Orkney Image Library

Terns have always migrated south to the warmer climate by this time of year!! I would put most of the blame on the Danes for overfishing our sandeels than insinuating that the natural predators of our marine environment are to blame

Which area of Stronsay is this Jim. I can remember lots of terns nesting at the heid of the ness about thirty years ago.

the truth being...?

This is Linksness. You are thinking of Griceness Clive. no terns there now either. I know they have all migrated at this time of year but you wont see any in summer either.

Thanks Jim I did a google search and it seems that tern numbers have dropped by up to 30% around the uk. Seems that sandeel decline is a contributing factor. Pity it was always good fun having to walk with a stick above your head at Griceness and they were beautiful birds to watch.

I think the seals ate far more sandeels than the Danes do!! Whit about all the creels they damage each year!

The world associates and appreciates Orkney for its' wildlife (thankfully, as there wouldn't be much tourism otherwise - Orkney is expensive and difficult for most people to reach - It's easier to fly to Malaysia and the climate is better). Orkney's own inhabitants nonetheless seem to enjoy heaping the blame for dwindling fish stocks on the very animal that is a symbol of the Isles. Like it or not, Tourism is Orkney's only hope for a stable future Industry so some of us should think twice before welcoming the next cull of that symbol. Fishing has been a declining industry for over a century, but I hardly think that can be blamed on Seals quite as much as on the commercial fishing Industry. I remember there being a lot more seals around when I was a kid, but nobody grudged them their share of the fish quite as much back then. The rich lobster fishing around Flotta was decimated by fishermen and subsequently pollution from the oil refinery, not seals. As with most of the problems we're all facing now It's pretty much our own doing. There have been plenty of opportunities down the years to safeguard future fish stocks by respecting quotas and regulation put in place just for that. It's always somebody else's fault and always up to someone else to find the solution. When nobody can be brought to book for it, It's the fault of the seals. When the oil runs out (not so long from now as we all thought) and Orkney's economy crumbles, will we be blaming the Skuas or maybe the Orkney vole?.

Buey Jim thue hiz gotten thee sele inta hot watter on this ane!!Hoo dare you that has lived all thee life on Stronsay hiv an opeeneon!!

The Danes do not eat the sandeels they feed them to the pigs they breed.

Ah yas John I will better no put on any more seal pictures. I will maybe just show you ones o me cruisie lamp

Cruisie lamp! Yes please!

My grandma had one at Hawthorn Villa but I don't know what happened to it. Are there still a lot of them about? I'd love to see some photos even if you were just joking!

Aye. They were great things for burning seal oil.

Whit are thoo burnan, in thee cruisie? I hup hids no whit I think hid might be.

Oops, didn't mean to come down like a ton o' bricks Jim. Must've been in a bad mood. Opinions are free thankfully. Haven't lived in Orkney all my life myself, but since I was 3. so I've got some opinions of my own, popular or not. Put up all the photos of Selkies you want to Jim.