Scottish fish and Kursk

Scottish fishermen are concerned that any leaks of radiation from the sunken Russian nuclear submarine could affect fish caught by Scottish boats. The Barents Sea is a prime feeding ground for many species of fish.

Ian Duncan, Secretary of the Scottish Fisherman's Federation told the BBC:

"Fish know no boundaries, they can travel great distances and herring from this affected area could be found in fishing nets and eventually onto the tables of Scots .. Fishermen rely on the health of the sea, anything which affects the health of the sea has an effect on consumer confidence of all fish stocks."

It is quite likely that there was damage to the reactor of the Kursk when 2 tonnes of high explosive detonated inside its hull. If nothing is done, it will not be a question of if radiation will escape from the reactor but when. There needs to be an international effort to investigate the state of the reactor and to come up with the safest engineering solution to safeguard fish stocks and the environment in general.