SAC Progress Report 2002

Summary

One year has elapsed since the launch of the Moray Firth candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) Management Scheme Revision 0 and there has been significant progress in taking forward many of the actions contained within it. Of the management actions proposed in Revision 0 full or substantial implementation has been achieved in 47.3% of cases, while negligible or peripheral progress has been achieved in 11.8%. The Management Scheme has recently been revised in order to improve and update the strategy for the conservation of the bottlenose dolphins and to incorporate actions to help protect the underwater sandbank feature. A limited knowledge of the ecology of the Moray Firth dolphins and the sandbanks, combined with a complex and interactive range of human activities which may impact upon them, have presented particular challenges to the management group when drawing up and implementing the scheme.

1. Background

The Moray Firth cSAC was proposed to the European Commission in 1996 under the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC) to protect the resident population of bottlenose dolphins. In 1999, a voluntary management group was established to oversee the development of a strategy to protect the site from potential human impacts and hence contribute to the implementation of the Habitats Directive. This group was facilitated by the Moray Firth Partnership (MFP). A further qualifying interest feature - sandbanks which are slightly covered by seawater all of the time was added to the Moray Firth cSAC in March 2001.

In January 2002, the Moray Firth cSAC Management Scheme Revision 0 was launched.  The aim of the Scheme was to help to establish and maintain the dolphin population and its habitat and to avoid any significant damage or disturbance to the dolphins. It aimed to achieve this through the implementation of 100 agreed voluntary and statutory management actions. The Scheme is committed to deliver these actions in a way that recognises the economic, cultural, social, recreational and scientific needs of all those who live and work in the Moray Firth area, and in a way that promotes the sustainable development of existing legal activities and interests. Some of the actions were already part of routine practice whilst others were new and have subsequently been incorporated into the management priorities and plans of the relevant organisations with an interest in the Firth.

In order to ensure that the relevant authorities play their part in implementing the Scheme a process of compliance monitoring was established where each lead body was responsible for reporting on progress on implementing those management actions they had signed up to. The MFP has collated the information relating to the compliance monitoring exercise and it is now presenting these findings in this report a summary is provided in Table 1 and a detailed account of our progress can be found on the MFP website (www.morayfirth-partnership.org). Compliance monitoring is distinct from biological monitoring which assesses the ecological condition of the dolphins and the sandbanks.  Protocols for monitoring the dolphins will be developed on the back of generic guidelines currently being developed by the Inter Agency Monitoring Groups National Monitoring Guidance for marine mammals. SNH will develop monitoring protocols for the sandbank feature.

A bid for EC LIFE Nature funding was also initiated but was later withdrawn due to the difficulties associated with securing match funding. Despite this, preparation of the bid secured money from BP and The Crown Estate and these funds will be used to carry out awareness raising projects and best practice seminars about the importance of the Moray Firth cSAC in 2003.

The cSAC Management Scheme Scheme was revised during 2002 to improve and update the strategy for the bottlenose dolphins and to incorporate management actions for the sandbank feature. As far as the dolphins are concerned most of the actions in Revision 0 remain relevant, however some needed rewording and updating and, in some cases, new actions have been added. Work by the cSAC Management Group (cSAC MG) on developing the Scheme to include the sandbank interest followed the same approach that was adopted for the dolphin Scheme. This involved a 5-week public consultation exercise as well as two meetings with Moray Firth based fisheries interests.

2. Implementation of the Management Scheme 2002

This assessment of the Management Schemes success is based on the collation of information gathered as part of the compliance monitoring exercise. During this reporting back process four questions were posed to the lead bodies. These were:

1.      How do you rate your implementation progress for this action?

2.      What work has been done by your organisation (or others) that has contributed towards this management action?

3.      Are the actions having the desired effect? Please provide details on the Outcomes where possible.

4.      Is the implementation of the action ongoing or does it have defined time-scales?

Table 1. Rate of implementation of the Management Schemes actions

A total of 100 actions were proposed within the Moray Firth cSAC Management Scheme Revision 0. For three of these a lead body has not yet been found. For the other actions substantive progress has been made and many of the actions have now either been completed or strategies are in place to take them forward. Some 47.3% of the actions have reached either full or substantial levels of progress, while 11.8 % were considered to have made negligible or peripheral progress.

Examples of achievements during year one of the Scheme include the launch of Operation Fish Net - a campaign to raise awareness about the impact of illegal salmon netting on the dolphins, and other marine wildlife; the review of the Dolphin Space Programme which has resulted in new wildlife cruise operators signing up to the programme; the addition of wording to the latest Admiralty Chart for the Inverness Firth highlighting the cSAC interests and promoting adherence to codes of practice; the production of the review The impact of environmental contaminants on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and other proxy species: A summary of information; and the production of the report Potential impacts of acoustic deterrent devices on Scottish marine wildlife.

The SAC MG is committed to reviewing progress on the actions twice yearly through the compliance monitoring process and it will be constantly working to ensure that the management actions signed up to remain relevant and up to date. Most of the actions are planned to be undertaken within a three year time frame. This years progress on the actions is due to the commitment of the relevant authorities that have signed up to the scheme and the wide range of other stakeholders in the Firth who have played a crucial role in commenting on the original Scheme and helping the lead bodies to deliver on their actions. In addition to delivering actions on the ground, the development of the Management Scheme has also been a valuable learning process for those involved as it has raised awareness of the implications of all our activities on the cSAC interests.

3. Difficulties encountered in the implementation of the cSAC Management Scheme and ways in which these can be overcome

The limited knowledge of bottlenose dolphins and sandbanks and the effect that human activities can have upon them have presented challenges to the management group when drawing up and implementing the Scheme. Some funding will be made available within the next 3 years by different relevant authorities to study the cSAC features and the potential impact of some human activities. Further reviews might need to be carried out in order to identify possible mitigation measures for a range of activities and these will help to inform decisions by the relevant authorities when they consider applications for development in the Firth.

The complex nature of some of the issues included within the Scheme (e.g. discharge of ballast water, food availability) also presented difficulties for the management group as resolution of these aspects require action through international collaboration and the sharing of trans-boundary responsibilities. Furthermore, some of the proposed measures are not easily monitored or enforced due to lack of resources, funding constraints, the geographical extent of the cSAC area or shortfalls in the existing legislation (e.g. dealing with reports of deliberate harassment or disturbance to dolphins).

Other difficulties encountered related to the fact that the public in general and some sectors of activity were not sufficiently aware of the influence of their practices on the marine environment. As a result, some effort has been made by the SAC MG to secure funding for awareness raising material and best practice seminars.

Finally, at times, limited communication between agencies and the difference in organisational priorities have made implementation of some of the actions (particularly those where responsibilities are shared between lead bodies) relatively complex. The management group approach however has proved to be a valuable way to identify areas of poor communication or differing priorities and it has proved to be effective at overcoming these difficulties in a spirit of partnership working and constructive co-operation.

 Appendices (Word Format)