(SAP) for the Dysynni - One of 63 Plans Being Prepared for Salmon Rivers in England and Wales by 2002 As Part of the Agency's National Salmon Management Strategy
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Dysynni Salmon and Sea Trout Action Plan DYSYNNI SALMON AND SEA TROUT ACTION PLAN SUMMARY This document presents a Salmon and Sea Trout Action Plan (SAP) for the Dysynni - one of 63 plans being prepared for salmon rivers in England and Wales by 2002 as part of the Agency's National Salmon Management Strategy. The Plan identifies and costs a series of actions designed to help safeguard and improve salmon and sea trout stocks and fisheries on the Dysynni which the Agency and others, including Estumanner AA, Peniarth Uchaf Fishery, Tyn y Cornel Fishery and Prince Albert AA, intend to undertake in the next five years. The Plan follows external publication in January 2002 of the Dysynni SAP Consultation Document which reviewed stock and fisheries status on the Dysynni, identified the main issues limiting performance, and produced a list of costed options to address these. Comments received throughout the consultation period have been largely accommodated in drafting the final plan. Actions put forward in the Plan include: ! Restoring juvenile salmonid habitat. ! Buying out licensed estuarine netsman. ! Improving the quality of angler catch data. ! Reducing the occurrence of agricultural pollution. ! Review the management of Tal y Llyn fishery with respect to migratory impairment and limiting natural recruitment. ! Investigate the impact of weed/algal growth in Tal y Llyn and seek remedial solutions. ! Reducing predation by sawbill ducks, cormorants and mink. ! Reducing the impact of forestry activity. To maintain the momentum generated by this Plan it is important that the Agency gives regular account of its progress, makes its customers and partners in collaboration fully aware of developments, and is continually receptive to comments and ideas. To help ensure this, SAP progress will be reported to the Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation Advisory Committee Wales (FERACW) and the Gwynedd Local Fisheries Group (LFG), and to local angling interests via articles and presentations. 1 Environment Agency Wales – Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation (Northern Area) – April 2002 1.0 INTRODUCTION In February 1996, the National Salmon Management Strategy was launched by the Environment Agency's predecessor, the National Rivers Authority (NRA, 1996). The strategy concentrates on four main objectives for the management of salmon fisheries in England and Wales. These are primarily aimed at securing the well being of the stock but in doing so will improve catches and the associated economic returns to the fisheries: (i) Optimise the number of salmon returning to homewater fisheries. (ii) Maintain and improve fitness and diversity of salmon stocks. (iii) Optimise the total economic value of surplus stocks. (iv) Ensure necessary costs are met by beneficiaries. These four objectives are being addressed by means of local Salmon Action Plans (SAPs) which the Agency is producing for each principal salmon river by April 2002. Each plan reviews the status of the stock and fisheries on a particular river, seeks to identify the main issues limiting performance, and draws up and costs a list of options to address these. In delivering each SAP the Agency has sought the support (including in some instances the financial support) of local fishery and other interests. This collaborative approach is vital to secure the best way forward for our salmon rivers at a time when stocks are generally at an historic low and environmental pressures are as great as ever. An integral stage in the development of each SAP has been the production of a consultation document, which was circulated widely and refined in the light of comments received. The final SAP, which resulted from consultation, publicly defines the Agency's intentions for salmon management over the next five years, with a commitment to review progress on an annual basis. In turn, the issues raised by local plans will pass up to Regional and National plans which will focus the Agency's business activities in the wider context. Furthermore, each SAP will feed into Local Environment Agency Plans or LEAP's which serve to integrate all environmental responsibilities within the Agency's remit, including management of air, land and water. LEAPs will shortly be replaced by a ‘Local Contribution’ which should encompass those issues identified in LEAPs This document is the Salmon and Sea Trout Action Plan for the River Dysynni. 2 Dysynni Salmon and Sea Trout Action Plan 2.0 PUBLIC CONSULTATION Prior to the production of the consultation document anglers in both catchments were asked for their views on what they believed were the major issues limiting stocks and catches in their catchment. The response was very good with twenty highly constructive written responses received. The major issues raised were: ! Estuarine netting. ! Dredging gravels. ! Habitat degradation. The information received in the above ‘scoping’ survey was used to formulate the actions included in the Dysynni SAP consultation document. More than 30 copies of the Dysynni SAP consultation document were sent to organisations and individuals who are involved in, or have an interest in, the Dysynni catchment and its salmon and sea trout stocks and fisheries. In addition to the circulation of the consultation document, a presentation on the draft SAP was given to interested parties on 24th January 2002, when there was much constructive debate. The main issues raised during the consultation process were: ! Estuarine and high seas exploitation. ! Juvenile salmonid habitat degradation. ! Management of Tal y Llyn fishery. ! Acidification and liming. ! Forestry management practices ! General agricultural and sheep dip pollution. ! Damage to juvenile stocks caused by fish eating birds. ! Excessive 'weed' growth in Tal y Llyn and the river downstream. ! Failure to comply with the Conservation Limit. ! The need for partnership between local angling interests and the Agency. The comments received in the consultation process are largely incorporated in the following action tables. The abbreviations used in the tables are: Agency departments Other Organisations FM - Fisheries management SNP - Snowdonia National Park EAT - Environmental Appraisal Team CCW - Countryside Council for Wales ET - Enforcement Team AA - Angling Associations EP - Environment Protection NAW - National Assembly, Wales Eplan - Environment Planning DEFRA - Department for the WR - Water Resources Environment, Food and Rural Affairs FD - Flood Defence FE – Forestry Enterprise Cons - Conservation 3 Environment Agency Wales – Fisheries, Ecology and Recreation (Northern Area) – April 2002 3.0 ACTION PLAN SUMMARY TABLES TABLE 1. RESTORING DEGRADED HABITAT & IMPROVING ACCESS COST (£K) AND TIMESCALE SOURCES OF ACTIONS 2002/ 2003/ 2004/ 2005/ 2006/ FUNDING AND NOTE 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 RESOURCES OBJECTIVE 1 HABITAT IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMME Scoping Undertake scoping meetings with anglers to identify areas £0.5K suitable for habitat improvement works. Survey Carry out survey to identify and prioritise areas for £5K Gwynedd sustainable habitat restoration work. angling initiative Planning Phase I Design schemes, negotiate £5K 1, 2 with landowners and obtain Agency (FM, EAT), estimates. CCW, SNP, Gwynedd Works CC, AA’s Undertake habitat restoration £20K £15K work to increase juvenile salmonid carrying capacity. Maintenance £0.5K £0.5K £0.5K Maintain restored stretches. Monitor Undertake pre and post £2K £2K scheme monitoring GRAVEL REMOVAL Pont y Garth Undertake environmental impact assessment (EIA) of gravel removal at this point, considering impact on: Agency (WR, FD, FM, £1K £4K 3 1. Geomorphology Cons, EAT) 2. Macrophytes (aquatic plants) 3. Juvenile salmonid production 4 Dysynni Salmon and Sea Trout Action Plan TABLE 1 - RESTORING DEGRADED HABITAT AND IMPROVING ACCESS 1. The Gwynedd Sustainable Angling Initiative aims to optimise the economic, environmental and social benefits to local communities from developing the sustainable use of fisheries in Gwynedd through restoring and improving the fisheries resource and angling facilities and by promoting quality angling opportunities for anglers. In order for the Gwynedd Sustainable Angling Initiative to be environmentally sustainable and bring wider economic benefits to the area, three key areas of fisheries development and marketing work are identified, each linked and dependant upon the others in order to bring a holistic approach. Phase 1: Habitat Improvements and Restoration Project. Phase 2: Improvements to Angling Infrastructure and Facilities. Phase 3: Marketing and Information. 2. The main aim of the Gwynedd River Habitat Improvement and Restoration Project is to introduce an extensive programme of river habitat improvements to increase the carrying capacity of juvenile fish, and to ensure that fisheries in Gwynedd are healthy, productive and biologically diverse, thus providing a valuable, sustainable natural resource used by the local community and visitors. 3. Gravel has been removed form the Dysynni for a number of years by the Agency's flood defence function. This work takes place every year to ensure that the guaging weir on the Dysynni is able to operate and to reduce the risk of flooding on nearby farmland. It is thought that this activity could be reducing the conservation value of this stretch of the Dysynni by degrading the habitat available to fauna and flora, including salmon and trout. In the consultation meeting it was also suggested that this activity has led to a reduction in the quality of angling by allowing excessive macrophyte