Draft Fisheries Assessment – Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA: Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

2. Part A Assessment – Fisheries Screening

2.1 Fisheries screening overview

Part A of this assessment considers whether the fishing activity would be capable of impacting the protected features of an NCMPA or any ecological or geomorphological process on which the conservation of any protected feature is dependent. This section looks at the pressures exerted by the fishing activity occurring in the site (within the assessment period) in relation to the sensitivities of the protected features. Activities potentially capable of impacting the protected features were identified where there was both a medium-high risk of a pressure arising from the fishing activity and if any of the features were considered sensitive to that pressure. These pressure-features interactions were then taken forward to the fisheries assessment stage (Part B) to determine whether the fishing activity in question would or might hinder the achievement of the conservation objectives.

For each activity assessed in Part A, there were two possible outcomes for each identified pressure-feature interaction:

1. The pressure-feature interactions were not included for Part B:

a. If the feature is not exposed to the pressure, and is not likely to be in the future; or

b. If the effect/impact of the pressure is non-existent or insignificant.

2. The pressure-feature interactions were included for assessment in Part B:

a. If the feature is exposed to the pressure, or is it likely to be in the future; and

b. If the pressure is capable of impacting the feature; or

c. If it is not possible to determine whether pressure is capable of impacting the feature.

Part B of the assessment considers the potential for activities to impact the feature by assessing the impact of fishing gears identified in Part A. This involves determining the level of interaction between the feature and the fishing activity, assessing the potential impact on the feature, and subsequently if fishing activities would or might hinder the achievement of the conservation objectives for the site.

Consideration of exposure to and the effect of a pressure on a protected feature of the NCMPA includes the consideration of exposure to and the effect of that pressure on any ecological or geomorphological process on which the conservation of the protected feature is wholly or in part dependant.

The JNCC Conservation Advice package and Management Options Paper

for Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA have been used to inform this assessment. This is the most recent assessment package and options paper available.

Where appropriate, this advice has been supplemented by information on feature sensitivity from Feature Activity Sensitivity Tool (FeAST) and pressures associated with fishing activity identified from the JNCC Marine Pressures-Activities Database (PAD) v1.5 2022.

2.2 Activities taking place within Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA

To screen out fishing activities that were not taking place within the site or likely to take part on the future, vessel monitoring System (VMS) data within Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA from 2015 – 2019 were analysed to identify the gear types being used in the site, and the aggregated gear method (Table 1). The fishing gears screened out at this stage were not taken forward to Part B of the assessment.

Although pelagic trawling fishing occurs within the site, this is not considered capable of impacting the protected features as this fishing activity does not have contact with the seabed and is therefore not considered further in this assessment.

2.3 Potential pressures exerted by site fishing activity

According to the JNCC Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA Management Option Paper (2014), the fishing activities considered capable of impacting the protected features are demersal seine netting (minimal activity), otter trawling, scallop dredging and creeling and potting. Pelagic trawling and purse seining are activities not considered to be capable of impacting the protected features.

The potential pressures that could be exerted by fishing activities occurring within the site (demersal trawls, demersal seines, dredges and Traps/creels) were determined using the JNCC Marine Pressures-Activities Database (PAD) v1.5 2022. The potential pressures that could be exerted by these gear types are summarised in Table 2.

2.4 Significance of effects/impacts to protected features

To determine whether each pressure is likely to have a significant effect on the site’s features, the sensitivity assessments and risk profiling of pressures from FeAST and the JNCC Marine Pressures-Activities Database (PAD) v1.5 2022 were used (Table 3). For the Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA, following JNCC advice, FeAST was used to establish the feature sensitivity to the relevant pressures for Ocean Quahog aggregation and Offshore subtidal sands and gravels feature. This was to ensure the most up to date sensitivity evidence was used.

As offshore subtidal sands and gravels are not a feature assessed within FeAST, continental shelf mixed sediments, continental shelf coarse sediments and continental shelf sands were used as comparable habitat. This decision was informed by the Data confidence assessment undertaken for the NCMPA which utilised predictive habitat map, EUSeaMap^[1]. This was used to indicate extent of supporting habitats within the site. The map is the result of work undertaken by a consortium lead by the JNCC to combine physical data describing the marine environment with information from biological sampling, generating a broad-scale habitat model of seabed habitats from which a predictive map was created (Cameron & Askew, 2011).

The habitat map from the model predicts offshore subtidal sands and gravels occur across the entire MPA. A5.14 Circalittoral coarse sediment, A5.15 Deep circalittoral coarse sediment, A5.25 Circalittoral fine sand or A5.26 Circalittoral muddy sand and A5.27 Deep circalittoral sand are predicted to occur in each of the three parts of the Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA, the latter being the most dominant sediment type (comprising ~48% of the MPA). A small patch (<1% of the MPA) of A5.45 Deep circalittoral mixed sediments is predicted to occur in the Montrose Bank part and in the western part around Wee Bankie and Scalp Bank. Confidence in the presence and extent of the protected features has been set out in the Data Confidence Assessment.

Table 3 identifies the pressures from particular gears that could be capable of impacting each feature. Where a pressure from a particular gear is identified as being capable of impacting a feature, justification is provided. To ensure the effects of fishing activities in-combination with other activities (including other fishing activities) are fully assessed, the pressures from fishing activities which were not identified as being capable of impacting a feature but which do interact with the feature are considered in the in-combination aspect of the assessment (Part C). 

Considering both the information on pressure activity association (Table 2) and the sensitivity of the features (Table 3), pressures that have the potential to impact the feature are summarised in Table 4.

Pressures that are not exerted by the fishing activity within the site are identified as ‘not relevant to the activity’ in Table 4 and do not need to be considered further in the assessment. According to the PAD methods document (Robson et al., 2018), pressures with low risk profiles (i.e. ‘low’ risk profile for the activity: Tables 2 & 4) generally do not occur at a level of concern and should not require consideration as part of an assessment, unless there are evidence-based case or site-specific factors that increase the risk, or there is uncertainty on the level of pressure on a receptor. Pressures with ‘medium-high’ risk profiles are commonly induced by the activity at a level that needs to be considered further as part of an assessment.

Pressures from the FeAST sensitivity assessment for the relevant features that were not sensitive, not exposed, not relevant or unknown were not considered further in the assessment (Table 4).

Of all the pressures considered, five with a medium-high risk profile (PAD) also have a medium high sensitivity for the protected features. These are abrasion/disturbance of the substrate on the surface of the seabed; changes in suspended solids (water clarity), penetration and/or disturbance of the substrate below the surface of the seabed, including abrasion, smothering and siltation rate changes (light) and removal of non-target species. These five pressures are subsequently considered to have the potential to impact the protected features. All five of these pressures are exerted by demersal trawls, demersal seines and dredges. Abrasion/disturbance of the substrate on the surface of the seabed is also exerted by traps/creels activity.

To ensure the effects of fishing activities in-combination with other activities (including other fishing activities) are fully assessed, the pressures from fishing activities which were not identified as capable of impacting the feature but which do interact with the features are considered in the in-combination aspect of the assessment (Part C).

2.5 Part A Conclusion

Considering the information on pressures and sensitivity above, demersal trawls, demersal seines, dredge or traps/creels have the potential to impact offshore subtidal ands and gravels or ocean quahog aggregations features of Firth of Forth Banks Complex NCMPA, through abrasion/disturbance of the substrate on the surface of the seabed; changes in suspended solids (water clarity), penetration and/or disturbance of the substrate below the surface of the seabed, including abrasion; smothering and siltation (light) and removal of non-target species. The only pressure associated with traps/creels was abrasion/disturbance of the substrate on the surface of the seabed. The five pressures are considered to have the potential to impact the features are taken through to Part B of the assessment.