Europe’s fishing boss has criticised the race to build offshore wind and wave energy schemes – saying it has already become a “frenzied gold rush”.
Maria Damanaki – the EC’s commissioner for maritime affairs – said it was important the huge power potential of the continent’s waters was harnessed.
But she warned development firms and governments they had to “properly think out” the impact on future generations.
She spoke out just weeks after fishing leaders accused SNP ministers of failing to protect their industry from a boom in offshore windfarms.
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has warned that the nation’s new national marine strategy appears to favour renewable developments over fishing.
They fear the proposed plan could threaten fishermen’s livelihoods unless a balance is reached and could even take away their centuries-old right to fish.
Speaking at the World Ocean Summit in California, Ms Damanaki called for businesses to see the oceans as an economic resource – but only with carefully measured policies.
“As we struggle out of the recession and as we run out of resources on land, it is only natural that we should turn to the oceans,” she said.
EU research suggests that the seas have the capacity to provide three-quarters of the EU’s energy needs by 2030, through a mixture of wave, tidal and ocean thermal power.
In the north and north-east, several projects are being planned.
Engineers from Oxford and Edinburgh Universities believe enough renewable energy to power about half of Scotland could be harnessed from the tides in the Pentland Firth
Meanwhile, nearly 300 turbines are proposed in SSE’s Beatrice scheme, earmarked for a site eight miles off the coast of Caithness.
And energy giant Statoil is also committed to installing five turbines at a site called Buchan Deep, 12 miles from Peterhead.
A controversial 11-turbine test facility is also due to be built in Aberdeen Bay, which has caused businessman Donald trump to cancel his plan for a luxury hotel and golf resort nearby.
But exploitation of the sea’s resources raises environmental questions, as shipping lanes and infrastructure development can impact on delicate ocean ecosystems.
Damanaki said that exploitation of the marine environment’s resources should not turn into a “frenzied gold rush”.
“Let us not forget that developments today, good or bad, go at very high speed. The promise of new riches from the sea should not blind us to the dangers and consequences for future generations,” she added.
The EU has set out rules for maritime and coastal planning, which, Ms Damanaki says, “gives environmental legitimacy to public planning and legal certainty to private investors”.
She also called for more controls on shipping lanes.
Stephan Singer, the director of global energy policy at WWF International, said the group supported Damanaki’s call for sustainable energy production at sea and “especially investment in offshore wind generation”.
“This policy needs to follow through to all levels of European policy,” he added.
An early draft of the Scottish Government’s marine plan went out for consultation last summer.
SNP ministers have defended it in the wake of the criticism from the SFF.
“The feedback we have received illustrates the difficult balancing act that has to be achieved, and that is why we will carefully consider all the consultation response before a National Marine Plan is introduced,” a spokesman said.
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