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West Coast of the Outer Hebrides proposed Special Protection Area (pSPA) Advice to Support Management Advice under Regulation 33(2) of the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c.) Regulations 1994 (as amended) Document version control Version Date Author Reason / Comments Version 1 28/05/15 Tracey Begg First draft of West Coast of the Outer Hebrides pSPA text. Version 2 19/06/15 Emma Philip Updated to remove track changes, advice consistency across suite, add maps and conservation objectives and comments from Johanne Ferguson. Version 3 21/06/15 Emma Philip Final draft 22/07/15 Greg Mudge QA completed Version 4 08/12/15 Tracey Begg Amendments to address MSS comments Version 5 18/02/16 & Emma Philip Conservation objectives updated and 21/02/16 final draft. Version 6 26/02/16 Emma Philip Address comments from Marine Scotland on Conservation Objectives. Version 7 03/06/16 Tracey Begg Amendments using new template following of from comments resulting from dSPA workshop Version 8 13/6/06 Emma Philip Final draft (replaced A1822781 on 13/06/16) Version 9 27/06/2016 Susan Luurtsema Consistency check between Management Option documents. Version 10 28/06/2016 Emma Philip QA and final version for submission to Marine Scotland Distribution list Format Version Issue date Issued to Electronic Version 1 28/05/15 Emma Philip Electronic Version 1 29/05/15 Erica Knott Electronic Version 1 19/06/15 Johanne Ferguson Electronic Version 3 21/06/15 Marine Scotland, Greg Mudge & Katie Gilham Electronic Version 5 18/02/15 Greg Mudge Electronic Version 5 22/02/16 Marine Scotland Distribution list Electronic Version 6 26/02/16 Marine Scotland Electronic Version 7 27/06/16 Emma Philip Electronic Version 8 28/06/16 Marine Scotland Contents Purpose of advice ............................................................................................................... 1 Site summary ...................................................................................................................... 1 Species distribution within the site ................................................................................... 4 Conservation objectives ..................................................................................................... 8 The role of conservation objectives ................................................................................... 8 Draft conservation objectives ............................................................................................ 8 Management options ........................................................................................................ 10 Purpose of management options ..................................................................................... 10 Existing species protection .............................................................................................. 12 Overview of activities ....................................................................................................... 12 Existing management ....................................................................................................... 14 Introduction to aquaculture activities.............................................................................. 15 Aquaculture – finfish ........................................................................................................ 15 Aquaculture – shellfish farming ....................................................................................... 19 Introduction to fishing activities ...................................................................................... 23 Fishing – mobile gear ...................................................................................................... 23 Fishing – static gear ........................................................................................................ 27 Navigational dredging and disposal ................................................................................ 29 Ports and harbours activities ........................................................................................... 33 Recreational activities ...................................................................................................... 36 Introduction to renewables activities .............................................................................. 39 Wave energy ................................................................................................................... 40 Summary of management options ................................................................................... 43 Annex 1. Background to the advice contained in this paper ......................................... 47 Annex 2. Map showing overlapping and neighbouring existing protected areas. ....... 49 iii Further information on Special Protection Areas, the wider network and protected areas management is available on the Scottish Natural Heritage website. The following documents provide further information about the features, evidence and assessment of the West Coast of the Outer Hebrides pSPA and should be read alongside this paper: Site selection document Marine SPA stakeholder workshop summary report Consultation overview document. iv Purpose of advice This is a working document that has been produced to support initial discussions with stakeholders about potential future management of activities associated with this proposed SPA during the formal consultation. It sets out the draft conservation objectives for the qualifying features and these provide the starting point for considering whether additional site management is required. This document also sets out management options based on our current understanding of the sensitivities of the qualifying bird species and their supporting habitats to marine activities. The development of site management is an ongoing process which will continue after classification. This paper covers a range of different activities and developments but is not exhaustive. It focuses on where we consider there could be a risk in terms of 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 whilst it identifies activities that could contribute to cumulative effects relating to the qualifying species, we do not at this stage have the information to carry out detailed assessments. Site summary West Coast of the Outer Hebrides proposed Special Protection Area (pSPA) comprises an area of 1321.70 square kilometres (km2) and lies along the western seaboard of the archipelago of the Outer Hebrides, from the island of Scarp, off north west Harris to the island of Sandray south of Barra. The site also encompasses most of the marine waters within the Sound of Harris and the Sound of Barra (Map 1). The qualifying species of the proposed SPA are listed within Table 1. Table 1. Qualifying species and numbers within the West Coast of the Outer Hebrides proposed SPA1,2 Species Number of birds % of British population Great northern diver (non-breeding) 1300 52 Red-throated diver (breeding) 60 pairs 4 Black-throated diver (non-breeding) 40 7 Common eider (non-breeding) 5070 9 Long-tailed duck (non-breeding) 810 7 1 Further information on source of population estimates is provided in the Site Selection Document. 2 ‘Number of birds’ represents the mean maximum value for each species and has been rounded to the nearest 10. The % population has been rounded to the nearest whole number. 1 Species Number of birds % of British population Slavonian grebe (non-breeding) 50 5 Red-breasted merganser (non-breeding) 240 3 Divers, grebes and mergansers feed on a wide variety of fish that are associated with a range of seabed substrates. The diet of divers and mergansers can include haddock, cod, herring, sprats and gurnard along with smaller species such as sand- eels, pipefish, gobies, flatfish and butterfish. Slavonian grebe predominately feed on the smaller fish species with all bird species generally focusing on the most abundant local prey species. These fish-eating birds forage by surface diving and pursuing their prey through the water column. Eider and long-tailed duck have a different feeding ecology. They feed almost exclusively on molluscs and small crustaceans, diving from the surface to pluck their prey from the sea bed. Great northern divers will also feed opportunistically on small crustaceans. Diving activity varies from species to species with average foraging dive depths for most species shallower than 15 metres (m). However, substantially greater maximum dive depths have been recorded for some species, particularly great northern diver (55m). The presence of high densities of breeding and non-breeding waterfowl at this site is indicative of the productivity and availability of prey these shallow waters and their habitats provide. Whilst these shallower areas may be the focus for foraging activities, the wider area within close proximity will also be used by non-breeding birds for preening, moulting, loafing and roosting. For birds that over-winter along this coast, the numerous inlets and bays provide comparative shelter and readily accessible food irrespective of the harsh winter conditions that frequently prevail the west coast of Scotland. Parts of the west coast of the Outer Hebrides, notably Harris, Lewis and some locations to the south of the island chain, have steep rocky shores and seacliffs bordered by much deeper water. However, much of the west coast consists
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