Speaking in Berwick over 14 years ago, Dr John Coulson of Durham University warned that Government intervention would be needed to deal with the phenomenal leap in the herring gull population, which he said was likely to continue with numbers doubling within a few years.
That warning has now become a reality and the Scottish Government has indeed decided that it is now time to take action.
In Eyemouth Scottish Borders Council has carried on the work started by Berwickshire District Council back in the 1990s to control the numbers and although the seagull population in town is considerable, despite the town being a fishing port, in most breeding seasons they have managed to keep the numbers controllable.
Principal environmental officer at SBC, Denis Watney, said that things have improved significantly in the last 10 years.
He said: "For years we've been carrying out annual treatment on gulls in Eyemouth. This has involved the oiling of eggs to prevent the colony from expanding and the removal of nests on occasion.
"Ten years ago the council got a lot of complaints about the seagulls in Eyemouth and although I'm sure if you speak to people in the town they're still fed up with them, in truth the problem is a lot less severe now.
"The scheme in Dumfries is only a pilot scheme but I'm sure that if successful it will be tried elsewhere and I'd certainly welcome any opportunity to include Eyemouth in things. I will be monitoring the situation in Dumfries carefully."
Back in 1994 opinion was divided on whether poisoning eggs and removing eggs was effective in controlling numbers as gaps in gull colonies tend to be quickly filled. However, the fact that it has continued in Eyemouth and the problem is less severe than it was ten years ago suggests that it does perhaps have some impact. Various deterrent methods have also been employed - for instance residents in Eyemouth were given free wheelie bins while residents elsewhere in the Borders had to pay for them, so that rubbish was shut away and the gulls could not get at it.
Two years ago when over 1000 Berwick residents signed a petition in favour of a gull cull Mr Watney admitted that despite their best efforts and the oiling of eggs preventing about 400 eggs being hatched the Eyemouth gull colony had increased that year.
"It's one that just won't go away," he added.
Chairman of Eyemouth Town Council, Honorary Provost Douglas Younger feels that the Berwickshire town shouldn't be ignored when it comes to taking action.
"I was quite surprised that the town council weren't invited along to the summit meeting in Dumfries earlier in the summer as there is quite a bit of debate about the subject in Eyemouth at the moment.
"There has been a suggestion of putting up signs to discourage people from feeding the gulls but then on the other side you' ve got people who are quite happy to let them go on as they are.
"Areas such as The Bantry and the High Street are worst affected and are full of seagull mess. There needs to be some sort of action taken. I think one idea could be to conduct a survey around the town to gauge residents' opinions on the matter and then possibly relay the results to SBC.
As is the case with many seaside towns, Eyemouth attracts its fair share of visitors, particularly over the summer months and Douglas admitted that for visitors to the town seagulls are a big attraction.
"I understand that for tourists seagulls are part and parcel of coming to a seaside town but what they don't understand is that by feeding the gulls and leaving fish and chips lying around they are adding to the problem.
"There isn't a massive outcry against the gulls from people in the town but it's an issue which always crops up at monthly town council meetings.
"Some seaside towns have obviously got it right as I've been to Scarborough and Blackpool and they don't seem to have that much of a problem with gulls. I think it would be very beneficial for people from all seaside towns in Scotland to link up for a meeting and decide the best way forward."
Environment Minister Mike Russell unveiled Scottish Government plans to tackle the problems caused by urban seagulls during a visit to Dumfries last Friday. And if successful the measures could be rolled out in other seaside towns across Scotland.
He said: "Seagulls are a menace to Scottish towns and cities. They thrive on litter and their aggressive behaviour towards other birds, pets and even people is increasingly problematic."
Deterrents under consideration for Dumfries include wires and spikes in areas favoured by seagulls.
Mr Russell added: "I expect the task force to start making plans now, ready to swing into action next spring to coincide with the next breeding season.
"If successful, lessons learned will be shared with other local authorities so they can see what has worked in Dumfries with a view to implementing an appropriate response to problems in their area."