Reaching a crossroads - The Inverness Courier
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The move has been prompted by talks between managers of Inverness Marina and eco-tour operators and possibly also a sailing school seeking a base at the new facility.
According to the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, research suggests the number of recreational vessels using the firth may already be at the limit of what the 130-or so dolphins can tolerate. To allow any more would, it argues, be self defeating and risk driving away the very attraction the enterprises are looking to make money from.
The problem is that we do not really know. The dolphins are nominally protected by an EU Habitats Directive and a Special Area of Conservation and all the existing operators sign up to the Dolphin Space Programme, which sets out a code of responsible behaviour. However, there are still too many gaps in our knowledge about how the creatures live and their vulnerability to disturbance by shipping for definitive rules to be drawn up with any confidence they will make a difference.
Internationally, bottlenose dolphins are not an endangered species and those living in the Moray Firth are important largely for their curiosity value as the world's most northerly resident population. In addition, a modest tourist industry has grown up around them and more could have been made of this onshore had Inverness planners not decided that retail warehouses and plant hire depots were more appropriate developments on the city's waterfront than apartments, hotels and flagship offices.
Set against the environmental case is the Moray Firth's continuing importance as a commercial waterway. Inverness Harbour has expanded and is likely to become busier, not just with recreational craft but with large merchant vessels.
So far the two have managed to co-exist thanks to goodwill on both sides, but the signs are we may be reaching a crossroads. If we are serious about protecting the dolphins we require detailed, and probably publicly-funded, research to enable informed decisions to be made.
Sign of the times
IT is a basic test that road signs should be clear, uncluttered and easy to read.
To that end Transport Scotland oversaw a blitz on unauthorised tourist signs on the A82 in Drumnadrochit last year, claiming they were confusing for motorists.
So what are we to make of the hi-tech sign on Friars' Bridge in Inverness which provides real time information on the number of free spaces in the main city centre car parks? It is undoubtedly a valuable addition to the streetscape and is even environmentally friendly - the digital displays are solar powered. Unfortunately, no-one driving past can see it.
It has been erected immediately behind an older, directional sign on the approach to the Rose Street roundabout, so close that it is almost completely obscured. Bizarrely, the solar panel feeding its battery has been mounted on the sign in front, suggesting the workers responsible were aware that the older sign was not going to be taken down.
For the sake of clarity, consistency and sheer common sense, Transport Scotland should, as our column demands, Get it Sorted.
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