Plea after Moray Firth dolphins harassed by speed boat

Bottlenose dolphin

A LOCAL member of the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) has called on boat owners to give the local dolphin population space after an incident of alleged harrassment last week.

A police investigation is under way after reports of a speedboat being driven through a school of dolphins in the Moray Firth near the Kessock Bridge.

The incident took plae on the afternoon of Monday, April 25.

Police are appealing to to boat users to be mindful of marine wildlife whilst enjoying their activities. It comes after reports of a rigid inflatable speedboat being driven through a school of dolphins.

Charlie Phillips of WDCS based at North Kessock urged every boat owner to treat the dolphins with respect.

"The problem is local dolphins hang about the entrance to the new marina and you will get boats stopping to look at them and sometimes chasing after them. It’s a case of educating boat owners to give them space and treat them with respect.

"There is a code of conduct giving best practice to private and commercial boat operators about how to behave around dolphins.

"The key is to give them space and observe from a distance.

"Where there is an influx of new boats encounters between boats and dolphins will go up but hopefully people in the marina are aware and treat them with respect.

"But the more boats the more chance of encounters with marine mammals and that increases the chances of bad encounters..

"It must be pointed out it is an offence to harrass them."

Unter the the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 it is an offence to intentionally disturb dolphins.

Anyone with any information in relation to this or any other similar offence should contact Northern Constabulary on 01463 715555