Langavat Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Management Plan 2013 - 2018 Prepared by Outer Hebrides Fisheries Trust The Sawmill, Marybank, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis,1 HS2 0DD Scottish Charity Reg. No. SC040530 Table of Contents 1. Purpose and Scope................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Background .............................................................................................................................................. 3 2.1. SAC Legislation................................................................................................................................. 3 2.2 The Langavat SAC............................................................................................................................. 3 2.3. The Langavat Catchment ................................................................................................................. 4 2.4 Existing Planning Framework........................................................................................................... 5 2.5 Langavat Salmon Populations ......................................................................................................... 6 2.6 The Langavat Fishery........................................................................................................................ 7 2.7 The Stakeholders.............................................................................................................................. 8 3. Factors Impacting Salmon Populations...................................................................................................... 10 3.1 Climate Change .............................................................................................................................. 10 3.2 Barriers to Migration...................................................................................................................... 10 3.3 River Morphology .......................................................................................................................... 10 3.4 Invasive Species ............................................................................................................................. 11 3.5 Aquaculture.................................................................................................................................... 12 3.6 Management Practices .................................................................................................................. 13 3.7 Riparian Habitat ............................................................................................................................. 13 3.8 Instream Habitat ............................................................................................................................ 13 3.9 Pollution......................................................................................................................................... 13 3.10 Exploitation .................................................................................................................................... 14 3.10.1 Legal Exploitation................................................................................................................... 14 3.10.2 Illegal Exploitation.................................................................................................................. 15 4. Priorities For Action ............................................................................................................................... 16 4.1 PFA details...................................................................................................................................... 16 4.2 PFA Timetables............................................................................................................................... 18 5. Abbreviations used ................................................................................................................................ 21 6. Appendices............................................................................................................................................. 21 2 1. Purpose and Scope The plan describes issues relating to the Langavat Special Area of Conservation (SAC) (UK0030255) and presents actions that have been agreed with stakeholders for the future management of the Langavat catchment for the benefit of the SAC. The vision of this plan is: ‘To establish a framework that will lead to sustainable management of Atlantic salmon and their habitats within the Langavat SAC’. This will be achieved through the application of appropriate management activities, data collection, liaison, education and legislation and the realisation of the Priorities For Action below: 1. Code of Good Practice for Angling on the entire catchment agreed and established 2. Monitoring programme for juvenile salmonids established for entire catchment 3. Monitoring programme for adult salmonids established for catchment 4. Restoration works carried out where required 5. Promote best practice for all users within and adjacent to catchment 2. Background 2.1. SAC Legislation In 1992, the European Union (including the UK) adopted the Council Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the ‘Habitats Directive’). The aim of the Habitats Directive is to conserve certain threatened natural environments and wild animals and plants within the European Union. It gives member states the power and responsibility to designate Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) for particular habitats and species. The Directive is transposed into national legislation by the Habitats Regulations. These place a duty upon all “competent authorities” in the discharge of their regulatory functions, to have regard to the interests for which SACs are designated. Once an SAC is designated, the condition of the interest feature is periodically monitored by SNH. 2.2 The Langavat SAC The Langavat catchment was designated on 17th March 2005 as a SAC for its important population of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The SAC designation encompasses all freshwaters within the Langavat catchment, and is recorded as having an area of 1459.64ha and a site length of 88.9km. The Langavat SAC was established with the following objectives: 3 To avoid deterioration of the habitats of the qualifying species (Atlantic salmon) or significant disturbance to the qualifying species, thus ensuring that the integrity of the site is maintained and the site makes an appropriate contribution to achieving favourable status for each of the qualifying features; and To ensure for the qualifying species that the following are maintained in the long term: Population of the species, including range of genetic types, as a viable component of the site Distribution of the species within the site Distribution and extent of habitats supporting the species Structure, function and supporting processes of habitats supporting the species No significant disturbance of the species The interest feature of the SAC was last assessed by SNH in 2004 as part of its Site Condition Monitoring programme. At that time the condition of the salmon interest was classified as ‘unfavourable recovering’. 2.3. The Langavat Catchment The Langavat catchment rises from the glens of the North Harris hills and flows northwards through Lewis and discharges into East Loch Roag at Grimersta. The catchment covers an area of approximately 105 km2 and contains over 20 significant lochs, of varying size, connected by a system of burns and rivers, Figure 1. The largest loch in the catchment is Loch Langavat, which is over 11 km long, has 45km of shoreline and is the largest freshwater loch in the Outer Hebrides. The underlying geology of the catchment is predominantly slow-weathering, undifferentiated Lewisian Gneiss. This means that the water flowing into the catchment is typically nutrient-poor. The land in the catchment is mainly open moorland, containing a mixture of rough pasture and wet bog. Parts of the catchment have been designated as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), due to the habitats present. Much of the catchment overlaps the Lewis Peatlands Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Area (SPA), the latter designated for breeding divers, waders and raptors. The southern end of the catchment is included within a National Scenic Area and is part of the North Harris SPA. A section of the southern end of the Langavat catchment also lies within the North Harris SAC, for which Atlantic salmon are a qualifying species. The main agricultural use of the land is for the grazing of sheep on the hills as well as some improved land towards the north end of the catchment. Some of the common grazings are in agri-environment schemes such as Rural Priorities. The land is used by the sporting estates for the stalking of deer and the shooting of grouse. Bird watchers and hill walkers also increasingly frequent the area. The only public road that intersects the SAC is the B8011, and there are no settlements or other significant developments at present. All the water bodies in the catchment classified under the Water Framework Directive are at least at good ecological status, see Appendix E for more details. 4 Figure 1: Location of the Langavat SAC 2.4 Existing Planning Framework The objectives of this plan should complement and promote the objectives of the following statutory and non-statutory