Environmental statement - Flyndre and Cawdor - Maersk Oil

Flyndre and Cawdor Environmental Statement
Section 3 Environmental Baseline
The distribution of the Chondrichthyes in the UKCS is not extensively documented. However available
literature (Ellis et al., 2004) suggests that at least five species are present in the CNS;
Squalus acanthias (spiny dogfish)
Galeorhinus galeus (tope shark)
Amblyraja radiate (commonly known as the thorny skate or starry ray)
Leucoraja naevus (cuckoo ray)
Scyliorhinus canicula (commonly known as the lesser spotted dogfish or the lesser spotted
catfish)
Total numbers recorded for each of these species is low (Ellis et al., 2004).
3.5.4. SEA BIRDS
Seabirds are generally not at risk from routine offshore production operations. However, they may be
vulnerable to pollution from less regular offshore activities such as well testing and flaring when
hydrocarbon dropout to the sea surface can occasionally occur, or from discharges such as oil spills.
Birds are vulnerable to oily surface pollution, which could cause direct toxicity through ingestion and
hypothermia as a result of the birds’ inability to waterproof their feathers. Birds are most vulnerable
in the moulting season when they become flightless and spend a large amount of time on the water
surface. This significantly increases their vulnerability to oil spills. Fulmars, guillemots and puffins are
particularly vulnerable to surface pollutants as they spend the majority of their time on the surface of
the water. Herring gulls, kittiwakes and great black‐backed gulls are less vulnerable as they spend a
larger proportion of their time flying and therefore less time on the sea surface (Stone et al., 1995).
After the breeding season ends in June, large numbers of moulting auks (guillemots, razorbills and
puffins) disperse widely away from their coastal colonies and into offshore waters. At this time these
high numbers of birds are particularly vulnerable to oil pollution.
The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) has produced an Oil Vulnerability Index (OVI) for
seabirds encountered within each offshore licence block within the Southern, Central and Northern
North Sea and the Irish Sea. For each block, an index of vulnerability for all species is given which
considers the following four factors;
the amount of time spent on the water
total biogeographical population
reliance on the marine environment
potential rate of population recovery.
Each of these factors is weighted according to its biological importance and the OVI is then derived
(Williams et al., 1994). The OVI of seabirds within each offshore licence block changes throughout the
year Table 3‐12. This is due to seasonal fluctuations in the species and number of birds present in an
area.
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