Lyme Bay & Torbay cSAC_ NE Reg 35 conservation advice_Version 2.2 Lyme Bay and Torbay candidate Special Area of Conservation Formal advice under Regulation 35(3) of The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2012 Version 2.2 (April 2013) Page 1 of 86 Lyme Bay & Torbay cSAC_ NE Reg 35 conservation advice_Version 2.2 Document version control Version Author Amendments made Issued to and date 2.2 Joana Removed „Crepidula fornicata’ from species Smith lists. Combined sensitivity assessment for Lyme Bay and Torbay units. Amended advice on operations and summary of pressures. Updated stony reef communities section. 2.1 Joana Amended description of IPA in section 5.1.2 Natural England website Smith following feedback from MMO. 14/09/2012 2.0 Joana Update references to Habitats Regulations Relevant Authorities Smith throughout to reflect recent Amendment of 31/08/2012 Regulation; addition of text explaining review process; amendments to standard text in section 2.2 and 2.3. 1.5 Joana Amendments following technical QA panel Caroline Cotterell, SRO Smith review including: Conservation Advice Changes to section 4 to improve consistency 16/08/2012 in terminology, addition of „non-physical disturbance‟ heading and text to section, changes to standard text and headings. 1.4 Joana Minor grammatical amendments and Samantha King, Senior Smith consistency of terminology; amendments to Adviser (Reg 35 section 5.2.1; amended error in Appendix D- Conservation Advice) Summary of pressures table. 19/07/2012 1.3 Joana Amended to include new survey data from Marine Management Smith / 2011 & 2012; addition of subfeature stony Team 28/06/2012 Louisa reef. changes to vulnerability assessment; Knights changes made for national consistency. 1.2 Louisa Amendments made following consultation Paul Duncan, Senior Knights with Relevant Authorities; other minor Advice (Reg 35 changes made for national consistency. Conservation Advice) 05/04/2012 1.1 Minor amendments following evidence QA Paul Duncan (Senior Adviser (Reg 35 Conservation Advice) 21/06/2011 Lyme Bay Louisa Dialogue with relevant and Torbay Knights authorities January 2011 cSAC formal advice 0111 Please note: As a result of the 2009/10 public consultation on the Poole Bay to Lyme Bay proposed Special Area of Conservation (pSAC), the Lyme Bay component was renamed Lyme Bay and Torbay; and the Poole Bay component was renamed Studland to Portland. The Studland to Portland component was subject to further public consultation from 1 September to 24 November 2011. As a consequence of splitting the sites, this document supersedes all previous draft conservation advice for Poole Bay to Lyme Bay pSAC version: Poolebay_to_lymebay_cons_obs_101109 in addition to any previous versions of the conservation advice for Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC. Further information Please return comments or queries to: Joana Smith, Natural England, Riverside Chambers, Castle Street, Taunton, TA1 4AP Email: [email protected]; Tel: 0300 060 1802; Website: http://www.naturalengland.org.uk Page 2 of 86 Lyme Bay & Torbay cSAC_ NE Reg 35 conservation advice_Version 2.2 Lyme Bay and Torbay candidate Special Area of Conservation Formal advice under Regulation 35(3) of The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (S.I., 2012)1 Contents 1. Introduction 5 2. Roles and responsibilities 6 2.1 Natural England‟s role 6 2.2 The role of relevant and competent authorities 7 2.3 The role of conservation objectives 7 2.4 The role of advice on operations 8 2.5 Precautionary principle 8 3. Conservation objectives 8 3.1 Background to conservation objectives 8 3.2 Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC conservation objectives 9 3.2.1 Importance of features 9 3.2.2 Reefs 11 3.2.3 Key reef sub-features of Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC 11 3.2.4 Sea caves 13 3.2.5 Conservation objective – reefs 14 3.2.6 Conservation objective – sea caves 15 3.3 Background to favourable condition tables 15 4. Advice on operations 16 4.1 Background 16 4.2 Purpose of advice 17 4.3 Methods for assessment 17 4.3.1 Sensitivity assessment 18 4.3.2 Exposure assessment 18 4.3.3 Vulnerability assessment 18 4.4 Format of advice 18 4.5 Update and review of advice 19 5. Specific advice on operations for Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC 19 5.1 Reefs 19 5.1.1 Physical loss 20 1 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1927/made Page 3 of 86 Lyme Bay & Torbay cSAC_ NE Reg 35 conservation advice_Version 2.2 5.1.2 Physical damage 20 5.1.3 Non-physical disturbance 22 5.1.4 Toxic contamination 22 5.1.5 Non-toxic contamination 22 5.1.6 Biological disturbance 23 5.2 Sea caves 24 5.2.1 Physical loss 24 5.2.2 Physical damage 24 5.2.3 Non-physical disturbance 24 5.2.4 Toxic contamination 24 5.2.5 Non-toxic contamination 24 5.2.6 Biological disturbance 25 6. References 25 Appendix A Favourable Condition Table (incl. Tables 1-7) 28 Appendix B Maps showing known location of interest features 77 Appendix C Methods deriving vulnerability 80 Appendix D Summary of pressures which may cause deterioration or disturbance 81 Appendix E Assessment of the relative vulnerability of interest features and sub-features 82 Appendix F Species and Biotopes used to determine site sensitivity 87 Page 4 of 86 Lyme Bay & Torbay cSAC_ NE Reg 35 conservation advice_Version 2.2 1. Introduction This document contains Natural England‟s formal advice for the Lyme Bay and Torbay candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) given under Regulation 35(3) of The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2012. It supersedes the previous draft conservation advice for Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC. It also supersedes draft advice on the Poole Bay to Lyme Bay proposed Special Area of Conservation (pSAC). As a result of the 2009/10 public consultation on the Poole Bay to Lyme Bay pSAC, the Lyme Bay component was renamed Lyme Bay and Torbay; and the Poole Bay component was renamed Studland to Portland. Lyme Bay and Torbay was formally submitted by the Government to the European Commission as a cSAC on 20th August 2010. The European Commission adopted the site in November 2011 and it became a Site of Community Importance (SCI). The Government has six years from the date of adoption to designate the site as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The cSAC is subject to full protection under the Habitats Directive2 (transposed through the Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 20123 and the Offshore Marine Conservation Regulations (Natural Habitats, &c.) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (herein referred to as the „Habitats Regulations‟). Amongst other things, the Habitats Regulations place an obligation on relevant authorities4 to put in place measures to protect sites from damage or deterioration. This document fulfils Natural England‟s duty under Regulation 35(3)5 of The Habitats Regulations, to advise relevant authorities as to (a) the conservation objectives for Lyme Bay and Torbay: and (b) any operations which may cause deterioration of natural habitats or the habitats of species, or disturbance of species, for which Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC has been designated. The advice is based on best available information at the time of writing and will be reviewed to take account of new information. This formal conservation advice constitutes one element of Natural England‟s advisory role in relation to this site. Relevant authorities can use the information to explore and put in place management measures (if required) and competent authorities6 can fulfil their duties under the Habitats Regulations in making the necessary determinations on the impact of activities on the site. If relevant authorities or competent authorities require any further advice, they are not limited to taking account of Natural England‟s formal conservation advice contained here, and would be expected to make further enquiries as required in order to make determinations or implement management measures. Further information/reference should be made to the SAC Selection Assessment Document7 for Lyme Bay and Torbay cSAC. An independent review8 of Natural England‟s marine SAC selection process carried out in 2011 made a number of recommendations as to how Defra and Natural England should 2 Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora 3 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2012/1927/introduction/made 4 as defined under Regulation 6 of The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2012 5 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/490/regulation/35/made 6 as defined under Regulation 7 of The Conservation of Habitats and Species (Amendment) Regulations 2012 7 http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/Images/LBT-sad_tcm6-21650.pdf 8 http://www.defra.gov.uk/publications/files/pb13598-graham-bryce-independent-review-marine-sacs-110713.pdf Page 5 of 86 Lyme Bay & Torbay cSAC_ NE Reg 35 conservation advice_Version 2.2 modify their approach to future evidence based work. This resulted in Natural England adopting the Government Chief Scientific Adviser‟s (GCSA) guidelines9 on using evidence, through the development of a suite of Evidence Standards10. Implementation of these standards has included Natural England working with JNCC to develop a protocol11, which has been subject to independent expert review, setting out the processes and requirements for the development of conservation advice packages, to ensure that these fully comply with the GCSA‟s guidelines. Whilst the conservation advice provided here was developed prior to the finalisation of the protocol, it has been assessed for compliance with the protocol and a detailed report can be found on our website12. During 2011/12 Government instigated a review of the implementation of the Habitats and Wild Birds Directive.