70 Years of Applied Science Supporting Marine and Freshwater Management of Applied Science Supporting Marine and Freshwater 70 Years Contact us: Loughs Agency (Lead Partner) 22 Victoria Road Prehen Derry~Londonderry Northern Ireland BT47 2AB Tel: +44 (0) 28 7134 2100 Fax: +44 (0) 28 7134 2720 Email: [email protected] 70Years of Applied Science Supporting Marine and Freshwater Management A project supported by the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body. ISBN 978-0-9567910-8-5 • Loughs Agency • University of Glasgow • Queen’s University Belfast • DMS 14.15.242 A project supported by the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body © Copyright The content of the book (including, but not limited to all text and artwork) is protected by copyright. The copyright is owned by IBIS or is otherwise licensed from a third party for use by the partners. You are not permitted, without properly citing, to: • print copies or any content; • reproduce, copy or transmit the book or any content All other rights which are not specifically granted are reserved. Cite as: Anon. 2015. 70 Years of Applied Science Supporting Marine and Freshwater Management. IBIS. pp. 154 Foreword The INTERREG Programme has been designed to address problems which arise from the existence of borders across the European Union, including the efficient management of the environment. Since the three jurisdictions of the INTERREG IVA Programme share habitats and marine resources, cross-border cooperation is essential in order to gain an increased understanding of and to preserve our precious marine life for generations to come. With partners in Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland, the IBIS Project is a prime example of the benefits of cross-border cooperation in this regard. This aquatic resource management project also makes a significant contribution to the region’s responsibilities under the Water Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive. I applaud the work which the IBIS team have done in assisting environmentally sustainable economic development and am confident that their valuable research findings will have a positive impact on environmental policy and the protection of our marine life in the future. Pat Colgan Chief Executive Special EU Programmes Body • IBIS • Loughs Agency • University of Glasgow • Queen’s University Belfast • i Contents Page Foreword i Contents iii Preface vii Map of study area ix Acknowledgements x Researchers xi Articles by students Section 1: HABITAT FRAGMENTATION / BARRIERS TO MIGRATION 1 Freshwater habitat use, migration patterns and mortality in the European eel. 2 Author: James Barry The cumulative effect of multiple river barriers on the downstream migration 6 of Atlantic salmon smolts. Author: Matt Newton The effects of low head hydro-power schemes upon migrating salmonids. 10 Author: Robert Brackley The behaviour of upstream migrating Atlantic salmon at barriers. 15 Author: Matt Newton The mortality of Atlantic salmon at different life cycle stages. 18 Author: Han Honkanen Atlantic salmon smolt migration through large lakes. Author: Han Honkanen 21 The cumulative impact of multiple river barriers on the upstream migration 23 of Atlantic salmon. Author: Carolyn Bryce Section 2: MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION STRATEGIES FOR TROUT 26 The mechanisms promoting sea migration in brown trout. 27 Authors: Travis van Leeuwen and Jessica Fordyce Managing brown trout and water levels in Lough Derg - a molecular pursuit. 30 Author: Michael Stinson ii • IBIS • Loughs Agency • University of Glasgow • Queen’s University Belfast • • IBIS • Loughs Agency • University of Glasgow • Queen’s University Belfast • iii Investigating the ecology and physiology of large, fish eating (ferox) 33 Section 5: OYSTER FISHERIES MANAGEMENT 84 brown trout. Author: Martin Hughes Developing science-based management strategies for the environmental and 85 The hidden structuring of populations of brown trout Salmo trutta in a large 37 commercial sustainability of native oysters (Ostrea edulis L.). complex catchment. Author: Jessica Fordyce Author: Cass Bromley A high conservation value polymorphic brown trout population in Scotland. 42 Developing best practice for O. edulis fisheries management in Loch Ryan, 90 Author: Camilla Piggott Scotland. Author: Lawrence E. Eagling Section 3: MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF RARE AQUATIC ANIMALS 45 Developing genomic tools for the management of European flat oyster 94 (Ostrea edulis) populations. Author: Mark McCullough Biodiversity hotspots for Arctic charr and Brown trout in Scotland and Ireland. 46 Author: Oliver Hooker Section 6: AQUACULTURE 98 Life cycle and behavioural responses in the freshwater pearl mussel. 49 Author: Elizabeth Clements Developing strategies for improving the yield of mussels (Mytilus edulis) in 99 Benthic cultivation. Author: Julia Calderwood Factors influencing fecundity in the European Eel, Anguilla Anguilla. 53 Author: Colleen Massey and Laura Hinchliff Developing best practices for Crassostrea gigas producers. 105 Author: Simon Guist The importance of size-fecundity relationships in the management of the 58 European lobster, Homarus gammarus. Author: Daryl Gunning Interactions between shellfish aquaculture and intertidal bird populations 110 in Carlingford Lough. Author: Aoibheann Canavan The effects of climate change on the origins of biodiversity in freshwater fishes. 62 Author: Oliver Hooker Using DNA profiling for the improvement of European perch stocks 115 (Perca fluviatilis L.) for aquaculture. Author: Gala Podgornik Estimating the effect of bird predators on migrating Atlantic salmon and 65 sea trout. Author: Jenny McLeish The use of thermal effluents and waste heat from power plants in aquaculture. 119 Author: Elena Piana Atlantic salmon management: a test of the mechanisms for calculating a 67 conservation limit in two catchments. Author: Julie Miller Section 7: ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING 124 Historical change in the eel populations of the Foyle area. Author: James Barry 70 Using seabirds to monitor shallow coastal waters. 125 Author: Nina O’Hanlon Section 4: AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES 72 Predicting impacts of near-future climate change on shellfish stock 129 The incidence and consequences of infection of eels with an invasive parasite, 73 management. Author: Carina M. Gsottbauer Anguillicola crassus, from Japan. Author: James Barry, Jenny McLeish Are governance arrangements in Lough Foyle and Carlingford Lough 134 Assessing the toxicity of biocides on the North American Signal Crayfish 76 effective to protect the marine environment? Author: Alison Silversides Pacifastacus leniusculus to aid eradication. Author: Sinead O’Reilly The role of spatial measures in the management and conservation of 137 Impact of the spread of feral Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas on the European 79 marine fish. Author: Joanne Clarke oyster Ostrea edulis and the environment. Author: Nadescha Zwerschke iv • IBIS • Loughs Agency • University of Glasgow • Queen’s University Belfast • • IBIS • Loughs Agency • University of Glasgow • Queen’s University Belfast • v Preface The marine acoustic environment and megafauna around the coast of the 142 70 Years of Research Supporting Marine and Freshwater Management Inishowen Peninsula. Author: Suzanne Beck Everyone who lives in Scotland or on the island of Ireland lives close to water. The Using soundscapes to predict freshwater habitat quality. 148 maximum distance to the sea for anyone in this region is a mere 70 kilometres but there Author: Camilla Piggott are also more than 45,000 lakes and thousands of miles of rivers and streams across the Using invertebrates to monitor river water quality and predict 151 three jurisdictions. salmon density. Author: Carolyn E. Bryce Not only do we have lots of water, but our seas, rivers and lakes represent some of the very best of these habitat types, anywhere. This enormous wealth of habitats supports an extraordinary diversity of aquatic plants and animals. In the region, we have a disproportionately high number of conservation designations for our aquatic environments, their plants and their animals. Our waters are not just locally or nationally important, they are of true international conservation significance. That our seas, rivers and lakes frame the landscapes of the region is without doubt. It is easier to forget that they have also shaped our cultural heritage. All of the major cities in the region were founded on and around rivers, ensuring access to the sea. For better or worse, our historically high economic dependence on industries associated with rivers and seas, although less than it once was, is still very strong. Our complex socio-ecological dependence on aquatic ecosystems means they have been heavily altered with consequent impacts on biodiversity and the goods and services they provide. Although our aquatic habitats and the plants and animals they support are outstanding, we also exploit the resources that these features bring. We commercially harvest many species of fish, shellfish and crustaceans from our seas, rivers and lakes; other species we exploit for recreational fishing. We abstract water from rivers for hydro-power generation, for domestic and industrial water supplies and for irrigation. We use our fresh and coastal waters for aquaculture and as communication routes; they provide us with resources for motorboat cruising, for diving, for sailing and for the simple enjoyment of their wonderful landscapes. Our abundant