Aquatic Vegetation Survey of Loch Garry, 2016
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Aquatic Vegetation Survey of Loch Garry, 2016 Marine Harvest Report prepared by: ECUS Ltd (Stirling) Scion House, Stirling University Innovation Park, Stirling, FK9 4NF January 2017 Ecus Ltd Report to: Marine Harvest Report Title: Aquatic Vegetation Survey of Loch Garry, 2016 Revision: ISSUE Issue Date: January 2017 Report Ref: 8506 – Loch Garry Originated By: Associate Botanist Date: January 2017 Reviewed By: Principal Ecologist Date: 27th January 2017 Approved By: Managing Director Date: 27th January 2017 Prepared by: ECUS Ltd (Stirling) Scion House, Stirling University Innovation Park, Stirling, FK9 4NF The report and the site assessments carried out by Ecus on behalf of the client in accordance with the agreed terms of contract and/ or written agreement form the agreed Services. The Services were performed by Ecus with the skill and care ordinarily exercised by a reasonable Environmental Consultant at the time the Services were performed. Further, and in particular, the Services were performed by Ecus taking into account the limits of the scope of works required by the client, the time scale involved and the resources, including financial and manpower resources, agreed between Ecus and the client. Other than that expressly contained in the paragraph above, Ecus provides no other representation or warranty whether express or implied, in relation to the services. This report is produced exclusively for the purposes of the client. Ecus is not aware of any interest of or reliance by any party other than the client in or on the services. Unless expressly provided in writing, Ecus does not authorise, consent or condone any party other than the client relying upon the services provided. Any reliance on the services or any part of the services by any party other than the client is made wholly at that party’s own and sole risk and Ecus disclaims any liability to such parties. This report is based on site conditions, regulatory or other legal provisions, technology or economic conditions at the time of the Service provision. These conditions can change with time and reliance on the findings of the Services under changing conditions should be reviewed. Ecus accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of third party data used in this report. ii Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 PURPOSE OF STUDY .................................................................................... 1 1.2 REPORT STRUCTURE ................................................................................... 1 2. SITE CHARACTERISATION & BASELINE INFORMATION ............................ 2 2.1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 2 2.2 LOCH GARRY SITE CHARACTERISATION ....................................................... 2 2.3 BASELINE INFORMATION .............................................................................. 2 3. METHODOLOGY .............................................................................................. 3 3.1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 3 3.2 SURVEY CONDITIONS ................................................................................... 3 3.3 SURVEY LOCATIONS .................................................................................... 3 3.4 QUANTITATIVE SURVEY METHOD.................................................................. 4 3.5 SURVEY LIMITATIONS .................................................................................. 4 4. SURVEY RESULTS .......................................................................................... 5 4.1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 5 4.2 SITE DESCRIPTION ...................................................................................... 5 4.3 LEAFPACS METRICS ................................................................................. 6 4.4 REFERENCE CONDITIONS ............................................................................. 7 4.5 ECOLOGICAL QUALITY RATIOS..................................................................... 7 5. DISCUSSION .................................................................................................... 9 5.1 OVERVIEW .................................................................................................. 9 5.2 PREDICTION OF THE REFERENCE STATE ........................................................ 9 5.3 STATUS OF THE VEGETATION ....................................................................... 9 5.4 COMPARISON AGAINST PREVIOUS RECORDS ................................................ 9 5.5 KEY VEGETATION CONSIDERATIONS AT LOCH GARRY ................................. 10 6. CONCLUSIONS .............................................................................................. 11 7. REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 12 APPENDIX 1: SPECIES RECORDED FOR LOCH GARRY SURVEY .................... 13 APPENDIX 2: FIGURES ......................................................................................... 15 iii Aquatic Vegetation Survey of Loch Garry, 2016 Marine Harvest 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of Study 1.1.1 Marine Harvest operates a fish farm on Loch Garry located on the southern side of the main basin. Ecus Ltd were commissioned in August 2016 to undertake a macrophyte survey and report on the findings to support discussions with SEPA with regard to the potential impacts of its operations. 1.1.2 The purpose of this report is to assess the current condition of the vegetation in the loch, and particularly whether there is any evidence of impact on the vegetation in the vicinity of the fish-farming activities. 1.1.3 This study reviews the available historic macrophyte data for Loch Garry; presents the methodology and results from the quantitative macrophyte survey undertaken in 2016; and provides discussion of the key considerations and recommendations with respect to fish farm operations. 1.2 Report Structure 1.2.1 This report comprises of 6 further sections: Section 2 – Site Characterisation & Baseline Information Section 3 - Methodology Section 4 - Survey Results Section 5 - Discussion Section 6 - Conclusions Section 7 – References 1 Aquatic Vegetation Survey of Loch Garry, 2016 Marine Harvest 2. Site Characterisation & Baseline Information 2.1 Overview 2.1.1 Limited site information exists regarding Loch Garry however this section outlines the character of the site and presents a review of previous data, in order to establish baseline evidence. 2.2 Loch Garry Site Characterisation 2.2.1 Loch Garry is situated in Glen Garry, 25 km north of Fort William, Lochaber, on the west side of the Great Glen in the central Highlands. It is a freshwater loch, fed by water from Loch Quoich 10 km upstream on the River Garry, and drains into Loch Oich in the Great Glen 5 km downstream. 2.2.2 Loch Garry is a large deep loch around 11 km long and up to 65 m deep, with a surface area of nearly 700 ha (UK Lakes Portal 2017). 2.2.3 The loch is dammed at the eastern end for hydro-electric power, the dam being completed in 1962 raising the water level by a few metres. Prior to this the eastern end of the loch was almost separated from the main body of the loch apart from two narrow channels. 2.2.4 The raised water level also flooded an area upstream of the loch to form a second shallow basin connected to the main loch by a bridged narrows around 100 m wide. 2.2.5 The loch is classified in the annex to Duigan et al. (2006) as type C2: North western, predominantly large, slightly acid upland lakes, supporting a diversity of plant species, Juncus bulbosus constant, often with Littorella uniflora and Lobelia dortmanna, in association with Myriophyllum alterniflorum. 2.3 Baseline Information 2.3.1 Prior to undertaking a quantitative survey of Loch Garry for this study, previous data was reviewed where available to establish the existing baseline data and knowledge of macrophyte community. 2.3.2 However the information available is remarkably poor. As part of the Scottish Loch Survey, SNH’s predecessor the Nature Conservancy Council undertook a trial in 1993 to compare the effectiveness of a Remote Operated Underwater Vehicle ( ROV) against traditional methods using a bathyscope and grapnel Lassiere et al. 1993). This involved two sectors, one in the west basin and the other at the western end of the main basin. Ten aquatic species were recorded during the trial but a full survey was not undertaken and this must be regarded as an incomplete list. 2.3.3 No records attributable to Loch Garry were located in the Botanical Society of the British Isles records database. 2 Aquatic Vegetation Survey of Loch Garry, 2016 Marine Harvest 3. Methodology 3.1 Overview 3.1.1 This section outlines the approach to the quantitative survey documenting the standard survey protocol, the methodology adopted for the survey of macrophytes in Loch Garry, locations of the survey sectors and additional areas visited around the loch as well as the survey sectors. Limitations to the survey are also acknowledged, including the measures undertaken to address these limitations. 3.2 Survey Conditions 3.2.1 The survey was undertaken by Ecus Associate Botanist, on the 21st September 2016. 3.2.2 Weather conditions during the survey were good. 3.3 Survey Locations