A5 Western Transport Corridor Volume 3 – Appendices APPENDIX 11B FRESHWATER FISH Certain freshwater fish are significant nature conservation receptors for the Proposed Scheme for the following reasons: Atlantic salmon Salmo salar, allis shad Alosa alosa, twaite shad A. fallax, river lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis, brook lamprey L. planeri and sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus are listed on Annex II to the Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive). A site that is considered to be of significance to any of these species may be designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC); The abundance, composition, and age class of freshwater fish, are biological components of the surface water/ecological status of a watercourse classified under The Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD); The water quality variables of a watercourse enable classification under The Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Classification) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (as amended), with the classification identifying the species composition most likely to be present or potentially supported; and Some fish are Species of Conservation Concern (SoCC) in Northern Ireland (NI) and Priority Species under the UK post-2010 Biodiversity Framework (former UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP)). These include European smelt Osmerus eperlanus, Atlantic salmon, brown trout Salmo trutta, European eel Anguilla anguilla; river lamprey, brook lamprey and sea lamprey. Legislation Some national and European legislative frameworks give legal protection to certain fish species. The most significant of these is Council Directive 92/43/EEC on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive), which makes provision for the protection of certain habitats and species, listed in Annex II to the directive, through the designation of SAC for sites that will make a significant contribution in the conservation of the habitats/species. The SAC receive full protection under The Conservation (Natural Habitats, etc.) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1995 (as amended) (the Habitats Regulations). Significant fish species likely to be present within the extents of the scheme include Atlantic salmon, river lamprey, brook lamprey and sea lamprey. The Environment (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 makes provision for ASSIs. Salmonid fish species receive further and specific protection because of the importance of their supporting habitat in NI and the importance of these species as a commercial resource (angling). The Foyle Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1952 (as amended) and the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966 (as amended) (the Fisheries Act) provide protection to salmonid spawning habitat and legislate against disturbance of species using this habitat (young and breeding individuals), © Mouchel 2016 A.11B-1 A5 Western Transport Corridor Volume 3 – Appendices obstruction to migration, and the capture, disturbance or obstruction of spawn or fry passage, and capture of salmonid fish by certain methods. The Fisheries Act also provides legislative protection against the taking, disturbing or obstructing the passage of eels. Directive 2000/60/EC, The Water Framework Directive (WFD), implemented in Northern Ireland by The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003, makes provision for the maintenance and improvement of the ecological status of inland surface waters. The ecological status of a waterbody is determined from three elements (biological, hydro- morphological and chemical/physico-chemical). The abundance, composition, and age class of fish are factors that contribute to the assessment of biological quality of the watercourse. Although the Directive does not place specific requirements upon developers, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), acting as the competent authority, is able to object to proposals or insist on the implementation of mitigation measures where schemes are likely to adversely impact the ecological quality of inland surface waters designated under the Directive. Directive 2006/44/EC on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life (the Freshwater Fish Directive (consolidated)) (FFD), makes provision for the protection and improvement of the quality of running and standing waters capable of supporting, or would become capable of supporting if pollution was reduced or eliminated, fish species belonging to indigenous species offering natural diversity or species the presence of which is judged to be desirable for water management purposes. The FFD defines a waterbody as either a “Salmonid” or “Cyprinid” waterbody, based upon species assemblages, and prescribes physical and chemical water quality objectives. Although the Directive does not place specific requirements upon developers, the NIEA, acting as the competent authority, is able to object to proposals or insist on the implementation of mitigation measures where schemes are likely to adversely impact the ecological quality of inland surface waters designated under the Directive. Directive 2004/35/EC, The Environmental Liability Directive is implemented in Northern Ireland by The Environmental Liability (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009. The Directive establishes a framework for environmental liability based on the “polluter pays” principle, with a view to preventing and remedying environmental damage. Under the terms of the regulations, environmental damage to protected species is that which has a significant adverse effect on the species reaching or maintaining favourable conservation status, and where it is caused by an activity where the operator was at fault or was negligent as to whether such damage would be caused. The Directive defines protected species as those listed in Annex I to the Directive 2009/147/EC on the conservation of wild birds (codified version) (the Birds Directive) and in Annexes II and IV to the Habitats Directive. Finally, and more generally, The Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 makes provisions to combat and prevent pollution affecting waterways and groundwater, and therefore has implications for all fish species. © Mouchel 2016 A.11B-2 A5 Western Transport Corridor Volume 3 – Appendices Conservation status Atlantic salmon The Atlantic salmon is of European importance as it is listed in Annexes II and V of the Habitats Directive and Appendix III of the Bern Convention. The species is listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species and as a Priority Species in the UK, and as a NI SoCC. Atlantic salmon are also considered to be a major commercial species. Brown/sea trout Brown trout and sea trout are the same species, distinguished from each other by whether they are predominantly freshwater populations (brown trout) or anadromous (moving between freshwater and sea water - sea trout) This species is important commercially, considered as possibly the most important single sport species over Europe as a whole (Maitland and Linsell, 2006). This species is listed as a Priority Species in the UK and as a NI SoCC. Lamprey All three lamprey species are of European importance following listing on Annex II of the Habitats Directive and Appendix III of the Bern Convention. The river lamprey is also listed in Annex V of the Habitats Directive. The sea lamprey and river lamprey are both listed as Priority Species in the UK. Maitland (2000) considers all three species of lamprey to be of vulnerable conservation status, with the Red Data Book for Ireland listing all three species as indeterminate (Maitland, 2003). None of the lamprey species are listed as NI Priority Species or SoCC. European smelt European smelt are considered by Maitland and Lyle (1991) to be one of the ten fish species in the British Isles under greatest threat. However, this has not been recognised through national or European legislation. The European smelt is, however, listed as a Priority Species and as a NI SoCC. Shad Both species of shad are of European importance following listing in Annexes II and V of the Habitats Directive and Appendix III of the Bern Convention. The allis and twaite shad are both listed as Priority Species and as a NI Priority Species, and SoCC. Although there is not Red Data Book for fish in Britain, Maitland (2000) considers allis shad to be Critically Endangered and twaite shad to be endangered. The Red Data Book for Ireland, published before the revision of categories lists the allis shad as endangered and twaite shad as vulnerable (IUCN, 1994; Maitland and Ellis, 2003). © Mouchel 2016 A.11B-3 A5 Western Transport Corridor Volume 3 – Appendices European eel The European eel has recently been listed as a Priority Species because of population declines across much of Western Europe. Scientific research by the Joint European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) and International Council of the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Working Group on Eels in 2006 supported this, identifying a decline in most of its distribution and that it is now outside safe biological limits (IUCN, 2008). The species is not, however, listed as a NI SoCC. Other species Species that do not receive specific legal protection but which may be present within the study area are components of the freshwater fish assemblage. These include the following which are known to occur in the study area: Flounder Platichthys flesus; Stone loach Barbatula