The Scottish Government has responsibility for the conservation and protection of all cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) within Scottish waters.
All cetaceans are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004, and the EU Habitats Directive, which make it an offence to deliberately capture, kill or recklessly disturb cetaceans. A variety of UK and EC and International Laws and Conventions offer additional protection to cetaceans.
Cetacean Bycatch
One of the most serious threats facing small cetaceans is incidental capture or 'bycatch' in fishing nets.
In 2000, the Scottish Government supported a resolution at the third meeting of the Parties to the Agreement on the Conservation of Small Cetaceans of the Baltic and North Seas (ASCOBANS), which identified cetacean bycatch above 1.7% of the population abundance as an unacceptable interaction. Any bycatch above this level would result in population decline.
The Scottish Government has worked closely with the Department for the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), other Devolved Administrations and nature conservation agencies in drafting the UK Small Cetacean Bycatch Response Strategy, which identifies measures that can be taken to work towards reducing small cetacean bycatch to below the target set by ASCOBANS in 2000.
The Strategy was published for consultation in March 2003 and since then DEFRA, in partnership with the Scottish Government and other devolved administrations, has worked to take forward the recommendations of the strategy. There has been considerable activity to improve our knowledge of small cetaceans and reduce the numbers captured incidentally in fisheries. To reflect the progress made so far in implementing the measures proposed in the strategy an action plan was published in 2006.
In addition, in 2004 EC Regulations agreed by Member States sought to reduce the level of cetacean bycatch in European waters.
Whale Watching
The Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 contained provisions for Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) to create a Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code which sets out recommendations, advice and information relating to commercial and leisure activities involving the watching of marine wildlife. In particular, the Code contains information on:
- activities which are likely to disturb marine wildlife;
- the circumstances in which marine wildlife may be approached; and
- the manner in which marine wildlife may best be viewed with minimum disturbance.