A partnership to care for the Clyde: its environment, its people and its visitors Autumn 2014 Issue 17 This Issue: Research in the Firth of Clyde • Marine Protected Area related research in the Clyde • The Clyde Ecosystem Review • Ocean colour comes to the Clyde • Hydrodynamic Modelling in the Clyde Firth of Clyde Forum News Forum Focus Contents Welcome to the Autumn 2014 edition of Clyde Breakers! This edition of Clyde Breakers focuses on reports from a variety of sources on scientific research that has been carried out recently Clyde 2020 on the Firth of Clyde. It gives the researchers an opportunity to Forum Focus reach a wider audience and so we hope you have your thinking The Clyde 2020 Summit was called by Cabinet caps on! Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, 04 has so far proved to be a very busy year. The Forum was Mr Richard Lochhead, as part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to a programme of Sea Level Rise and asked by Scottish Government to co-ordinate the Clyde 00 Summit in April where many stakeholders were invited to start measures that will identify, test and implement Storm Surges work on a process which aims to set out objectives and an action practical actions which may contribute to the plan to recover the ecosystem in the Firth of Clyde. More on this renewal of the Clyde marine ecosystem. in the Project Managers’ Update on the opposite page. We have The meeting was organised by the Firth of Clyde Forum Clyde 00 been involved in several workshops/ conferences – in May we led which was tasked by Marine Scotland to do this work, a session on coastal adaptation for the Glasgow and the Clyde bearing in mind their role as an independent organisation Valley Strategic Development Planning Authority during their © SNH focused on marine planning and integrated coastal zone Research on the Firth of climate change adaptation workshop; in June we were involved in Sea Level Rise and Storm management in the Firth of Clyde. Nearly one hundred Clyde Public Dialogue workshops to consider how the general public stakeholders with an interest in the Firth of Clyde view Ecosystem Services & Benefits and the Ecosystem Approach; Surges in the Firth of Clyde ecosystem took part. in August we gave a presentation at the International Marine By Fiona Mills The meeting began with a key note address by the Cabinet 4 Marine Protected Area Conservation Congress held at the SECC. Since the beginning of Secretary and this was followed by presentations on ‘The the year the Forum has been providing secretariat services to the This project has now managed to access all the data related research in the Clyde Ecosystem Review’ by Dr Bill Turrell of Marine South West Inshore Fisheries Group. We have also been working to map projected sea level rise including storm surge Scotland and ‘The Planning Context’ by Anna Donald also Clyde with Marine Scotland to establish how best to deliver Regional at 2020, 2050 and 2080 from South Ayrshire round of Marine Scotland. The participants then split into groups Marine Planning in the Clyde and will provide further updates on to the inner Clyde and as far as Holy Loch near for workshops on vision, practical measures and research. 6 Science and Lamlash Bay this as it progresses. Dunoon. The workshops aimed to agree the basics of what would We hope you have enjoyed the good weather this summer and The project will link with SEPA flood risk management work make up a vision for Clyde 00 and tried to set priorities No Take Zone have had an opportunity to get out and about on, in or around the to enable Local Authorities to identify natural and manmade against what practical measures might be appropriate and Firth of Clyde! assets at risk from coastal flooding and to introduce where the focus should lie with regards to research. 8 The Clyde Ecosystem measures to adapt to and mitigate against climate change. To read a full version of the report on this Summit visit Best wishes, Case studies in the inner Clyde and Holy Loch will examine http://clydeforum.com/clyde-reports. Review options for managed realignment whereby natural resources The Firth of Clyde Forum has been asked by Marine Isabel Glasgow such as saltmarsh can provide protection against flood risk. Scotland to continue to co-ordinate Clyde 00 and we Firth of Clyde Forum Chair 10 Early Evidence of The Firth of Clyde Forum has used this project during a are currently organising further workshops to confirm an workshop with Glasgow and the Clyde Valley Strategic Action Plan before setting up a steering group to take that Fiona Mills and Sarah Brown Overfishing in the Clyde Development Planning Authority to look at climate change forward. Clyde 00 will also link into the ecosystem work Project Managers adaptation at the coast. We have also used it as a case study stream during the next Regional Marine Planning cycle. for a series of Public Dialogues and meetings with the 13 Marine Biosecurity general public about ‘Ecosystem Services’*. The final project Guidelines Published report will be finished in autumn this year. Thanks go to our Photo courtesy of Claire Pescod funding partners - SNH, Peel Ports Group, GCVSDPA and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. 14 Gadoid Biomass in the Tribute to Archie McFarlane, a fisheries In the spirit of this scientific edition of Clyde Breakers, Firth of Clyde colleague who will be sorely missed. here is a quick background on sea level rise projections. The Firth of Clyde Forum Chair, its Core Group The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) members and staff wish to pay tribute to Archie produces global sea level rise projections based on various 16 Ocean Colour comes to McFarlane, past Secretary of the Clyde Fishermen’s emissions scenarios, i.e. different levels of emissions of the Clyde Association, whose untimely death has been a great carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the shock to us all. Archie has been a member of the Core atmosphere. These global scenarios are translated into the Group for the last 5 years. UK Climate Projections (UKCP) which give more detailed 8 Hydrodynamic Modelling We will all remember him as a courteous and dedicated data at the local geographical level. This project will use the in the Clyde colleague, who did not shrink from expressing strong UKCP09 high emissions scenario which describes a world of views on behalf of members of his Association but was • very rapid economic growth, always ready to listen to opposing views. He commanded • increasing population to a peak of 8.7 billion in 050, 20 FSC Millport universal respect and it was a pleasure to work with him. We will all miss him. • rapid introduction of new and efficient technologies, The huge gap created in the Clyde network by Archie’s • large reductions in regional differences in GDP, death has now been filled by Patrick Stewart, former • high use of fossil fuels. Front cover photograph © SNH Secretary to the Association, who has agreed to take *Ecosystem Services are the benefits provided by the over the work as Secretary on an interim basis. environment that contribute to making human life both Printed on recycled paper possible and worth living. Research in the Firth of Clyde 4 5 sampler. Have a look at this video to September to have a closer look at see a grab sampler in action http://youtu. some of this with a diving survey, and to be/rcJvM9XJ5KQ. collect some video clips of the shallow We focussed our surveys on the parts of the MPA which we could not species and communities which were reach on SEPA’s bigger Sir John Murray. being considered as protected features All this information will be invaluable in of the MPAs. These are species and managing the Clyde’s MPAs in the spirit communities which are not yet protected of maintaining the Scottish Government’s sufficiently by other existing protected vision of a ‘clean, healthy, safe, productive areas, but which are of great importance and biologically diverse marine and to maintain a healthy, productive and coastal environment that meets the long biologically diverse marine environment in term needs of people and nature’. Scotland. These species and communities To keep up to date with what the SNH are not only the rare or threatened ones, survey team gets up to around Scotland but also, or maybe even more importantly, throughout the year follow our survey those which are typical for Scotland, and The flame shell bed at Otter Spit © Marine Scotland blog at www.scotlandsseas.wordpress. for which Scotland contains some of com and like “Scottish Natural Heritage” Bringing the drop down video system back on board at the end of a video tow © SNH the world’s best examples. In the Clyde a continuous mat. Other animals and video survey that the mud around Arran on Facebook. plants can attach to this, which increases was riddled with burrows of the scampi there are three MPAs which can protect Links to commissioned reports covering the biodiversity of the area substantially. Nephrops norvegicus in places, but when several of these communities and species. some of the recent research in the Clyde Marine Protected The nests are very easy to miss on video, we looked at grab samples we only found Amongst them are seagrass beds, maerl MPAS: Marine Protected beds, burrowed mud, black guillemots, and the flame shells themselves are well low numbers of other species. Diverse Area related research hidden so we used divers to make sure mud communities can contain an amazing • Infaunal and PSA analyses of grab Areas for the Clyde ocean quahogs, flame shell beds, and in the Clyde diverse mixed sediment communities.