{"id":300954,"date":"2025-07-29T10:28:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-29T10:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/300954\/"},"modified":"2025-07-29T10:28:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T10:28:20","slug":"berwick-bank-offshore-wind-farm-poses-devastating-threat-to-seabirds-conservationists-warn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/300954\/","title":{"rendered":"Berwick Bank: Offshore wind farm poses ‘devastating’ threat to seabirds, conservationists warn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Plans for one of the world\u2019s largest offshore wind farms could have a \u201cdevastating\u201d impact on seabirds, conservationists warn.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The proposed Berwick Bank development would see up to 307 turbines built in the outer Firth of Forth, about 40km off the Scottish coast and near key seabird colonies like Bass Rock, St Abb\u2019s Head and the Isle of May.<\/p>\n

The area is home to a rich variety of species, including puffins, razorbills, guillemots and gannets.<\/p>\n

The island of Craigleith, just off North Berwick, has seen a dramatic resurgence in its puffin population after nearly two decades of conservation work.<\/p>\n

More than a thousand volunteers have helped clear invasive tree mallow \u2013 a plant which once covered 80% of the land and blocked puffins from nesting in their burrows.<\/p>\n

Today, an estimated 5,000 breeding pairs live on Craigleith up from around 1,000 in 2007.<\/p>\n

But across the UK, seabird numbers are falling. The latest seabird census found around 70% of Scotland\u2019s seabird species had dropped over a 20-year period, with as many as seven seabird species experiencing declines of over 50%.<\/p>\n

Conservationists fear Berwick Bank could threaten puffins and other seabird populations off the east coast.<\/p>\n

Fledgling season brings hope \u2013 but threats persist<\/strong>\"JulySTV NewsJuly marks fledging season as pufflings take to the skies for the first time STV News<\/p>\n

It\u2019s July in the Firth of Forth \u2013 and for Scotland\u2019s young puffins that means it\u2019s time for their first flight.<\/p>\n

All they need is a little courage to make the leap.<\/p>\n

SOS Puffin Project conservation officer Emily Burton said: \u201cThe pufflings, which are the baby puffins, are just starting to get to the point where they\u2019re fledging \u2013 so they\u2019re leaving their burrows for the first time.<\/p>\n

\u201cPuffins nest underground in burrows, so this will be the first time that those pufflings have seen the sea and been out in the open air \u2013 and what they\u2019ll be doing is fledging and heading out into the open water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks to the work on Craigleith, many now have that chance.<\/p>\n

For nearly two decades, volunteers have worked to cut back tree mallow and restore the island\u2019s habitat.<\/p>\n

\"PuffinsSTV NewsPuffins and other seabirds \u2018already struggling\u2019 STV News\"SeabirdsSTV NewsSeabirds \u2018living on the margins of survival\u2019, expert says STV News<\/p>\n

Volunteer John Hunter has organised around 300 work parties since the project\u2019s launch in 2007.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWhen we started there weren\u2019t that many puffins nesting, maybe only hundreds. We think there are around 5,000 pairs now nesting. So it\u2019s looking promising for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have to carry on for a few more years sending out necessary work parties to keep tree mallow at bay.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future is hard to predict. But I think we\u2019ve made a huge difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

Emily said the long-running effort to remove tree mallow has been vital for the birds\u2019 survival.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt grows so densely that it outcompetes all native vegetation here and creates an environment that makes it very difficult for puffins to breed successfully.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeabirds are facing a lot of different threats \u2013 climate change, unsustainable fishing, offshore development and other invasive species.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seabirds \u2018already struggling\u2019\"ConservationSTV NewsConservation officer Emily Burton STV News<\/p>\n

The looming Berwick Bank project has brought the future of seabirds in the Firth of Forth into sharp focus.<\/p>\n

Despite the environmental concerns, energy giant SSE Renewables says the Berwick Bank project is vital for Scotland\u2019s transition to renewable energy. The Scottish Government has yet to decide on the project, nearly two years after SSE submitted its application in late 2022.<\/p>\n

The development could generate up to 4.1 gigawatts, enough to power more than six million homes, and the company calls it one of the world\u2019s most significant offshore wind opportunities.<\/p>\n

But according to SSE\u2019s own environmental impact assessment, more than 31,000 bird collisions are estimated during its lifespan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very worried about the impact it\u2019ll have. These seabirds are already struggling on the islands we look after. They will be flying near the development when they forage and feed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to look a bit more closely at these issues and work out how we do our very best for our seabirds. It\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We need renewables \u2013 but we also want seabirds to thrive\u2019\"WindAdobe StockWind farm three times the size of Edinburgh proposed off east coast Adobe Stock<\/p>\n

RSPB Scotland\u2019s Aed\u00e1n Smith warned that the proposed development could have a \u201creally devastating\u201d impact on seabirds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s kind of a scarecrow effect with turbines,\u201d he said. \u201cBirds see something unfamiliar in their environment and avoid that area.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s a place they depend on for feeding, and they can\u2019t find food elsewhere, they might struggle to feed their chicks or starve themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of seabirds are already living right on the margins of survival. If they have to fly even a little further, it might push them over the edge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aed\u00e1n urged that profits from offshore wind projects should be reinvested to protect seabird populations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to get that balance right in the least damaging way possible,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need renewables, but we also want to see our seabirds thrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the solution to climate change means destroying our natural environment, then it\u2019s no solution at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome of the biggest investments we\u2019ve ever seen are exploiting nature. We should invest some of that back into Scotland\u2019s natural environment and improving seabird resilience.\u201d<\/p>\n

SSE said it has already revised its designs to help minimise potential risks to seabirds.<\/p>\n

An SSE spokesperson said:\u00a0\u201cReducing our reliance on fossil fuels is critical to ensuring we prevent the worst possible impacts of climate change which, according to the most recent expert assessment, is the biggest single threat to Scottish seabirds.
\u00a0
\u201cDeveloping a world-leading offshore wind industry, with projects of the scale and ambition of Berwick Bank, is a key part of combating the catastrophic consequences of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Scottish Government said: \u201cIt would not be appropriate to comment on a live consenting application.\u201d<\/p>\n

STV News is now on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

Get all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n

Follow STV News <\/a>Follow STV News on WhatsApp<\/p>\n

Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country<\/p>\n

\"WhatsApp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Plans for one of the world\u2019s largest offshore wind farms could have a \u201cdevastating\u201d impact on seabirds, conservationists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":300955,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[728,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-300954","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-environment","9":"tag-science","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114936055340431420","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300954","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=300954"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/300954\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/300955"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300954"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=300954"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=300954"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}