Irresponsible jet-skiers are still causing problems for wildlife in the Tay.
Gareth Norman, manager of coastal safety organisation Coastwatch, was speaking after a local businessman blamed jet-skiers for the death of a seal found on Broughty Ferry beach last week.
Pedro Bisquert (45), owner of the Tapas Bar on Gray Street, said the seal was still alive when he found it.
“You could tell it had a bang to the head and that it was probably caused by a propeller. This isn’t the first time this sort of thing has happened and I’m sure it won’t be the last. There are always boats and jet skis there going very fast.
“I have a boat and I like to race it fast but I go further out to sea so that this sort of thing doesn’t happen.”
He added: “This isn’t a very nice thing to happen, and I’m not very happy about it. Lots of kids and families walk up and down this area and they are bound to have seen it and been distressed by it.”
The find was reported to police, who contacted Dundee City Council to arrange for the seal to be disposed of and it was later buried on the foreshore.
Such a fate is not unusual for larger sea mammals that wash up dead on the beach and mimics what happens in nature, said Mr Norman.
“This particular seal was reported to us and to the SSCPCA but it was six foot long and weighed around 250 kilograms so it was just too large for us to be able to help,” he said.
He comes across quite a number of injured seals and dolphins but it is almost impossible to say what inflicted the damage.
Even so: “We have obviously still got a problem with some jet-skiers who fail to comply with the local river by-laws,” he said.
Mr Norman said pilots of jet-skis and other craft can harm dolphins simply by getting too close and forcing them into shallow waters.
That can lead to them becoming stranded something he has had to deal with three times in the Tay area this year already and the outcome is not always a happy one.
Mr Norman said there is still a lot of dolphin activity in the Tay and appealed for jet-skiers and those on other craft to be aware of their presence and act accordingly.
Pointing out that not all jet-skiers caused a problem, he added: “There were about half-a-dozen jet-skiers out today and once they realised there were dolphins in the river they put room between them and the dolphins and moved away.”
In response to complaints earlier this year, Tayside Police met local groups including the Phibbies, Coastwatch and the RNLI to promote the safe use of high-powered watercraft in the hope that responsible jet-skiers would help to curb the wrong-doers.
Police at Broughty Ferry also made available a booklet and CD outlining essential information for jet-skiers in the area.
The burial of the seal found at Broughty Ferry last week was witnessed by one family, who sent a photograph to The Courier.
“Quite by chance my family and I were enjoying an ice cream on Saturday afternoon and saw the seal being buried in a JCB excavated ‘grave’ on the foreshore,” explained Paul Monteith.