Consultation on measures to protect the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC) from the impacts of fishing with dredges and other towed gear
Sea Fisheries Conservation Division
Area 2D
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London SW1P 3JR
Direct Line: 0207 270 4690
Fax: 0207 270 4699
Website: www.defra.gov.uk
7 March 2008
Dear Consultee
Consultation on measures to protect the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC) from the impacts of fishing with dredges and other towed gear
1. I am writing to consult you and others to seek your views on the impacts and consequences of a proposal to close the whole outer area of the Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (the Designated Area) to scallop dredging and demersal trawls.
2. A copy of this letter, a draft Statutory Instrument and an Impact Assessment can be found on Defra’s website at: www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/fal-helford/
3. Other supporting documentation is listed at Annex A which also gives contact details for obtaining electronic or hard copies on request.
4. The period of consultation is 6 weeks commencing Friday the 7 March 2008 rather than the standard 12 weeks and will end on Friday the 18 April 2008. The reason for the shorter period is the high risk that infraction proceedings may be initiated against the UK Government by the European Commission (in this case, that the UK will be found in contravention of the EC Habitats Directive). Key stakeholders have been engaged in discussions and meetings throughout 2007 and are aware of the main issues.
5. The Fal and Helford Special Area of Conservation (SAC) is a sheltered marine and estuarine site within Falmouth Bay off the southern Cornish coast. It was identified as a candidate SAC in 1996 under the Habitats Directive and has subsequently been designated for a number of habitats and features. These features include sandbanks and maerl bed communities. Beds of maerl (the collective term for several species of calcified red seaweed) are of particular value because of the diversity of species they may support. However, they are susceptible to damage from scallop dredging and other towed bottom gears, which in turn may threaten the conservation objectives of the SAC.
Scallop dredging has taken place within the area of the SAC for the past 30 years. Historical activity has been low, mainly occurring during winter months when vessels have been unable to fish in exposed waters. There was an escalation in dredging at the end of 2006 that was brought about by a prolonged period of bad weather and good catches from within the site. This increase in activity called into question the degree of protection afforded to the SAC by the SAC management plan. To address this issue a voluntary agreement was developed in March 2007 by the local fishermen and the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee. The agreement closed the SAC to all scallop dredging in the months of January to October and allowed local vessels to fish for 15 days a month each in November and December, but only in a strictly defined area, which amounted to 28% of the outer SAC (called the Designated Area in the draft Order). Mechanical scallop dredging is already prohibited in the inner SAC areas of the Fal and Helford estuaries by an Environment Agency Byelaw.
7. In the spring of 2007 a limited survey of the outer SAC was conducted by the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee. Evidence from this survey was presented at a meeting in September 2007 where a new revised voluntary agreement was also reached. Natural England’s assessment of the survey data was that it did not change their general advice to close the SAC to scallop dredging. In order for scallop dredging to continue it is necessary to prove beyond reasonable scientific doubt that scallop dredging and other towed gears would not damage the features for which the site was designated.
8. As a result of our scientific advice and the UK Government’s obligations arising under the Habitats Directive and associated domestic implementing legislation – the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c) Regulations 1994 – we propose to close the outer SAC to scallop dredging and other towed demersal gear by Statutory Instrument under sections 5 and 5A of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967. The arguments, supporting evidence and data for this decision were looked at last year by the key stakeholders. We would, however, like your views on the proposed closure and the Statutory Instrument as currently drafted. In particular we would invite you to consider the following:
- Is there anything in the Statutory instrument which is going to have unanticipated consequences or compliance costs for businesses?
- What are those consequences in terms of costs or earnings?
- Are there any effects on business competitiveness?
- Will the carriage of gear provision cause fisherman operational difficulties?
- Are there any displacement issues, i.e. will fishing effort be increased in other areas and what are the consequences of that displacement? Are there any health and safety issues as a consequence of the closure?
- What types of fishing activity with seabed impacts have taken place in the closed area, and what might take place in the future?
- Do the prohibited methods describe all the gears that might damage the features for which the SAC is designated?
- Are the boundary lines of the designated closed area defined sufficiently clearly in the Order?
- Will the measures achieve the desired conservation objectives?
- Are there any economic benefits of improved conservation status?
- Will the closure result in increases in other activity and are there any costs, benefits or impacts on conservation status arising from that activity?
9. We welcome your comments on the proposals and also ask that you provide as much information as possible on the impacts of the proposals, both positive and negative, to you and your business. Please send your comments in writing to Patrick Cotter at the address below or e-mail them to:
fandh.sacconsultation@defra.gsi.gov.uk
Sea Fisheries Conservation Division
Defra
Area 2D
Nobel House
17 Smith Square
London, SW1P 3JR
10. In line with Defra's policy of openness, at the end of the consultation period copies of the responses received may be made publicly available through the Defra Information Resource Centre, Lower Ground Floor, Ergon House, Horseferry Road, London SW1P 2AL. The information they contain may also be published in a summary of responses. If you do not consent to this, you must clearly request that your response be treated confidentially. Any confidentiality disclaimer generated by your IT system in e-mail responses will not be treated as such a request. You should also be aware that there may be circumstances in which Defra will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and the Environmental Information Regulations.
11. The Information Resource Centre will supply copies of consultation responses to personal callers or in response to telephone or e-mail requests (tel: 020 7238 6575, e-mail: defra.library@defra.gsi.gov.uk). Wherever possible, personal callers should give the library at least 24 hours' notice of their requirements. An administrative charge will be made to cover photocopying and postage costs.
12. If you have any complaints about the way in which the consultation process has been run, you should direct them to Marjorie Addo, Defra’s Consultation Co-ordinator, Area 7C Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.
Yours faithfully
Alistair McDonnell
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Annex A: List of supporting documents accompanying the consultation
Hard copies or electronic copies of these documents can be obtained on request by email or phone from: patrick.cotter@defra.gsi.gov.uk or telephone: 0207 238 4690
1. Draft Statutory Instrument: the Fal and Helford Designated Area (Fishing Restrictions) Order 2008
2. Chart of SAC depicting two areas subject to the Voluntary Agreement
3. September 2007 Voluntary Agreement between St.Mawes and District Fishermens’ Association and the Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee
4. Davies, J., & Sotheran, I. 1995. Mapping the distribution of benthic biotopes in Falmouth Bay and the lower Fal estuary. Peterborough: English Nature Research Reports No. 119a
5. Natural England advice to Defra dated 6th February 2007 (Rob Blyth-Skyrme et al…)
See also JNCC protected site list at:
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/protectedsites/sacselection/sac.asp?EUCode=UK0013112
6.Falmouth Bay Maerl community benthic survey (April 2007): Ana Ruiz-Frau, E. Ivor S. Rees, Hilmar Hinz, Michel J Kaiser
7. Letter To Rodney Anderson from James Marsden of Natural England dated 9th November 2007.
8. Framework for evaluating the application of seasonal or rotational scallop fishery closures. Defra Project code MFO228
See also Defra Website at:
http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=MF0228_1133_FRP.doc
9. Impact Assessment
Page published: 7 March 2008