T V legend Sir David’s warning to MSPs: Save Our Seaweed
DESTRUCTIVE dredging of Scotland’s ecologically important kelp forests is ‘shortsighted’ and risks their ‘wholesale devastation’, Sir David Attenborough has warned.
The veteran broadcaster made what is thought to be his first intervention into politics north of the Border to call on MSPs to ‘take the necessary action’ to preserve the marine habitats.
He made the plea as Holyrood prepares to vote on new legislation, which if passed, would ban dredging for kelp in Scottish waters.
Green MSP Mark Ruskell successfully amended the Scottish Crown Estate Bill to ban the removal of entire kelp plants, allowing harvesting only where the plant could recover.
Sir David stressed it was ‘absolutely imperative that we protect our kelp forests’, saying they provide a vital habitat for a ‘wide array of species’.
He spoke out after the first application for industrial-scale dredging of the sea weed in Scotland sparked a petition signed by more than 14,000 people.
A special Help the Kelp campaign was also set up by the Sustainable Inshore Fisheries Trust (SIFT).
Ayr-based firm Marine Biopolymers wanted to harvest 30,000 tons of kelp each year off the West Coast by specially adapted boats.
But Sir David, who is the vicepresident of the conservation group Fauna and Flora International (FFI), said dredging in this way would be a ‘wholly shortsighted measure that risks the devastation of kelp beds’.
He said: ‘Charles Darwin was one of the first people to recognise how important kelp forests are for our oceans, comparing them in diversity to rainforests.
‘These kelp forests not only form an important part of the food chain but also act as a vital habitat for a wide array of species.
‘Their thick foliage offers food and safety from predators, and provides a nursery ground where juvenile fish can mature in safety.
‘Look closely and you will find a range of sea life, from invertebrates such as sea stars, anemones and limpets, to mammals such as sea otters.
‘Many fish species, such as cod, that are so important to us economically and culturally, are also found here.’
He added: ‘For these reasons and more – carbon storage being only one – it is absolutely imperative we protect our kelp forests.
‘It is perfectly possible to harvest them sustainably by removing their fronds while leaving the rest of the plant intact. But dredging – or indeed any kind of harvesting that removes the whole plant – is a wholly short-sighted measure that risks the wholesale devastation of our kelp beds.’
SIFT executive director Charles Millar welcomed Sir David’s intervention, and urged MSPs to keep the ban in the legislation when it comes before the Scottish parliament in November.
He said: ‘Kelp plants can be harvested but only if they can grow back. This is the standard the existing, sustainable, hand-harvesting industry already has to meet. There should not be lower standards for big companies.
‘Last month, the Scottish parliament’s Environment Committee rightly voted to apply the same rules to all kelp harvesters.
‘It is now up to the Scottish parliament as a whole to put this on the statute book when this legislation comes before it next month.
‘I hope that MSPs of all parties will listen to the science, to the fishers, to our coastal communities and of course to the world’s most celebrated naturalist.’
Meanwhile, FFI marine community support officer for Scotland Kerri Whiteside said: ‘This is an issue that is of deep concern to West Coast communities. This collective stance alone should be compelling enough for the Scottish Government to pay heed.’
‘Protection is absolutely vital’