s carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels has risen rapidly. It had never been higher than 300 parts per million in the atmosphere but now it has reached 380ppm, which is also partly due to forests being chopped down.

If the level stabilises at 450ppm there is a 77 per cent chance of a global rise in temperature of two degrees C, she said. It could be higher. Melting ice caps could raise the sea level six metres, engulfing poor countries like Bangladesh which could not afford protection and causing the people to flee. “If I was them I would be thinking: ‘Shetland looks good!’,” she said.

While a 77 per cent chance might not convince some people to act on climate change she said they would not go on a bus if they were told there was a 77 per cent chance that all the passengers were going to die.

Making the picture even bleaker, she highlighted the spread of hitherto exotic infectious diseases around the world, including blue tongue in sheep, spread by a midgie from Africa which was unknown in Europe until the 1990s, reaching into England in 2007 and 2008 and now north of the border where it may enjoy the mild winters.

Professor Glover’s view of “climate change deniers” – much in the news of late – was that they simply did not want to believe. As much as any scientist would say something was a fact, she said “man-made global climate change is a fact”.

She urged people not to let “sideshows” provide an excuse not to act – such as the scandal over climate change scientists’ emails from East Anglia or the false report about the Himalayan mountain ice disappearing. She said: “We must act because there isn’t really any option.”

Even the weekly shopping trip to supermarkets provided the oppor­tunity to do a small bit to help by avoiding food which has been trans­ported across the world when local alternatives are available and by objecting to unnecessary packaging, which uses energy and causes waste.

She revealed that her husband now refuses to go shopping with her because she loiters so long, reading labels and so on. Sometimes she even takes the plastic wrapping off vegetables and hands it to the checkout assistant in protest. “I see red when I get a cucumber covered in plastic!” she said.

People need to appreciate what it is they are buying and where it has come from, she said. However there seemed such resistance to that change of behaviour.

Councillor Frank Robertson thanked the professor for “an excel­lent talk”. He tends to take a more global outlook than some of his parochially focused council col­leagues and he offered up the view that the urgency of the problems facing humanity will not hit home until fuel rationing has to be introduced once demand for oil outstrips the global supply. Until then the world would not change, he said. “As long as there is oil, people will use it.”

Ominously for the delegates when they broke for lunch the very real problem of rising sea levels was right in front of their eyes at the museum as the spring equinox high tide caused the water to lipper up almost to the level of the path and piers outside.