Spur Point plans ‘naive’

La Societe considers Royal Haskoning’s mitigation proposals of relocation to be naive and extremely simplistic. Wishful thinking, even. Quite simply there is no data available that can be used to back up the proposal. Professor Karim Vahed, on behalf of English Nature, reared scaly crickets and released them; none could be found the following year, he considers it very unlikely that relocation would be successful. At the December ‘drop-in’, a representative from Royal Haskoning said that a company well versed in wildlife mitigation would be required to prepare a detailed plan. As far as I am aware, this has not gone out to tender yet. Presumably, Planning will be required to commission this. Obviously, any company commissioned must be independent of Royal Haskoning. Any plan would need at least three years’ work before any meaningful data comes to light. We are told that Longue Hougue North is nearly full; is this time pressure part of the strategy by E&I to force this through the States?

Royal Haskoning have given equal importance to sites where few insects have been found to that with hundreds. We have not trapped anywhere near the density of scaly crickets at Belle Greve as we have at Spur Point. What makes Spur Point a better site – less disturbance, more shelter or some other intangible factor? Other questions that need answering are:

n Does moving insects to an existing site upset the site’s balance and place stress on the existing population?

n How do you monitor a site where insects are introduced to an existing population?

n Do you breed insects in captivity and place eggs, young or adult scaly crickets in the sites identified?

n At what stage would you move ‘naturally born’ insects, bearing in mind they go through up to 12 instar stages?

At present, Spur Point is classed as an Area of Biological Importance – the term quite clearly has little significance and affords little protection. If scaly crickets were moved to Belle Greve, they would be moving from one ABI to another – is the intention to designate Belle Greve Bay as a Site of Special Scientific Interest?

Indeed, with the presence of maerl, eel grass and the St Peter Port Gabbro, should Belle Greve be designated as an extension to the existing Ramsar area?

There are many more questions that could be listed.

We have heard much about nature being at the forefront of a recovery plan following Covid-19, a Strategy for Nature has just been launched – where does the destruction of this unique site fit in with this? Undoubtedly, the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a global hotspot for the scaly cricket; very few populations have been recorded elsewhere, it is a Red Data Book species and is afforded the highest protection in France. Despite much searching, it has not been found on Jersey. Next year, Nature Trek are bringing a number of groups to the Bailiwick and there are plans to increase these; the potential for green tourism is huge, but Guernsey must show that it values its environment. What is certain is that there needs to be a debate on what measures are required to bring inert waste under control and reduce it to negligible levels, otherwise we will be under constant pressure to destroy our coastline. There are alternatives, more expensive maybe, but as we are always told, the polluter should pay. If some European countries can recycle 90%, why can’t Guernsey? In September 2019, Guernsey was a signatory to the Blue Islands Charter, which promised to control the island’s impact on both the terrestrial and marine environment. Can we really be a signatory to this charter and destroy Spur Point?

On Sunday 23 August, Nature Guernsey will be hosting an event at Spur Point from 8am to 2pm. We will be setting traps for scaly crickets, experts will be on hand to explain the importance of the marine biology of Spur Point and people will be able to hear about the extrusion of St Peter Port Gabbro, the only site in the world for this unusual rock.

Everybody is welcome.

TREVOR BOURGAIZE

La Societe Entomological Section.

trevor.bourgaize@gmail.com