ATLANTIC SALMON TRUST SMALL STREAMS CHARACTERISATION SYSTEM – Survey Manual Prepared for The Atlantic Salmon Trust, The River Annan Trust & District Salmon Fishery Board and the Strangford Lough & Lecale Partnership by Martin McGarrigle, Limnos Consultancy Ballynew, Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Version: AST-SSCS-1.3 Date: July 2015 © Atlantic Salmon Trust, 2015 Atlantic Salmon Trust – Small Streams Characterisation System Survey Manual – AST-SSCS-1.2 Contents Background ................................................................................................................................ 3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5 Health and Safety When Sampling Small Streams or Rivers ..................................................... 6 Biosecurity.................................................................................................................................. 7 The Survey .................................................................................................................................. 8 Field Equipment ..................................................................................................................... 8 Taking a Sample ..................................................................................................................... 9 1. Where Are You Sampling? ................................................................................................... 10 2. Describe the Stream and its Surroundings .......................................................................... 10 3. Identifying Stream Macroinvertebrates .............................................................................. 12 Mayflies versus Stoneflies .................................................................................................... 16 4. Calculating the Small Streams Characterisation System Score ........................................... 22 Manual Calculation Method ................................................................................................ 22 Spreadsheet Method ........................................................................................................... 23 Group 1 MayFlies – 3-Tails – Ephemeroptera ......................................................................... 24 Group 2 Stoneflies – 2-Tails – Plecoptera ................................................................................ 24 Group 3 Caddis Cased and Uncased ........................................................................................ 25 Group 4 GOLD+ ........................................................................................................................ 25 Group 5 Asellus ........................................................................................................................ 26 Flow Chart for Manual Calculation of AST-SSCS ...................................................................... 27 5. What Types of Aquatic Plants are found in the Stream? ..................................................... 28 Mosses and Liverworts ........................................................................................................ 29 Filamentous Algae ................................................................................................................ 29 Higher Plants (Flowering Plants) .......................................................................................... 29 6. Hydromorphology: Estimating the Potential to Block Fish Passage .................................... 33 The Sampling Strategy for the AST Small Stream Characterisation System ............................ 35 A Case Study ............................................................................................................................. 35 Keys and Aids for Identification of Aquatic Flora and Fauna ................................................... 37 Useful Hyperlinks ..................................................................................................................... 38 Page 2 | 38 Background and Introduction SMALL STREAMS CHARACTERISATION SYSTEM FIELD SHEET & GUIDANCE NOTES Background identified as contributing to failures to meet EU Water Framework Directive In recent years, in the UK and Ireland, standards in larger river catchments, such there has been increasing interest in the watercourses are rarely classified as conservation and management of small “water bodies” under the terms of the streams. They are essential to the health WFD. As such, they do not receive the of the wider aquatic ecosystem and of fish formal monitoring priority and protection populations throughout river catchments. they need. But, because of their size, small streams are particularly vulnerable, both to In response to the above recommenda- general pressures and to specific tions and under the general theme of problems. managing small streams for fish in a changing environment, two subsequent A sea-trout workshop, organised by the workshops were organised to discuss Atlantic Salmon Trust in February 2011, small streams in upland and lowland / clearly identified the need for the urban areas. These meetings were held in monitoring and protection of such Carlingford, Co Louth, Ireland, 27th and streams and concluded that a greater 28th November, 2012 and York, England, focus was required on the significance of 6th and 7th March 2013, the latter dealing small streams for sea-trout production. primarily with lowland and urbanised These provide important spawning small streams. The conclusions and habitats, but are easily blocked by recommendations from these meetings impassable culverts, farm crossings and were subsequently presented to a minor land use changes and can be meeting in Brussels later in 2013, adversely affected by very minor land organised by the European Environmental management practices. They are also Bureau and the Freshwater Habitats Trust. poorly protected by existing legislation. Hyperlinks to reports on these meetings The workshop agreed that research is are available in this manual (see Useful needed to quantify the contribution such Hyperlinks on p38). streams make to sea-trout recruitment. There is also a need to identify both actual It was clear from the Carlingford Small and potential sea-trout spawning streams, Streams Workshop that the care and and to draw attention to the need to attention urgently required by burns and protect them. streams is most likely to come from volunteers and key catchment based During the workshop, it was suggested interest groups. There was also much that a definition of a small stream might support for the role that citizen science be any stream less than 6 m in width. might play in monitoring such streams. However, a more satisfactory definition is probably any first or second-order hill Having identified the need to equip stream or any small self-contained coastal interest groups with the skills to monitor stream, which discharges directly into the and assess the health of streams in their ocean. Although small streams have been particular catchments, AST approached Page 3 | 38 Background and Introduction the Strangford Lough & Lecale Partnership fishery managers to put in place plans to and the River Annan Trust & District protect the high quality watercourses and Salmon Fishery Board, with a view to improve the problematic areas. agreeing on such a programme. The programme in many ways is similar to This training manual represents the the Adopt-a-Stream Programme in completion of the first phase of this joint Canada. Our colleagues in the Atlantic partnership. In conjunction with a training Salmon Conservation Fund and the Adopt- programme, it provides volunteers with a-Stream Programme have been very the required skills and training to walk and helpful in commenting on drafts of the monitor the small streams in their manual and we would encourage those particular location, both small mountain concerned with the protection and streams and discrete coastal streams. The management of small streams to visit objective is not to intentionally seek out their websites, which are packed full of pollution points but to objectively assess practical and useful information – see the current status of the streams. In many Useful Hyperlinks (p38). ways identifying and highlighting the presence of pristine streams or burns that We trust that this manual will prove useful have been little impacted by agricultural not alone to those interested in the or forestry practices is as important as welfare of our sea trout but to all those identifying problems in damaged or with concerns for the welfare of the degraded streams. The initiative is based migratory species which depend on the on a simple premise: that obtaining high- health and well-being of the myriad of quality information on the condition of small streams that pepper our mountain our small streams and burns is key for landscapes and our coastal margins. Page 4 | 38 Background and Introduction Introduction Small streams (known as first and second- these small streams and by identifying order streams) comprise over 75% of the obvious blockages to fish migration from length of the total river network – typically and to the sea. The aim of this guide and these are less than 3 m wide. They are key training programme is to build a certain spawning areas for trout. The health of expertise in assessing the risks of pollution