Friday 1 February 2008

Commenting on today's the decision by Forth Ports not to proceed with ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth, Dr Dan Barlow, WWF Scotland's Acting Director said:

"We welcome this decision. The Fife coastline is an internationally important area, and any accident during ship-to-ship oil transfers would have put this valuable environment at risk. Maintaining a healthy marine environment is vital for people, wildlife and our economy. To safeguard our marine environment it is vital that the forthcoming Scottish Marine Bill puts the environment at the heart of this new legislation."

Controversial issues such as the ship-to-ship proposals highlight the fact that Scotland needs real progress on a Scottish Marine Bill enshrining the protection of our valuable waters in law. Key to this will be a system of planning for managing the vast range of activities that occur in Scottish waters and introducing effective protection for Scotland's marine species and habitats.

Scotland has over 11,000km of coastline which generate millions of pounds for the economy. Currently, only a complicated mish-mash of laws exist, which fail to manage the growing pressures of man's activities in UK seas. A new UK Marine Act and complimentary devolved legislation, including a Marine Act in Scotland, would update the legislation governing our activities at sea and significantly improve the management of our marine ecosystem.