Marine Mammal Scientific Support to Scottish Government

Harbour seals (Monica Arso)
Harbour seals (Monica Arso

At the beginning of 2015 the Sea Mammal Research Unit started a major new strategic marine mammal research project funded by the Scottish Government (the Marine Mammal Scientific Support Research Programme MMSS/002/15),  This project continued with some areas of work funded under the previous project (see below) whilst also looking forward to new areas of technology, industry and research, continuing to provides advice to Scottish Ministers and stakeholders across a range of key marine policy areas. The programme comprised three major themes:

  • Marine Renewable Energy,
  • HarbourSeal Decline,
  • Seal and Salmon Interactions.

To complete the research the Sea Mammal Research Unit is working with a number of  collaborating organisations, including the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH).  The annual reports associated with this research programme can be found below.

This research theme continues to identifying and assessing possible impacts of offshore marine renewable energy developments on marine mammals, focusing mainly on seals.

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