Marine Pollution Bulletin

require a full environmental impact study. Mr Will Paulik of SPEC stated: "This development is not considering the environment of the marsh (an important fish and wildlife habitat) and it should be under public scrutiny with full public hearings."

The 72 ha development would be phased in over 5-8 years and would include construction of 684 residential units, a mobile home park, campgrounds, a golf course and expan- sion of the existing marina. Delta Council approved the plan 4-3 on 9 May, in spite of the fact that the planning staff said the development would jeopardize the ecology of Ladner Marsh. The plan must now be approved by the Greater Vancouver Regional District.

LNG Tankers Vancouver Island on the Pacific Coast of Canada requires natural gas from mainland sources for industrial, commer- cial and home heating purposes. Pipelines for gas trans- mission across the Strait of Georgia, which separates Vancouver Island from the mainland of the province of British Columbia, have been considered for a long time. Although there are no serious technical difficulties in crossing the Strait of Georgia (maximum depth about 420 m) with a gas pipeline, the cost is estimated at $200-270 m. An LNG (liquified natural gas) proposal would involve two 40000 m 3 tankers transporting the LNG from Port Simpson on the northern coast of the province to Port Alberni on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Capital costs of the LNG system are estimated at $122 m. Dome Petroleum Ltd. is already well advanced with plans for an LNG terminal at Port Simpson. Proponents of the LNG system for Vancouver Island argue that such a system is more flexible than a pipeline system because it can be more easily constructed in stages to take advantage of lags in market growth. Opponents are concerned with fire/explosion hazards of LNG in the event of a leak or major spill of LNG. A gas pipeline across the Strait of Georgia is not without environmental risks, and this will be carefully watched by environmental groups. The British Columbia Utilities Commission will be holding public hearings on various proposals this summer.

North Sea Oilspill Defences Streamlined plans to deal with accidents like the 1978 Ekofisk Bravo oil platform blow-out, when oil gushed into the North Sea for three weeks, are being finalized by com- panies working in the area's offshore fields. The companies have divided the North Sea into six 'sector clubs', each res- ponsible for co-ordinating rescues in the event of mishaps such as blow-outs, fires or rigs going adrift.

Haggling over prices, which has often preceded joint rescue efforts in the past, should disappear with the introduction of a charter cost code for rescue vessels. The charter rates will be published and companies calling for help will have agreed automatically to abide by them. Those rates can be as high as £200 000 a day to hire a sophisticated emergency support vessel such as BP's semi-submersible

Iolair. This £67 million ship is not only the biggest fire engine in the world but is also equipped for diving and plugging wells, and can move safely out of lethal surface gas clouds.

Action Plan for Conservation A new report urging the British Government to take action on the environment sets out how the principles of the 1980 World Conservation Strategy should be implemented in the UK. Among the comprehensive report's 169 recommenda- tions for specific action is a proposal to establish a standing committee on maritime matters to co-ordinate work now spread over more than 20 agencies, with the aims of elimi- nating overfishing, protecting coastal wetlands from reclamation and reducing pollution. The report, "The Conservation and Development Programme for the UK" has been produced by three conservation bodies and covers topics such as industry, energy and the countryside with the advice to government: conserve and prosper.

New Sampler Problems involved in taking accurate samples from a body of water should be greatly reduced with a new British system. Traditionally samples are collected by lowering bottles into the water and then removing samples for analysis. Apart from being time-consuming, as the ship has to be constantly repositioned to gather a range of samples, the samples may not be truly indicative.

But the new Datasonics DFS 2100 dual-frequency acoustic monitoring system uses echo-sounding to gather data on water columns in rivers, lakes, estuaries and oceans. Its main advantage is that it operates remotely, using a transducer towed behind the ship. Signals are relayed to a graphic recorder to give a continuous picture of the water column beneath the transducer, from surface to bed as it moves along.

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