Protecting reefs near Oban - need to act today (literally)

[rhemingway@ntlworld.com]

I have just spent a long weekend up in the Firth of Lorn out of Balvicar 
(to the south of Oban). Many of you will know Dave Ainsley, skipper of 
the Porpoise, who is a marine biologist. 

He brought to our party's attention a consultation on the future of the 
area's water and in particular the issue of scollop dredging. As the 
consultation paper says, the dredgers are getting closer and closer to 
the rocky reefs which are supposed to be officially protected as a 
Special Area of Conservation. 

Anyone who has dived on a zone where the dredgers have been knows 
the total destruction of the seabed that is left - just about everything in 
their path is killed. Apart from the effect on the whole marine food cycle 
and ecosystem, the silt stirred up covers the nearby reefs, smothering 
plantlife. 

You can do something - I have put the two relevant documents on my 
web space. Please read, print the relvant bits and send your brief 
comments in to the official consultation people. Please note that it has 
to be in by the end of this week so act today. You don't have to file 
comments about everything in the document.

It's not just about having something left to look at while diving - it's 
about ensuring the survival of many species for the future - otherwise 
mankind has nothing left to pillage.

The link is:

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rhemingway/download.htm  


Thanks

Richard




http://homepage.ntlworld.com/rhemingway/download.htm
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