Birds are less likely to be affected by the day to day operation of STS – although acoustic disturbance still have the potential to disturb population and prey. Birds are however particularly vulnerable to the effects of a spill, even a small one. There are RSPB reserves established at both Nigg Bay, Udale bay and Culbin Sands. Local businesses regularly use the former 2 locations on their tour itineraries. Bird watchers travel to the area to use the reserves, staying locally and spending money locally.
Nigg bay gets approximately 4,000 visits per year while Udale Bay has in the region of 8,000 visitors. Culbin Sands visitors are not counted per se, but are thought to be at a similar level as Udale Bay[1]. There are no specific figures for visitor spend however, using existing research on the value of reserves to local economies[2] the average spend per visitor was £70.93 – this figure was averaged over 10 different reserves and different visitor types (locals, day trippers and those spending a holiday). For these 3 reserves this makes a total annual income of £1,418,600 – this would be lost to the are following a bad spill. Note that this data relates to 2009 and is likely to have increased significantly in the intervening 8 years.
[1] Data provided by RSPB, October 2016
[2] RSPB 2011: Reserves and Local Economies – :https://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/reserves_localeconomies_tcm9-290937.pdf
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