Wishart calls for seabed cable corridors

Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart.

Shetland MSP Beatrice Wishart has called for seabed cable corridors to be put in place around Shetland.

This would require at-sea infrastructure cables, such as those from wind turbines, to run along designated routes.

Ms Wishart has joined the Shetland Fishermen’s Association in requesting the corridors.

The intention would be to avoid incidents such as the internet and phone outages that took place last month, which were believed to have been caused by accidental damage to cables inflicted by a fishing vessel.

Ms Wishart said: “Cable corridors will also help to secure cable networks with fewer locations where cables could be crossing the seabed.

“We have seen the impact in Shetland where a subsea cable was damaged and need to do all we can to avoid a similar situation.”

Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Sheila Keith added: “We are delighted to see parliamentary support to minimise the constraints on the fishing industry from new offshore wind developments.

“The establishment of cable corridors would show co-operation in determining responsible co-existence and respect from developers towards recognising the importance of Shetland and Scotland’s fishermen.”