Assessing the Cardigan Bay bottlenose dolphin SACs

ECOS 34(3/4) 2013
Assessing the Cardigan Bay
bottlenose dolphin SACs
Cardigan Bay in Wales and adjacent waters are important for marine wildlife and have
various areas designated as special areas of conservation (SACs). Here we consider the
extent to which bottlenose dolphin SACs can be said to be effective.
MARK PETER SIMMONDS, MICK GREEN, VICKI JAMES,
SONJA EISFELD & ROB LOTT
Sites for cetaceans
In the late 1980s, Cardigan Bay became the focus of efforts to improve marine
protection using the EU Habitats Directive (94/43/EEC) to designate Special Areas
of Conservation (SACs).1 By 2003, three UK sites had been identified as candidate
sites for the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, including two in Welsh waters.
However, writing in ECOS in 20062, Green expressed some scepticism about the
effectiveness of these measures. More recently, Hoyt3 noted that “the idea that
whales, dolphins and porpoises need protected habitat is fairly new, even among
MPA practitioners… [but] In general the more that is learned about cetaceans,
the more it becomes evident that populations of some species favour or return
regularly to familiar places… which may be called home ranges, breeding or
feeding grounds”.
Eighteen cetacean species have been recorded in Welsh waters and several
exhibit a high degree of residency, including the bottlenose dolphin.A,4 By 2003,
one SAC (centred off the coast of New Quay in Ceredigion) had been designated
for them and, since then, they have also been included as a feature that requires
ˆ a’r Sarnau SAC (see map). There is a further SAC
management in the Pen Llyn
designated for bottlenose dolphins in UK waters and this is in the Moray Firth
in Scotland.
Harbour porpoises, Phocoena phocoena, are also relatively common in Welsh
waters. Like the bottlenose dolphins, they also qualify for the establishment of
SACs, but at the time of writing only one marine SAC in Northern Ireland has been
proposed in the UK as a candidate site for them. Porpoise calving and nursing
occurs in Cardigan Bay. de Boer5 reported that 22% of sighting of porpoises from
Bardsey Island were of mother-calf pairs. There is a also a third species that has
recently been shown to exhibit site-fidelity in Welsh waters: the Risso’s dolphin,
Grampus griseus. Risso’s dolphins however do not currently qualify for the
designation of SACs under the Habitats Directive. Other regularly encountered
species include the short-beaked common dolphin, Delphinus delphis, and the
minke whale, Balaenoptera acutorostrata.D
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The promise of law
The Habitats Directive is the
‘‘cornerstone of the EU’s
biodiversity policy’’6 and was
intended to establish a network
of Special Areas of Conservation
(SACs) across the EU, known
collectively as Natura 2000. In
addition, EU member states are
also required to guarantee the
strict protection of all species
within their natural range that
are listed on the Directive’s
Annex IV and this includes
all cetaceans.
As soon as a Natura site
is
designated,
particular
obligations apply. Member
States are required to establish
the necessary conservation
measures, involving appropriate
management plans which
correspond to the ecological
requirements of the habitats
and species present on the sites and are also required to take appropriate steps
to avoid the deterioration of natural habitats and habitats of species, and the
significant disturbance of species for which areas have been designated.
Wales currently has sevenn marine SACs. The Cardigan Bay SAC site was proposed
in 1995 and, two years later, the site was submitted to the European Commission
for consideration. Some moderation followed and new features for management
were added. On 7 December 2004, the European Commission formally adopted the
UK list of Special Areas of Conservation, including the Welsh proposals. The SAC
stretches from Ceibwr Bay in Pembrokeshire, to Aberarth in Ceredigion, extending
almost 20 km from the coast and covering about 1000 km2 of sea. It includes
bottlenose dolphins as a ‘primary feature’ and its management scheme, in place
since 2001, aims to manage activities taking place within and near the SAC in
order to protect the dolphins and their habitat from any adverse effects that human
activities may have on them. The management scheme was expanded in 2008
to include: sandbanks which are slightly covered by sea water all the time; reefs;
submerged or partially submerged sea caves; the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus);
the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus); and the river lamprey (Lampetra fluviatilis).
ˆ a’r Sarnau SAC covers the Lleyn Peninsula and the Sarnau reefs as well
The Pen Llyn
as the large estuaries along the coast of Meirionnydd and north Ceredigion and is
situated just north of the Cardigan Bay SAC. In this SAC bottlenose dolphins is only
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one of a number of ‘qualifying features’, the SAC’s primary features are reefs and
ˆ a’r Sarnau management plan is still in the process of being
estuaries. The Pen Llyn
updated to show what actions the additional features, including the bottlenose
dolphins, might require for their conservation.
Issues at sea
The Habitats Directive does not prohibit development adjacent to or even within
the designated sites. However, any plan or project not directly connected with or
necessary to the management of the site, but likely to have a significant effect
thereon, either individually or in combination with other plans or projects, is
subject to an ‘Appropriate Assessment’ (AA) of its implications for the site in
view of the site’s conservation objectives. One test of the effectiveness of the
SACs will be whether these AAs are being conducted and the extent to which
they are positively affecting conservation. Whilst the Directive does not define
what constitutes a plan or project, a preliminary ruling by the ECJA suggests
that the terms ‘plan’ or ‘project’ should be interpreted broadly, not restrictively.
More recently, a UK High CourtB decision reinforced this interpretation and that
any action that could potentially have an impact should be considered a plan or
project and an AA initiated.
The Directive also states that a plan or project can be carried out for imperative
reasons of overriding public interest even if the assessment of the implications for
the site was negative. However, the Member States have to take all compensatory
measures necessary to ensure that the overall coherence of Natura 2000 is protected.
The notion of “imperative reasons of overriding public interest” is vague as are the
“compensatory measures” required of the national authorities.
The grounds upon which development activities may be permitted in cetacean SACs
remain uncertain. Nevertheless, certain key industrial activities have been identified
within the Guidelines for the designation and management of specially protected
marine areas7 for which supervision will be required when carried out in proximity
to or within SACs. These include ecotourism activities, oil and gas exploitation,
active military and civilian sonar use, vessel-based noise and acoustic by-catch
mitigation devices. Accordingly, the development of localised guidelines to address
such activities may be considered an important aspect of SAC management on the
part of the Member States.
Cetaceans in Cardigan Bay can be expected to be affected by the same general issues
as those encountered elsewhere in Europe and beyond. The management plan for
the Cardigan Bay SAC defined areas of concern relating to the bottlenose dolphins
as: waterborne disturbance, collision, pollution from artificial or toxic materials, prey
depletion, bycatch and noise pollution.8 There are a number of sources for further
information about threats to cetaceans including Bejder et al.(2006)9, Weilgart
(2007)10, and Steckenreuter et al. (2012).11
Particular issues in the Cardigan Bay region are discussed in the paragraphs below,
in no particular order.
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Bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan Bay
Photo: Sonja Eisfeld/WDC
Marine Renewable Energy
Since 2000, the UK Government has conducted three rounds of offshore wind
farm licensing for projects in waters around England, Wales, Scotland and Northern
Ireland; the first wave and tidal energy leasing round was in 2010. Until quite
recently, offshore wind farms were mainly constructed in near-shore waters, within
approximately 5km of the coast and now very large developments are planned
further off the coast and in deeper waters.12 Currently there are three operational
marine wind farms to the north of Wales. Since 2010, plans for six further wind
farms have been initiated, three of which are in the Round 3 Zone in the Bristol
Channel off the South Wales coast (the extensive Atlantic Array proposal was
shelved by RWE npower as this article went to press), and three off the north
Wales coast, two of which are in the Irish Sea Round 3 Zone. A wave energy site
is currently in construction in Pembrokeshire, 5 km offshore from St. Anne’s Head,
and is expected to be in operation in late 2012. This will use an ‘overtopping
device’; holding ‘captured’ water in a reservoir above sea level before being released
through low-head turbines. Plans for the Severn Barrage in the Bristol Channel were
withdrawn in 2010 due to the high cost involved, along with environmental impacts
on internationally important nature conservation sites.13 Tidal current devices may
be held in place by various methods including seabed anchoring, a gravity-base or
driven piles or via mooring lines.14, 15 One tidal energy site has been generating power
since 2003 in the Bristol Channel and Tidal Energy Limited currently have plans for
two tidal sites off Pembrokeshire. One was approved in 2008 in Ramsey Sound and
plans for the second off St David’s Head were announced in 2012.16 The potential
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impacts of marine renewable developments on cetaceans have been considered in
Wright et al17, Simmonds and Brown18, Dolman and Simmonds19, Simmonds et al 20,
and Wilson et al 2 1 and also in the report from the House of Commons Energy and
Climate Change Committee22. The UK’s 2009 Strategic Environmental Assessment
(SEA) of Offshore Energy commented that “In general, marine mammals show the
highest sensitivity to acoustic disturbance by noise generated by offshore wind farms
and by hydrocarbon exploration and production activities”.23
Scallop dredging
Low level scallop dredging has been carried out in Cardigan Bay for many years
(Green, pers. obs.). This changed in more recent times seemingly following closures
in other areas and by 2006 up to 60 scallop dredgers were reported operating
in the Bay at any one time, including within the boundaries of the Cardigan Bay
SAC. Many changes to this fishery followed and, in 2009, the Scallop Orders
were reviewed and the Welsh Assembly Government realised they would have
to undertake consultations. The fishery was closed for the second half of 2009
and a complaint was made to Europe by a consortium of non-governmental
organisations. This focused on the lack of an AA in issuing Scalloping Licenses.
In 2010, the fishery was partially reopened with a significant part of the Bay
declared off limits to the fishery but remarkably a sizeable part of the SAC itself
left open and this continues to be the case. No AA has been conducted. In April
2012, two fishing boat owners and a skipper were fined a total of £29,000 for
scallop-dredging inside that part of the Cardigan Bay SAC that remains closed to
such activity.
The potential threat from scallop dredging to cetaceans has been much debated.
An opinion from CEFAS in 2009 concluded that under the “current technical
conservation measures in place” there was no risk to the Bay’s bottlenose dolphins.
However, a fleet of 60 dredgers plying the waters of the Bay might reasonably be
expected to cause much noise disturbance and also affect the dolphins’ food chain.
In 2013, Bangor University is proposing ‘research dredging’ to establish whether
intensive scalloping can take place more widely within the SAC.
A view to Bardsey Island with bottlenose dolphins in foreground.
Photo: Sonja Eisfeld/WDC
Slipways. All licensees are provided with a copy of a code of conduct designed to give
members of the public information about how to act in the vicinity of cetaceans to
avoid disturbing them. Ceredigion County Council has monitored compliance with
their Code since 1994.27 The latest report 28 showed that of 494 boat encounters
examined for compliance, this was found to be generally high (95% at one site).
The associated public awareness programme was also assessed to be working well
at the key site of New Quay. Most cases of non-compliance involved vessels moving
too fast when close to dolphins, with speed and motor boats the main offenders.
The report concluded that compliance with the code significantly reduced the
incidence of negative response behaviours in the dolphins.
Oil and Gas development
The UK Government has been issuing licences for oil and gas exploration since
1964.24 The environmental effects associated with exploration activity, construction,
production and transport of equipment, materials and products are potentially
many.25,26 In the early 1980s, oil and gas exploration moved into the UK’s inshore
waters and during the twelth licensing round, licences were issued for a company
to drill in waters adjacent to Bardsey leading to a complaint to Europe. However, in
2012, licensing was reopened in this area but not adjacent to the Cardigan Bay SAC.
Boat Disturbance
The Cardigan Bay Website calls on boat users to follow the ‘Marine Codec’ and
it also calls for action on marine litter which ‘may choke’ marine mammals.24 The
Ceredigion County Council requires (as a ‘Heritage Coast’ initiative rather than one
relating directly to the SAC) the licensing of all personal craft launched from Council
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Waste Discharge
There is a discharge from a shell-fish factory into the SAC at New Quay and this had
been suggested as both a concern and a possible source of enrichment. 29
Cetacean status
A metric that might be used to assess effectiveness is whether the local bottlenose
dolphin population is being maintained at favourable conservation status (FCS);
which is when a population is being maintained on a long-term basis, its natural
range is not being, and is not likely to be, reduced and there is sufficient habitat to
support it in the long term.
Over 300 bottlenose dolphins are known to be using Cardigan Bay, around 200 in
any one year, with numbers increasing throughout the summer and reaching a peak
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in late September and October.30 The bottlenose dolphin is the next most frequently
recorded species (after the harbour porpoise), with a predominantly coastal distribution,
although low densities have been recorded offshore, particularly in St George’s Channel
and the southwest sector of the study area.31 The main concentrations of sightings were
southern Cardigan Bay but with moderately high sighting rates extending north into
Tremadog Bay, although the species also occurs off the north coast of Wales, particularly
north and east of Anglesey. In summer, the dolphins occur mainly in small groups near
the coast, centred upon Cardigan Bay, dispersing more widely and generally northwards,
where they may form very large groups in winter. However, the species can be seen
at any time of the year throughout Welsh coastal waters. No fundamental change in
distribution has been observed since 1990 and bottlenose dolphins breed throughout
their Welsh range, with calves observed in most months of the year. Only small numbers
have been recorded stranded.27
Recent data suggest lower numbers in both the Cardigan Bay SAC and the whole
of the Bay during 2011 than most previous years.32 Results from an open population
model indicate that the probability of emigration from Cardigan Bay, and the
probability that animals will stay out of the site, have increased. This suggests that
fewer dolphins are currently using Cardigan Bay. The Sea Watch Foundation also
concludes that increased activity off North Wales in summer includes individuals
previously showing a strong site fidelity to Cardigan Bay, and supports the markrecapture results showing that fewer dolphins may now be using Cardigan Bay.
However, they also report that the area of the Cardigan Bay SAC in particular has
seen increased levels of residency, and remains important for mothers and young
calves, exhibiting a reasonably healthy birth rate (5.75% for a closed population
model and 7.73% for an open population model).
So, the status of the bottlenose dolphin population is currently equivocal with
neither a precipitous decline nor an increase apparent. The core area (i.e. the SAC)
remains important for the population, although the possible movement of some
part of the population away highlights the need for careful ongoing monitoring.
Other conservation-related activities
The controls on scallop dredging and limitation of the spread of oil and gas
development into at least one of the dolphin SACs would seem likely to be beneficial
to the dolphins. However, it is unclear why the latter industry is prohibited from the
ˆ a’r
Cardigan Bay site but has recently potentially been allowed into the Pen Llyn
Sarnau SAC. This may be because the licensing authority takes the view that as the
dolphins are only a qualifying feature. More positively, the process of assessment of
potential threats to the dolphins followed in the Cardigan Bay management plan
has significant potential to assist in the wise management of the SAC.
Conservation Actions focused on other SAC features may be beneficial to the
dolphins by helping to maintain habitat quality and prey. In addition, we believe
that the advent of the SACs has helped to generate relevant research funds and
note there is a legal requirement to report on status of features to the European
Commission every six years.28
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Public outreach and educational activities may also have benefits for the dolphins and
the SAC website is a potentially important educational initiative. The various ‘dolphin
centres’ in Cardigan Bay may also have been encouraged by the presence of the SAC.
The Cardigan Bay Code of Conduct and efforts to measure its implementation – even
given that this was originally introduced as a Heritage Coast initiative – may also
have been encouraged by the SAC. In this regard, the absence of a SAC officer for
Cardigan Bay for a period of time may have undermined the initiative.
Conclusions and recommendations
There is some evidence that the Cardigan Bay SACs have been useful to dolphin
conservation, principally by providing a mechanism to challenge developments.
However, the designation still does not appear to provide any incentive to developers
to avoid the area in the first place and pressures are mounting. In theory – and
in the absence of other designations further to the recent decision by the Welsh
government to hold off on designating other marine conservation zones - they
could become more important.
Apparent SAC failings, include the question of how precisely they relate to
development within and adjacent to the areas that they define. The status of the
bottlenose dolphin as a qualifying feature only in the northern SAC does not seem
to imbue it with any direct protection, but this may improve when the management
plan for this site is updated.
SACs in the UK can generally be graded as IUCN Category VI management areas33;
this means that they are protected areas with sustainable use of natural resources
aimed at conserving natural resources alongside “low level non-industrial use of
natural resources compatible with nature conservation”. Hoyt29 has already queried
whether this low level of protection can be expected in the longer term to be
effective.D In the case of Cardigan Bay, these sites are also relatively small and any
assessment of their effectiveness is of limited help to the assessment of other types
of MPAs. SACs, however, are not universally IUCN Category VI and in fact can even
function, due to their generally small size, as IUCN Category I highly protected
zones within a larger MPA framework or network.
Green2 commented that there is little that could be seen in terms of additional
protection within the SACs compared to the wider sea area, however, the bottlenose
dolphins continue to use the sites, including for breeding purposes. Whilst a core
sub-population of bottlenose dolphins seems to remain faithful to Cardigan Bay,
potential explanations for the wider changes in distribution include changes in
prey availability and/or increased anthropogenic disturbance. We agree with the
recommendation from the Sea Watch Foundation that in order to assess whether
this is the start of a negative trend, further monitoring over a number of years
encompassing the entire field season from at least April until October is needed.
The Welsh Government is entrusted with an exceptional richness of marine
biodiversity to protect and have waters where many MPAs (in the form of SACs)
are now in place. Provisions that are intended to protect bottlenose dolphins may
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help other cetaceans in these waters, including Risso’s dolphins. However, there
is also unprecedented industrial development happening in Welsh waters with
unclear consequences for cetaceans and other fauna. Future research in this region
relating to all the local cetacean populations, and the threats that they face, will
be essential to underpin their conservation and so will developing appropriate
constraints on activities that may threaten them or displace them from core habitat
areas. This means that the SAC management regimes need to be comprehensive,
precautionary and adhered to.
References and notes
A. Landelijke Vereniging tot Behoud van de Waddenzee, Nederlandse Vereniging tot Bescherming van Vogels
v. Staatssecretaris van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij, Case C-127/02
B. R (on the application of Akester and Melanaphy) v Defra & Wightlink Limited (Wightlink)
C. There is a Ceredigion Code of Conduct for boat users and also a Cardigan Bay Code.
D. N.B. Our understanding is that the protection of the dolphin population for which any SAC has been
established extends to the population’s full range (see 92/43/EEC and discussion in Green et al., 2012).
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ˆ a’r Sarnau Special Areas of Conservation. CCW Monitoring Report No. 95. 66pp
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Mark Peter Simmonds is Senior Associate Marine Scientist at the Humane Society International.
[email protected]
Mick Green is Director of Ecology Matters Trust.
Vicki James, Sonja Eisfeld and Rob Lott are with Whale and Dolphin Conservation.
Thanks to Sarah Dolman and Erich Hoyt for their comments on an earlier version of this paper.
Diolch yn fawr.
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