Seal cull campaigners who set up base at a north-east harbour last night pledged to expand their fight across Scotland.
Animal activists Sea Shepherd said their action against seal shootings, which began in Gardenstown in April, would likely run for several years.
Members of the conservation watchdog were deployed to Thurso at the weekend where they clashed with licensed marksmen employed by the Scottish Wild Salmon Company (SWSC).
A Sea Shepherd spokesman said its crew members formed a human shield between the gunmen and their targets in a stand-off which lasted for 30 minutes.
The incident at Murkle Bay ended with SWSC staff calling police who attended and spoke to both sides. A force spokesman said that no one had been charged, but pledged to keep an eye on the situation.
Sea Shepherd spokesman Robert Read said: “This whole campaign started when someone in Gardenstown picked up a phone to tell us there was guys out shooting at seals in the harbour.
“At that time, we had no boats in the UK. Now we have three, which means we can cover quite a wide area of Scotland.
“All the time, we are building a database of members from wherever we go. We are keeping an RIB at Gardenstown, but we also have people there who will act as our eyes and ears while we’re not around.”
He said: “This is just the first year of this campaign. We are prepared to fight this for as long as it takes.”
In April, the Montrose-based SWSC – also known as Usan Fisheries – announced it would abandon its seal cull after a harbourside clash with Sea Shepherd supporters.
The group claims about 70 seals were killed at Gardenstown last year and say 150 are currently seeking refuge from marksmen.
However, official figures from the Scottish Government show that only 32 seals were killed by SWSC last year with company director George Pullar describing the figures released by campaigners as “pure fabrication”.
No one firm the firm could be reached for comment last night.
Sea Shepherd claims that no seals have been shot at Gamrie since they arrived on Friday, April 18. Dead seals found on the shore at Thurso are now being assessed by the group to establish how they died.
Earlier this year, SWSC was involved in a similar row when it applied for a licence to shoot seals at the Ythan Estuary, near Newburgh. The cull was averted when the company opted to use non-lethal, acoustic deterrents instead.
This year, the Scottish Government granted consent for the killing of up to 239 grey seals and 24 common ones in the Moray Firth.