| Worst fears confirmed
for fishermen |
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Fishermen's worst fears are being
confirmed, as EU experts support calls for a total shutdown
of key fishing grounds around the UK. A committee advising the
European Commission will back last month's report from the International
Council for the Exploration of the Seas. It has recommended
drastic fishing cuts to prevent the collapse of white-fish stocks.
EU Fisheries Commissioner Franz Fischler has already proposed
the closure of virtually all cod fishing grounds in the North
Sea, Irish Sea and waters off the West Coast of Scotland. |
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More information -
Ananova
BBC
EUobserver
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Herald
Belfast
Telegraph |
| Concern over Irish
wind farm plan |
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Residents in County Fermanagh are
concerned over a proposal to build the largest wind farm in
Ireland in their area. There are currently three planning applications
being made to build wind farms in the west of Northern Ireland.
The plan for the farm in Fermanagh, at the Knocks, would be
the biggest on the island of Ireland to date and local people
are making clear their feelings about the proposal. They say
it would have a major impact on the scenery around the townland.
However, according to the company behind the proposal for a
wind farm, the site at Carricknabrattoge meets all the criteria.
They say it is not designated for conservation, is a suitable
distance from housing and is in a very windy area. |
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More information - BBC
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| Committee takes wind
farm evidence |
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A parliamentary committee is taking
evidence in Dumfries from those who would be affected if Scotland's
first offshore wind farm is built in the Solway Firth. The 60
turbine wind farm would be located in Scottish waters halfway
between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts. Legislation is required
since it would involve the creation of an exclusion zone, which
may interfere with navigation and fishing rights. |
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More information - BBC
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| Unlocking secrets of
Antarctic |
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It is one of the most hostile environments
known to man and over the years has humbled the likes of Sir
Ernest Shackleton and claimed the life of intrepid explorer
Robert Falcon Scott. Until recently, relatively little was known
about what lies cold and dormant deep beneath the ice caps of
the Antarctic. But those mysteries are to be unlocked by scientists
at the University of East Anglia, who will examine ancient ice
cores from the Antarctic in a specially designed freezer lab.
The ice cores, which will be transported from the Antarctic
and arrive at the UEA within the next fortnight, will be studied
by experts at the school of environmental sciences in a -25C
freezer lab. |
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More information - EDP24
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| £3bn 'black hole' in
London airport plan |
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A damning report into proposals to
build a new London airport on one of the country's most important
wildlife sites says the Government has seriously underestimated
the cost, impact and timescale of the project. The report, to
be published today by a leading firm of airport consultants,
says building a new airport on the Kent marshes would cost at
least £3 billion more than the Government has estimated. In
its 150-page report, Mott MacDonald also claims that up to 110,000
new homes will be needed if an airport is constructed around
Cliffe. |
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More information - Telegraph
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| Stewardship scheme
opens early |
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The Countryside Stewardship Scheme
has opened for applications two months earlier than usual. Environment
minister Michael Meacher said the government wanted to make
it easier for farmers to opened the application procedure two
months earlier than normal. The closing date for applications
is 30 April 2003, a move which extends the application window
by a month. This will allow applications to be approved well
ahead of the critical August/September sowing dates, said the
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. But Strutt
& Parker farm business consultant Matthew Ward, questioned the
need for deadlines at all. |
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More information - FWi
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| Farmers spurn managed
retreat |
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The government has admitted that
it is having difficulties convincing farmers that their land
should be abandoned to the sea. Europe’s biggest managed retreat
scheme was launched by countryside minister Elliot Morley on
the Essex coast at Great Wigborough, last Monday (4 November).
The 80ha (200-acre) site has been under arable production, but
will now be abandoned to the sea to create a saltmarsh-based
wildlife habitat and a natural sea defence. But uptake of the
scheme in farming circles has been low even though annual payments
of £555/ha (£225/acre) are available for a 10-year period. As
with almost all of the schemes so far, the Wigborough land is
owned by a conservation organisation, in this case the Essex
Wildlife Trust. |
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More information - FWi
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| Hungry dolphins attack
researchers |
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Bottlenose dolphins in Scotland are
sinking their teeth into humans, because of a shortage of fish.
Scientists studying the behaviour of the mammals in the North
Sea have been bitten by the hungry animals desperate to find
food. The dolphins also are attacking harbour porpoises in the
battle for food. Professor Monty Priede, of Aberdeen University
who has been studying the dolphins for ten years, said he has
never seen them so vicious. "The population of cod in the North
Sea has fallen by half, and this takes away the dolphins’ main
source of food," he said. "This is mainly due to fishermen catching
huge amounts of fish, so the dolphins are searching for other
forms of food." |
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More information -
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| Salmonella is hitting
garden birds visiting bird tables |
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Salmonella Typhimurium and
Escherichia Coli are two bacteria capable of causing
mortality in garden birds, especially those visiting bird tables
and other feeding stations in gardens, according to research
published in the Veterinary Record. Over a period of 12 months
two sites in southwest Scotland were monitored for the two organisms,
with samples of faeces and any dead birds being screened for
the organisms. The research and analysis carried out by T.W.Pennycott,
A.Park, R.N.Cindery, H.A.Mather and G.Foster, shows that most
of the deaths from salmonellosis recorded in garden birds in
Scotland are caused by S Typhimurium DT40 and occur in greenfinches
between the months of January and April. |
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More information - NFU
Countryside
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| Golden Eagles could
re-establish population in Ireland |
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A bird of prey which has been extinct
in Ireland since 1912 could be set to reclaim an area of Co
Donegal as its territory. Organisers of a scheme to reintroduce
the Golden Eagle to Glenveagh National Park say the project
has been a success, with some birds about to enter their second
winter. A total of 14 newly-hatched eaglets have been brought
over from Scotland in the first relocation scheme of its kind
in Ireland. Project manager Lorcan O'Toole said only one of
the birds brought over to the park has not survived. "We're
very pleased with the success rate to date," he said. "It is
much better than we expected - we have only lost one eagle so
far." |
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More information -
Ananova
Telegraph
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| Swallows in factory
forget to fly south |
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Four young swallows showing no desire
to migrate to Africa for the winter spent the weekend defying
efforts to persuade them to do what should come naturally. The
birds should have headed south two months ago on the 4,000-mile
journey across the Sahara Desert and beyond the Equator. Instead
they are content to fly around catching insects in the 60ft-high
roof void of the Molins factory in Haw Lane, Saunderton, near
High Wycombe, Bucks. |
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More information - Telegraph
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| Feathered friend hotline
launches in Herefordshire & Worcestershire |
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Bird enthusiasts listening to BBC
Hereford & Worcester’s wildlife feature have bombarded Katie
Smith's afternoon show with so many queries, that a special
hotline has been launched to cope with the high volume of calls.
A Blackbird In the first of its kind, the Royal Society for
the Protection of Birds has teamed up with the station to help
locals with their ‘feathery’ questions. The wildlife feature
started as a monthly phone-in six months ago, but it proved
so popular with listeners that it’s now a weekly feature. |
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More information - BBC
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| Night shooting sparks
deer fears |
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Concerns are growing over a controversial
method of culling deer in Scotland. Gamekeepers and former forest
rangers claim animals have been left wounded by night shooting.
Welfare groups have raised fears that the drive to protect forestry
north of the border will put more pressure on the native deer.
However, the practice of night shooting has been defended by
both Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and the Forestry Commission.
Former Forestry Commission ranger Donald Milton is one of those
who have raised concerns about the impact of night shooting.
"I have seen one stag with its lower jaw shot off, another one
with its foreleg swinging, obviously the result of a bullet,
and another one shot in behind the rib cage." |
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More information - BBC
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| Bat boxes must be part
of new houses |
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Bat boxes will have to be incorporated
into new homes which are due to be built next to an area of
green belt in Halesowen. Dudley Council has prepared a detailed
development brief for an area of land partly occupied by garages
in Stewarts Road, which is no longer needed by the housing department.
The council is to market the site next to the Coombs Wood Green
Wedge for housing development.The site also adjoins a landscape
heritage area and an area of importance for nature conservation.
Local residents consulted about the development plans have expressed
concerns about the impact on local wildlife and the loss of
trees. |
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More information - expressandstar.com
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