Annual Conference 2008 Report
In the following pages you will find all ten presentations and summaries of discussion sessions from this year’s extremely well attended Living & Working on the Moray Firth conference which took place at the Ramada Jarvis Hotel in Inverness on Friday 23 May.
More than 90 delegates turned up on the day to hear presentations, ask questions and join the debate on the conference’s four main topic areas which were New Moray Firth Coastal Developments, Harbour & Marina Developments and increasing recreational boat traffic, Energy and Plastic Carrier Bags. I was particularly pleased by the wide mix of delegates from business and industry, local authorities and enterprise companies, environmental and conservation bodies, community groups, statutory agencies, academia, and of course interested individuals. Thank you all for coming and for your contributions to the open discussion sessions. Feedback received from delegates has been extremely positive.
I would like say a very big thank you to the ten speakers for their interesting and stimulating presentations and an extra big thank you to Professor Paul Thompson for stepping in with a thought provoking talk at very short notice. Finally, special thanks go to the conference sponsors, Chevron Upstream Europe for their continued generous support.
Kathryn Logan
Manager, Moray Firth Partnership
CONTENTS
Welcome Sinclair Young, Moray Firth Partnership Chair
Whiteness – A New Coastal Development Stewart Fulton, Whiteness Property Company
Planning for Growth – strategic considerations Richard Hartland, Highland Council
Coastal Developments – Discussion Session
Harbours & Marinas – Opportunities for the Future Calum Macdougall, Varis Engineering
Go Wild! – Marine & Wildlife Tourism Markets Fred Gordon, Aberdeenshire Council
Human influences on the Moray Firth Dolphins Prof. Paul Thompson, Aberdeen University
Boats & Wildlife – Discussion Session
Oil & Gas – Continuing Developments in the Firth John Woods, Ithaca Energy UK
Onshore & Offshore – Caithness Oil Prospects Peter O’ Sullivan, Caithness Petroleum
Renewable Energy Developments Calum Davidson, Highlands & Islands Enterprise
Energy - Discussion Session
Learning From Modbury – Europe’s First Plastic Bag Free Town Anne Saunders, Marine Conservation Society
A co-operative Plastic Bag Strategy Michael Boylan, Co-operative Food
Plastic Bags – A Moray Firth Campaign chaired by Maureen Macmillan, Moray Firth Partnership
Moray Firth Partnership Annual Conference 2008 'Living and Working in the Moray Firth' was generously sponsored by Chevron Upstream Europe.
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