Shetland Islands
| Use attributes for filter ! | |
| Area | 1466 |
|---|---|
| Population | 23,080 (2017) |
| Largest city | Lerwick |
| Colleges and universities | Shetland College UHI |
| North Atlantic Fisheries College | |
| Did you know | In AD 43 and 77 the Roman authors Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder referred to the seven islands they call Haemodae and Acmodae respectively, both of which are assumed to be Shetland. |
| Date of Reg. | |
| Date of Upd. | |
| ID | 1123495 |
About Shetland Islands
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated in the Northern Atlantic, between Great Britain, the Faroese Islands and Norway.
We built a spaceport on a Scottish island
... With help from Shetland Islands Council, the Strangs gauged industry interest in a spaceport on Unst before starting the hard work of persuading Shetlanders, planners and investors to come onboard...
Ukraine war: The Russian ships accused of North Sea sabotage
... In October last year police declared a major incident in the Shetland Islands after...
Has the Brexit fishing promise come true?
... " Winners and losersIn 2019, the top UK port for the amount of fish landed was Peterhead in north-east Scotland, with 132,000 tonnes, followed by Lerwick, on the Shetland Islands, with 28,000 tonnes...
Can the UK's race to space take off?
... The company is making smaller prototypes, before building a larger rocket, Skyrora XL, that they plan to eventually launch from the Shetland Islands...
Homes without power in Shetland as temperature hits new low
... It took about seven hours to move them all, and to allow Shetland Islands Council gritters to treat the surface...
What is it like to be repeatedly asked where you are from?
... They have lived all over the UK - from the Shetland Islands, to Wales, the north-east of England to London...
Royal Mail wants fleet of 500 drones to carry mail to remote UK communities
... In the next three years it hopes up to 200 drones will help carry the mail on 50 new routes with the Isles of Scilly, Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands and the Hebrides the first to benefit...
Antarctica: Invasive species 'hitchhiking' on ships
... And while the industry has been disrupted by the pandemic, that number has been increasing steadily since the first few hundred visitors from Chile and Argentina arrived in the South Shetland Islands in the 1950s...
Antarctica: Invasive species 'hitchhiking' on ships
Species from around The World that Are " hitching a lift" on ships threaten Antarctica 's pristine marine ecosystem.
That is the conclusion of tracking research, fishing and tourist vessels that routinely visit the protected, otherwise isolated region.
It revealed that ships from 1,500 ports around the globe visit Antarctica .
" These ships travel all around The World , " explained lead researcher Arlie McCarthy from the University of Cambridge.
" It means that almost anywhere could be a potential source for invasive species. " Those non-native species, she explained, " can completely change an ecosystem".
" They can create entirely new habitats that would make it harder for those amazing Antarctic animals to find their own place To Live . "
The Scientists say that more stringent measures Are needed to ensure that ships do not bring species that could disrupt Antarctica 's fragile habitats.
The research team, from The British Antarctic Survey and the University of Cambridge, used satellite data and international shipping databases to Work Out The Weight of Antarctic Traffic - and The Origin of those ships.
" What was really surprising was that they don't just have one Home Port that they go back and forth to, " said Ms McCarthy.
Instead, the global movement of vessels links otherwise isolated parts of Antarctica to More Than 1,500 ports all around The World .
Clinging onAny marine species that can cling to the hull of The Ship and survive The Journey to Antarctica could pose an invasive threat.
Creatures, including mussels, barnacles, crabs and algae, Are of particular concern, because they attach themselves to hulls, in a process termed " biofouling".
Mussels, for example, can survive in polar waters and spread easily, threatening Marine Life on the seabed. Their water filtering alters The Marine Food Chain and also the chemistry of the water around them.
" This is the Last Place in The World where we don't have marine invasive species, " explained Ms McCarthy. " So we [still] have an opportunity to protect it. "
Professor David Aldridge from the University of Cambridge explained: " Antarctica 's native species have been isolated for The Last 15-30 million years. "
This makes invasive species one of the biggest threats to its biodiversity. And, as Prof Lloyd Peck from The British Antarctic Survey added, " your chance of losing a species that is completely unique is much higher in the Antarctic".
Tourist TrafficTourism is regulated in the region; tourist ships have to follow biosecurity protocols. But this study revealed that tourism accounted for 67% of visits to Antarctic locations (followed by research, which accounted for 21% and fishing, 7%).
According to The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, the 2019/20 season saw more that 70,000 people visit the region. And while the industry has been disrupted by the pandemic, that number has been increasing steadily since The First few hundred visitors from Chile and Argentina arrived in The South Shetland Islands in the 1950s.
It is an increase, say researchers, that has other consequences.
Ms McCarthy told Bbc News : " Anywhere these ships go, we see other kinds of Human Impact on The Environment , whether that is accidental release of waste, pollution, collisions with wildlife or noise disturbance. "
Prof Peck said Antarctic tourism was both " positive and negative". " They Are a big part of The Number of visits [to The Continent ] and therefore could bring [non-native species] in.
" But The Tour operators Are very interested in The Environment and take a lot of security measures. "
More broadly, biosecurity measures to protect Antarctica - such as cleaning ships' hulls - Are currently focused on a small group of recognised Antarctic " gateway ports".
But since this study revealed that many more ports around The World Are linked to the region, The British Antarctic Survey is calling for " improved biosecurity protocols" and Environmental Protection measures to protect Antarctic waters. This means inspecting ship hulls with cameras and cleaning them more frequently.
Prof Peck said This Was particularly important " as ocean temperatures continue to rise due to climate change". He added: " we know something will arrive if we leave things as they Are ".
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Source of news: bbc.com
