Southern Trench Possible Mpa June 2019 Draft
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Conservation and Management Advice SOUTHERN TRENCH POSSIBLE MPA JUNE 2019 DRAFT This document provides advice to Public Authorities and stakeholders about the activities that may affect the protected features of Southern Trench possible Marine Protected Area (pMPA). It provides advice from Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) under Section 80 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) under Section 127 of the Marine & Coastal Access Act (2009) to public authorities as to matters which are capable of damaging or otherwise affecting the protected features of MPAs, how the Conservation Objectives of the site may be furthered or their achievement hindered, and how the effects of activities on MPAs may be mitigated. It covers a range of different activities and developments but is not exhaustive. It focuses on where there is a risk to achieving the Conservation Objectives. The paper does not attempt to cover all possible future activities or eventualities (e.g. as a result of accidents), and does not consider cumulative effects. Further information on marine protected areas and management is available at - https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/marine/marine-environment/mpanetwork For the full range of MPA site documents and more on the fascinating range of marine life to be found in Scotland’s seas, please visit - www.nature.scot/mpas or www.jncc.defra.gov.uk/scottishmpas Document version control Version Date Author Reason / Comments 1 26/11/2018 Sam Black Transferring initial draft conservation advice into new template and updating/completing 2 18/01/2019 Sam Black, Chris Adding/editing ecosystem function, Leakey natural resources and wider benefits information 3 08/02/2019 Sarah Review of document and minke whale Cunningham, text Annex 1 Fiona Manson 4 18/02/2019 Sam Black, Nick Geodiversity conservation objectives Everett, Ness and ecosystem services infographic Kirkbride 5 15/03/2019 Lisa Kamphausen Completion of research and survey requirements 6 21/03/2019 Sarah Update to species licensing references Cunningham in Annex 1 and cleared some comments that were dealt with. 7 28/03/2019 Sarah Final QA Cunningham 8 04/04/2019 Sarah Insertion of Figure 3. Review of Cunningham, fisheries related text and climate David Donnan, change text. Addition of paragraph on Sam Black seaweed harvesting and text on military activities. Checking footnotes. Updating scale bar on adjusted density map for minke whale and addition of burrowed mud data from MS suitable Nephrops ground layer to map. 9 14/05/19 Sarah Revision following Marine Scotland Cunningham, comments. Sam Black 10 21/05/19 Sarah Addition on information on Section 127 Cunningham, of the Marine & Coastal Access Act Sam Black. (2009) following endorsement by JNCC. Edits following additional comments from Marine Scotland. 11 06/06/19 Sarah Accepting track changes for final Cunningham version 2 Distribution list Format Version Issue date Issued to Electronic 6 21/03/2019 Gayle Holland Marine Scotland LOT Lily Burke, Elaine Tait, Finlay Bennet Marine Scotland Electronic 7 29/03/2019 Katie Gillham for sign off Electronic 8 05/04/2019 Marine Scotland officials. Electronic 9 15/05/2019 Marine Scotland officials. Electronic 9 17/05/2019 Peter Chaniotis JNCC. Electronic 11 06/06/2019 Marine Scotland officials. 3 Contents 1 OVERVIEW OF DOCUMENT ............................................................................. 5 2 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 5 2.1 PURPOSE STATEMENT ........................................................................................ 5 2.2 CONSERVATION BENEFITS ................................................................................... 5 2.3 WIDER BENEFITS ................................................................................................ 5 2.4 CONTRIBUTION TO POLICY COMMITMENTS ............................................................ 8 3 ROLES ................................................................................................................ 8 4 PROTECTED FEATURES AND STATUS .......................................................... 9 5 CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES ...................................................................... 12 5.1 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................. 12 5.2 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FEATURE CONDITION AND CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES .. 12 6 FEATURE SENSITIVITY .................................................................................. 12 6.1 BURROWED MUD ............................................................................................. 12 6.2 MINKE WHALE .................................................................................................. 13 6.3 FRONTS .......................................................................................................... 13 6.4 SHELF DEEPS .................................................................................................. 13 6.5 QUATERNARY OF SCOTLAND (SUBGLACIAL TUNNEL VALLEYS AND MORAINES) ........ 13 6.6 SUBMARINE MASS MOVEMENT (SLIDE SCARS) .................................................... 14 7 MANAGEMENT ................................................................................................ 14 7.1 ADVICE TO SUPPORT MANAGEMENT ................................................................... 14 7.2 BEST PRACTICE ............................................................................................... 15 7.3 CONSERVATION MEASURES .............................................................................. 15 8 RESEARCH AND SURVEY REQUIREMENTS ................................................ 15 ANNEX 1. SOUTHERN TRENCH POSSIBLE MPA CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES .......................................................................................................... 25 HABITATS ...................................................................................................................... 30 MOBILE SPECIES .......................................................................................................... 35 GEOMORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES ............................................................................. 40 LARGE-SCALE FEATURES ........................................................................................... 44 ANNEX 2. SUPPORTING INFORMATION .............................................................. 49 FACTORS DETERMINING THE POTENTIAL FOR FEATURES TO RECOVER .......................... 49 FRONTS ................................................................................................................. 49 SHELF DEEPS .......................................................................................................... 49 QUATERNARY OF SCOTLAND (SUBGLACIAL TUNNEL VALLEYS AND MORAINES) ............... 49 SUBMARINE MASS MOVEMENT (SLIDE SCARS) ........................................................... 49 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 50 GLOSSARY FOR CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES ............................................................ 55 4 1 Overview of document This document provides details of the Conservation and Management Advice for Southern Trench possible Marine Protected Area (pMPA) and it is divided into eight main sections. The introduction in section 2 gives an overview of Southern Trench pMPA and its contribution in terms of conservation and wider benefits. Section 3 provides an overview of the roles of the various bodies involved with advising, regulating and managing the marine protected area. Section 4 describes the protected features and their condition, and section 5 introduces the Conservation Objectives for the site. Section 6 describes the threats and pressures to which the protected features are sensitive, and section 7 provides the management advice for these activities. Section 8 identifies what further research and surveys may be required to increase our understanding of how the protected features utilise the site for which they are designated. 2 Introduction 2.1 Purpose statement The Southern Trench pMPA has been proposed to protect four biodiversity features: burrowed mud, fronts, minke whale and shelf deeps; as well as two geodiversity features: Quaternary of Scotland and Submarine Mass Movement. By doing so it contributes to the Scottish, UK and OSPAR MPA networks, the conservation of the wider marine environment around Scotland and progress towards Good Environmental Status. The main purpose of the Southern Trench pMPA is to conserve the protected features in favourable condition. This makes a contribution to the OSPAR MPA network in the North-East Atlantic. 2.2 Conservation benefits Southern Trench pMPA provides conservation benefits by affording protection to burrowed mud, fronts, minke whales, shelf deeps and two geodiversity features. In summary the conservation benefits of this designation are: Protection for an area containing persistently above average densities of minke whale where both juvenile and adult whales are regularly observed feeding. An additional replicate of burrowed mud within a pMPA on the east coast of Scotland complementing the burrowed mud protected in the Central Fladden MPA, which is isolated in relation to water circulation. Conservation of the persistent front within the pMPA ensures that productivity and feeding conditions utilised by local