Sally Rouse

Commercial fisheries interactions with oil and gas pipelines in the North Sea: considerations for decommissioning

Commercial fisheries interactions with oil and gas pipelines in the North Sea: considerations for decommissioning Sally Rouse, Andronikos Kafas, Rui Catarino, and Hayes Peter Ecology Department, Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, PA37 1QA, UK Renewables and Energy Programme, Marine Scotland Science, 375 Victoria Road, Aberdeen, AB11 9DB, UK *Corresponding author: tel: þ44(0) 01631 559000; fax: +44(0) 01631 559001; e-mail: sally.rouse@sams.ac.uk

Offshore pipeline decommissioning: Scale and context

The spatial extent of human activities must be understood for consistent and proportionate regulation, and effective marine planning. Redundant offshore pipelines can be removed or left in situ, but data on the footprint of these options are not readily available. The extents of three North Sea in situ decommissioning scenarios are presented. Leaving pipelines in situ would occupy <0.01% (12.3 km2) of UK waters, and this was similar to, or smaller than, other regulated activities (e.g. aggregate extraction). Adding armouring to large pipelines occupied up to 95 km2, while creating fisheries exclusion zones occupied up to 1119 km2. Removal of pipelines >30″ would be required to regain 50% or more of the seabed currently occupied. At present, the technology to remove pipelines >16″ safely and cost-efficiently is untested for large-scale decommissioning projects. The summaries presented inform the debate over the significance of decommissioning, and the regional consequences of different options.

A checklist of marine bryozoan taxa in Scottish sea regions

Abstract Contemporary and historical bryozoan records were compiled to provide a comprehensive checklist of species in Scottish waters. The checklist comprises 218 species in 58 families, with representatives from each of the extant bryozoan orders. The fauna was relatively sparse compared to other regions for which bryozoan checklists were available e.g. New Zealand and Australia. Six non-indigenous bryozoan species from the Scottish seas region were included in the checklist. Baseline information on species distributions, such as that presented in this checklist, can be used to monitor and manage the impact of human activities on the marine environment, and ultimately preserve marine biodiversity.