The Shetland Oil Terminal Environmental Advisory Group (SOTEAG) was formed in 1977 as a successor to the Sullom Voe Environmental Advisory Group. SOTEAG waswestablished to carry out wide-ranging environmental baseline surveys in order to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment for Sullom Voe Terminal.
SOTEAG's work in Shetland includes monitoring of breeding seabirds, measuring breeding productivity and population levels, monitoring of wintering seabirds, ducks, grebes and divers and co-ordinating the monthly Beached Bird Surveys, which are carried out by SOTEAG staff and a team of volunteers. The monitoring breeding seabirds is acknowledged as one one of the most thorough and comprehensive in Europe. Much of this work has been carried out by Martin Heubeck, who has been employed by SOTEAG (via AICSM - University of Aberdeen) in Shetland since 1977.