Draft Fisheries Assessment – Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA: Fisheries management measures within Scottish Offshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)

5. Management Options

5.1 Overview of management options

Management measures for offshore NCMPAs 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.

Part B of this assessment concluded no management measures were required for the fishing activity found to occur within the site (demersal trawl and demersal seine).

However, The Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA contains an area which is considered to be least damaged, more natural. It was agreed at the stakeholder workshop that this area in the northern part of the NCMPA should be given a high level of protection to maintain that status. This means that this area in effect provides a reference point for a more natural habitat condition in the North Sea. This may prove helpful for future assessments of environmental status. Scottish Ministers are therefore proposing fisheries management measures for this site as outlines in Part B and JNCC advice to restrict demersal mobile activity within the site.

The socioeconomic impacts and costs of each management option (no additional management, zoned management, and full site exclusion) have been assessed within the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA), and are not discussed within this fisheries assessment. 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 Norwegian Boundary and Sediment Plain NCMPA.

5.2 Assessment of management options

5.2.1 No additional management

Although the assessment identified that no management measures would be required to avoid hindering the achievement of the conservation objectives for the site at current levels of fishing activity, when considering the conservation and fisheries management advice from the statutory nature conservation body (JNCC) highlights demersal mobile gears which are known to impact the protected feature (beam trawl, scallop and hydraulic dredging).

As mentioned above, the Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA contains an area which is considered to be least damaged, more natural. This means that this area in effect provides a reference point for a more natural habitat condition in the North Sea which may prove helpful for future assessments of environmental status. It was agreed at the stakeholder workshop that this area in the northern part of the NCMPA should be given a high level of protection to maintain that status. As such, measures to prevent demersal mobile gear occurring in the site in future is considered potentially necessary. Therefore the option of no management is not considered further.

5.2.2 Zoned management

Zoned fisheries management measures (Figure 5) would be introduced to reduce/limit pressures exerted by demersal mobile gear. This would be through a zoned management approach, which encompasses the exclusion of all demersal mobile gears from the northern section of the site, and excluding all gears other than demersal seines within the southern section of the site (59%). There would therefore be no measures for pelagic or static gears.

The Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA contains an area which is considered to be least damaged, more natural. This means that this area in effect provides a reference point for a more natural habitat condition in the North Sea. This may prove helpful for future assessments of environmental status. It was agreed at the stakeholder workshop that this area in the northern part of the NCMPA should be given a high level of protection to maintain that status.

In this zoned management option, 41% of the site would be closed to all other demersal mobile gears, and the remaining 59% of the site would be open to demersal seines only. Although the impacts of demersal trawls on Ocean quahog aggregations and the supporting Offshore subtidal sands and gravels habitat are likely to be low, this option provides full protection to the site and their supporting sands and gravels habitat.

In the southern part of the NCMPA there has been little or no activity in recent years, however a precautionary approach is being taken by prohibiting activity to ensure the condition of the NCMPA features can be maintained or improved. In recognition of the lower impact of seine net fishing (except for pair seines which are more similar to pair trawls in use and effect), this gear will still be permitted in the southern part of the NCMPA.

The zoned management approach would contribute to the ecological coherence of both the Scottish NCMPA Network and the broader OSPAR NCMPA Network. Ocean quahog are also listed as an OSPAR threatened and/or declining species in OSPAR region II. These measures would make a significant contribution towards recovery of the species. They should also further progress towards Good Environmental Status in the Greater North Sea, particularly in relation to Descriptors 1 (biological diversity) and 6 (sea-floor integrity).

Having considered the conservation and fisheries management advice from the statutory nature conservation bodies, and the wider evidence contained within this assessment, Scottish Ministers consider that zoned management measures would not hinder the achievement of conservation objectives for Norwegian Sediment Boundary Plain NCMPA, rather they would further those objectives.

5.2.3 Full site exclusion

A full site exclusion for mobile demersal gears would remove/avoid all pressures associated with fishing activities across the whole site (Figure 6). This would support the achievement of the conservation objectives of the NCMPA.

The full site exclusion of mobile demersal gear would contribute to the ecological coherence of both the Scottish NCMPA Network and the broader OSPAR MPA Network. These measures would make a significant contribution towards recovery of the species. They should also further progress towards Good Environmental Status in the Greater North Sea, particularly in relation to Descriptors 1 (biological diversity) and 6 (sea-floor integrity).

Given the available evidence, Scottish Ministers consider that full site exclusion would not hinder the achievement of the conservation objectives for the Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA, rather it would further those objectives.

5.3 Management options conclusion

At current activity levels, demersal trawling and demersal seining are not considered to pose a risk to hindering the conservation objectives, however as agreed with stakeholders, a higher level of protection to the protected features should be considered to maintain the status of “least damaged, more natural” within the northern part of The Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain NCMPA.

As such, Scottish Ministers consider that fisheries management measures should be considered for the site. Scottish Ministers consider that both the zoned management measures and the full site exclusion option for demersal mobile fishing, outline above, would further the conservation objectives.

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.