Draft Fisheries Assessment – Braemar Pockmarks SAC: Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

1. Introduction

1.1 Scope of the Braemar Pockmarks SAC assessment

The geographic scope of this assessment covers the whole of Braemar Pockmarks SAC (Figure 1) in the offshore region (12-200 nautical miles, nm). The purpose of this assessment is to determine whether current levels of fishing activity occurring within the site are compatible with the conservation objectives of Braemar Pockmarks SAC and to identify options for management measures.

In this assessment, Scottish Ministers use the best available evidence to review the site characteristics and current fishing activity (Part A), both taken alone and in combination with other relevant activities (Part C) to determine if there is the potential for these activities to have a likely significant effect (LSE) on the protected feature of the site (Submarine structures made by leaking gases). Any fishing activities with the potential for LSE, either alone or in combination with other relevant activities are considered further to assess whether they could result in an adverse effect on site integrity (Part B).

Where there is the potential for an adverse effect on site integrity, fisheries management measures are identified for the site by Scottish Ministers. These measures are considered in light of the conservation objectives, biological characteristics of protected features, current fishing activity and existing fisheries restrictions for Braemar Pockmarks SAC. A final decision on which measures, if any, are to be adopted will follow upon a statutory consultation exercise and will take into account all relevant statutory obligations incumbent upon Scottish Ministers.

A methodology document has been prepared to aid understanding of these assessments.

1.2 Site Description

The Braemar Pockmarks Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is located in the Northern North Sea Regional Sea, approximately 240 km east of the Orkney Islands (Figure 1). The pockmarks within the site are shallow, ovoid, seabed depressions, several metres across, which were created by the expulsion of fluids into the water column. Forty-eight pockmarks have been identified within the Braemar Pockmarks SAC boundary; all of which are greater than 20 meter in diameter, the largest being 200 meter in diameter. An amendment to the site boundary for Braemar Pockmarks SAC was made in 2018 to encompass additional pockmarks recorded during a survey in 2012 outside the original site boundary.

Six of the pockmarks have verified examples of the Annex I habitat submarine structures made by leaking gases – a listed habitat under Annex I of the EC Habitats Directive, for which the site is designated. These carbonate blocks, pavements slabs and smaller fragments of methane-derived authigenic carbonate (MDAC) have been deposited at the base of the pockmarks through a process of precipitation during the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) by a unique community of microbial organisms. There is also evidence of carbonate rock presence within the site boundary at a location not associated with a pockmark (Hartley, 2005).

Carbonate structures provide a habitat for marine fauna usually associated with rocky reef, as well as highly specific chemosynthetic organisms which feed off both methane (seeping from beneath the seafloor) and its by-product, hydrogen sulphide (Judd, 2001). Larger blocks of carbonate also provide shelter for fish species such as wolf-fish, cod, haddock, and conger eel. Further details of the SAC can be found in the Braemar Pockmarks SAC Selection Assessment Document.

The Conservation Objectives for the Annex I habitats Submarine structures made by leaking gases at Braemar Pockmarks are:

Subject to natural change, maintain or restore the Annex I habitat Submarine structures made by leaking gases to 'Favourable Condition', such that:

• the extent and distribution of the qualifying habitat in the site;
• the structure and function of the qualifying habitat in the site;
• the supporting processes on which the qualifying habitat relies

are maintained or restored, thereby ending the integrity of the site and also making an appropriate contribution to favourable condition status of Annex I habitats (see the Braemar Pockmarks SAC: Relevant Documentation & Conservation Advice 2018). The feature condition has been assessed by JNCC as being 'Unfavourable', although it should be noted that it is not considered feasible to restore some of the feature's attributes using management intervention.

More information regarding the designation of the Braemar Pockmarks SAC is available in the Standard Data Form.

More information regarding the conservation objectives for the protected feature of Braemar Pockmarks SAC is available within the site's conservation advice package available on JNCC's site information centre.

1.3 Activities assessed

The process followed to conduct this 'Fisheries Assessment' is in line with the process for a Habitats Regulation Appraisal, as required under Article 6(3) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (the Habitats Directive); and for sites within the offshore region under Regulation 28 of the Conservation of Offshore Marine Habitats and Species Regulations 2017.

In this context, fishing activity within the SAC is considered to be the plan or project, and the implications of the fishing activity in view of the conservation objectives for the SAC are being assessed through the fisheries screening stage (Part A), the fisheries assessment (Part B), and the in combination (cumulative effect) assessment (Part C).

Fisheries assessments use the best available evidence to fully consider potential impacts of commercial fishing activity, and in-combination (cumulative) effects with other plans and projects, against the conservation objectives for the site. If the assessment concludes that use of certain fishing gear types is not compatible with the conservation objectives of the site, management measures will be considered.

Commercial sea fishing activity has the potential to vary in nature and intensity over time. This assessment considers fishing activity based on activity levels and type between 2015-2019. This date range was considered to provide the best available data on current fishing activity levels for the assessment. Using a five year date range provides an average view of fishing activity within the site; latter years (2020 – 2021) were not considered representative of regular fishing activity due to the Covid pandemic. The selected date range (2015 – 2019) was used consistently across all assessments within the consultation package. Changes in fishing activity after this time period may be considered in future reviews of this assessment (see Section 6).