A company called Halcrow and others are undergoing a public consultation exercise with a view to constructing a wave power generating hub at Hayle. The proposal is to construct submersible and/or semi-submersible wave power generators and to bring the power onshore at the site of the old Hayle Power Station from where it could be fed into the national grid. Given some environmental safeguards the scheme would seem to have a lot going for it. However there is no clear indication to date how far offshore they propose to establish the wave power generators. A local environmentalist looking at the possible build scenarios think they may have overlooked the fact that AC power in navigable waters disables magnetic compasses, and hence the underwater cables that send French power to the UK and those linking the North and South islands of New Zealand are DC and he has e-mailed Halcrow to alert them to the fact. We don.t need any more tankers going aground.

A Westcountry MEP, Caroline Jackson, is calling for a European Commission study into the impact of naval sonar on the marine environment, in particular on dolphins and other cetaceans. Greenpeace and the Whale & Dolphin Society estimate that thousands of creatures die annually on the British coast. Pair Trawling has been blamed for the majority of these deaths, but recent scientific evidence suggests that sonar activity from warships could also be playing a part. Some scientists believe that sonar signals may cause bubbles in the animals tissue, in much the same way that divers can suffer from decompression sickness known as .the bends.. They say sonar use may need to be regulated to protect the mammals.

The National Trust is to launch a campaign to tackle the problem of dog mess on Cornish beaches. The Trust says high levels of dog waste are damaging the beaches near Newquay. On many beaches there are specially adapted plants which thrive on sand and low nutrient soils, and excessive dog faeces is fertilising some areas and encouraging the growth of nettles and brambles, crowding out protected plants. Disposal of dog waste is proving a particular problem despite bins being provided. In one week in October 2003, over 70 kilograms of bagged dog faeces was removed from the car park at Crantock, which is owned by the Trust. All dog owners are urged to take dog waste home or put it in a bin, where they are provided. Beach users can then enjoy their visits to the beach in a safe environment, and special habitats will remain unharmed.

There were no reports of Bottlenose Dolphins during November, but a pod of 20 dolphins reported off Porthcothan on the 1st of the month and a pod of 7 off Trebetherick on the 2nd were probably Bottlenose as were a pod of about 10 off Plymouth Breakwater on the 29th. Harbour Porpoises were reported on 13 different days, 6 of which were off Botallack and the others around Penwith The largest numbers were of 8 off Botallack on the 20th and Cape Cornwall on the 14th. 15 or more Common Dolphins were seen off the Minack on the 27th and the only other report was of a Grey Seal off Polzeath. Benty the easily recognised Bottlenose Dolphin has not been reported since September 2003 so we have probably seen the last of him. It has been quite an unusual month with Harbour Porpoises being the major part of the sightings.

There was only one cetacean carcass found stranded during November and that was a Harbour Porpoise at Portreath. Grey Seal carcasses were found on 7 beaches, 5 on the north coast from Port Gavern to Gwithian, one at Perranuthnoe on the south coast and one on Bryher in the Scilly Isles. Four of them were pups, another was grey coated, so probably quite young, but this one had been cleanly decapitated. The one at Gwithian was a badly decomposed adult and the one at Perranuthnoe probably died of old age, for it had very worn teeth. Other creatures washed up were three birds, a Gannet, a Shag and an Auk, and two Triggerfish and a Cuttlefish.

Conservation Officer Raymond Dennis

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