TL: MEDIA BRIEFING - ST KILDA SO: GREENPEACE UK, (GP) DT: JULY 1997 LOCATION OF ST KILDA St Kilda lies 66km WNW of Griminish Point, North Uist off the west coast of Scotland. It is the most isolated island group in the British Isles. The National Trust for Scotland has owned it since 1957. HISTORY OF ST KILDA St Kilda has a complex history of human occupation shaded by hardship, disease and out-migration. Its final occupants were forced to evacuate the island in the 1930's. More information is available on request from Sarah North. WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT ST KILDA'S ENVIRONMENT? The St Kilda archipelago is a premier sea-bird breeding station of the North Atlantic. There are approximately 400,000 breeding pairs of 15 species of sea bird. This includes the largest breeding assembly of gannets in the world, with over 60,000 pairs recorded in 1994. It is also one of the very few European breeding stations for Leach's petrels as well as the more widespread Storm petrel and Manx shearwater. The archipelago is also renowned for its rich and important marine life. This is in part due to its exposed location in the path of oceanic currents and storms in conjunction with its upstanding character on the continental shelf. Past research has revealed ranges of seaweed and invertebrates, which were found to be of great ecological interest. The fauna in the deeper water includes squat sponges, polyclinids, ascidians and anemones. Exposed shelves and terraces are swept clear of kelp to depths of 30m and hold fine spreads of jewel anemone and soft corals. Grey seals breed in small numbers in sheltered caves and coves. When Scottish Natural Heritage declared St Kilda a Marine Consultation Area in January 1990 it stated that "coupled with the cave and tunnel systems and the oceanic water type, the archipelago is unique in the British Isles and probably in the North Atlantic, and is of the highest conservation importance". More information regarding the terrestrial environment is available on request. HOW ST KILDA IS PROTECTED St Kilda has numerous conservation designations because of its very special environmental features. These include: World Heritage Site (WHS) - St Kilda was designated a WHS in 1986 for its natural characteristics and in particular for its superlative natural features, its habitats for rare and endangered species and its seabird population. This designation means that it has equivalent ecological value as the Great Barrier Reef or Antarctica. Special Protected Area (SPA) - St Kilda was designated a SPA in 1992. The purpose of this designation is to ensure the conservation of habitats upon which certain birds depend. (Candidate) Special Area for Conservation (SAC) - This designation was submitted as a proposal to the European Commission in October 1996. It was selected on the basis of its vegetated cliffs, reefs and sea caves. It is SNH's policy to treat the site as if it had already been formally designated and therefore apply relevant conservation measures. St Kilda is also a Biosphere Reserve, a National Nature Reserve, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Scenic Area and a Marine Consultation Area. RISKS FROM TANKER TRAFFIC In the absence of formal protection from tanker movements, St Kilda is at risk from incidents which may cause pollution, either from grounding tankers on or close to the islands, or an oil spill which would impact upon the seabirds and their feeding grounds. This situation is made more grave by the fact that there is an inadequate infrastructure to deal with such events. The Marine Pollution Control Unit has the strategic responsibility to react to oil spills at sea. They are however based at Southampton, as is the majority of their clean-up equipment. There are also staff and supplies based at Stirling. However, in the area of the Hebrides and St Kilda, access to technical staff and equipment is very limited. In addition, the Donaldson Report (which followed The Braer oil spill in 1993) highlighted that there is little, if any, emergency support for vessels in distress in north west Scotland. It stated that "the area of the Minches and the DWR to the west of Western Isles is the only area of great environmental sensitivity around the UK coasts where there is no emergency assistance of any sort now available. Although tanker traffic is sparse, the potential dangers of failure to the west of the islands are considerable." The dangers of this situation were highlighted in 1981 when the tanker Maersk Angus lost power and drifted to within 2km of St Kilda. It was adrift for 24 hours before a tug could rescue it. In this instance, St Kilda was saved from a pollution incident due to favourable winds. The combination of re-routing tankers to the east of St Kilda, in association with the inevitable rise in tanker traffic which will occur as a result of the 17th Round of Oil and Gas Licenses, will increase the threat of an oil spill in the area of St Kilda. Maps of St Kilda and the Deep Water Route for tankers are available on request.