The Aberdeen newspaper The Press and Journal reported yesterday that “SALMON could be deafened by the construction noise of the proposed Aberdeen bypass” (in their repot “Salmon at risk from noise, probe told“).
The objector to proposed developments in Aberdeen, research biologist Tony Hawkins, claimed that salmon were at significant risk of a negative impact.
Further, he said that as the site in question is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) that any development which causes “significant deterioration” to habitats is against European guidelines.
It remains to be seen what decision is made here, but it is certainly a very interesting argument – and one which shows how far we have come in the past hundred or more years. I read a lot of old fishing books, and one thing that really sticks out is the numbers of salmon that used to be in my local river, the River Ure, until over-industrialisation decimated the species to approximately zero. Refilling the river with salmon has been a painfully slow process, and one which has met only limited success.
The book which details this best is called Gun, Rod and Rifle, and one passage in particular, which describes how the river was only ‘clean’ on Monday mornings, when all the mining in the locality had been on a weekend break is a particularly poignant reminder of how to do everything wrong.
Of course, what is proposed in Aberdeen is significantly less harmful than widespread lead mining – but the very fact salmon are being considered here must be good news for local fishermen and fishing related businesses.
Not to mention the otters!
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