Draft Fisheries Assessment – Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC: Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

5. Management Options

5.1 Overview of management options

Management measures are being considered by Scottish Ministers and any decision as to which measures ought to be taken forward will follow upon a statutory public consultation exercise. Any such decision will also be taken in line with the Scottish Ministers obligations in relation to the exercise of their functions.

The socioeconomic impacts and costs of the proposed management option have been assessed within the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA), and are not discussed within this fisheries assessment. As the fishing activity detected within Anton Dohrn SAC relates to less than five vessels, for reasons of confidentiality site specific landings values cannot be presented at the site level within the SEIA, they are however captured within the assessments. Nor are other considerations, statutory and non-statutory, which the Scottish Ministers may be required to take into account when assessing whether the imposition of a particular measure is appropriate.

This section assesses the suitability of the management options solely in light of the conservation objectives, biological characteristics of protected features, and current activity levels for Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC.

5.2 Assessment of management options

5.2.1 No additional management

For Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC, in response to gears identified as damaging through this assessment and also site specific JNCC advice (JNCC Advice on Operations), the assessment identifies that management measures are required to avoid adverse effects on site integrity from demersal trawls activity. Accordingly the option of “no management” is not considered further.

5.2.2 Zoned management

Scottish Ministers has assessed the available evidence regarding the impact of demersal mobile and demersal static gears on the protected features, the JNCC Conservation advice and JNCC Fisheries Management Options Paper for Anton Dohrn SAC. In light of this evidence and advice, a zoned management option is not considered suitable for the protected features to ensure site integrity for Anton Dohrn SAC.

5.2.3 Full site exclusion

This option would exclude all demersal mobile and all demersal static gear from the full extent of the site (Figure 4).

The presence of biogenic reef within the site and the associated sensitivities of the feature requires measures to mitigate potential for impact from future demersal mobile gear (e.g. dredging, or seine) and static fishing activity. Whilst no activity of this nature is currently noted as taking place within the site and thus not captured within this assessment, the best available evidence (outlined in JNCC Advice on Operations) shows this to be a risk for the protected feature. The Advice on Operations shows biogenic reef, and stony and bedrock reef to be sensitive to the pressures exerted from anchored nets/lines, and traps/creels/pots such as abrasion, removal of non-target species, penetration and/or disturbance of the substrate below the surface of the seabed, and organic enrichment. Accordingly, Scottish Ministers consider a full site exclusion to demersal mobile and demersal static gear as sufficient to provide ongoing protection to the Annex I biogenic reef, (Figure 4).

These measures will help improve the conservation status of Annex I reef in the Atlantic marine biogeographic region. In addition the measures will also contribute to the recovery of coral gardens and VME Lophelia Pertusa reefs. Both of these are listed by OSPAR as Threatened and/or Declining habitat in OSPAR region V. They should also further progress towards Good Environmental Status in the Celtic Seas, particularly in relation to Descriptors 1 (biological diversity) and 6 (sea-floor integrity).

Removing all pressures associated with demersal mobile and demersal static gears would support the restoration of the reef feature to favourable condition, such that, subject to natural change the extent and distribution of the qualifying habitat in the site, the structure and function of the qualifying habitat in the site; and the supporting processes on which the qualifying habitat relies are restored thereby ensuring the integrity of the site.

Given the available evidence, Scottish Ministers consider that a full site exclusion to all demersal mobile and demersal static gear would support the restoration of the reef feature to favourable condition and this management measure would be considered sufficient to avoid an adverse effect on site integrity of Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC.

5.3 Management option conclusion

Scottish Ministers consider that adopting no additional management for mobile demersal fishing would pose the risk of adversely affecting the site integrity of Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC. Given the evidence and advice from JNCC, Scottish Minsters do not consider a zoned management option to be sufficient to avoid and adverse effect on site integrity.

Scottish Ministers consider a full site exclusion for all demersal mobile and demersal static activity would be sufficient to avoid an adverse effect on site integrity of Anton Dohrn Seamount SAC.

The decision on which management option is to be taken forward will be taken in the light of all relevant duties incumbent upon the Scottish Ministers in relation to the exercise of their functions and following upon a statutory public consultation exercise in which views on the options under consideration are invited.