The UK Government will allow two companies to conduct seismic oil and gas surveys in Scotland’s Moray Firth this autumn. Moray Firth, which has been classified a European Special Area of Conservation (SAC), supports the only known resident population of bottlenose dolphins in the North Sea.
This decision seems at odd with European legislation, which clearly states that all whales, dolphins and porpoises must be given ‘strict protection’ in UK waters….