Strategic priorities for assessing ecological impacts of marine renewable energy devices in the Pentland Firth (Scotland, UK)

Mark Shields, Lora Jane Dillon, David K. Woolf, Alex T. Ford

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

65 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Pentland Firth, located between the north coast of mainland Scotland (UK) and the Orkney Islands, is recognised as an excellent location for the utilisation of tidal stream technology. Potential ecological impacts associated with tidal stream technology may ultimately depend on device design, array size and deployment location. Available ecological data for the Pentland Firth is summarised and strategic priorities for assessing ecological impacts are provided. Baseline data on marine species and habitats in the Pentland Firth is severely lacking and consequently the integrity of any environmental impact assessment could be compromised by this lack of data.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)635-642
Number of pages8
JournalMarine Policy
Volume33
Issue number4
Early online date17 Mar 2009
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2009

Keywords

  • Marine renewable energy
  • Environmental impact assessment
  • Benthic
  • Pelagic
  • Pentland Firth
  • North-Sea
  • grey seals
  • habitat
  • disturbance
  • Fish
  • management
  • cetaceans
  • fisheries
  • areas
  • need

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