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3 Management Issues

 

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Managing the sea for birds – Fair Isle and adjacent waters

2 Conservation Objectives

2.1 General principles

The requirements of the EC Wild Birds Directive (79/409/EEC) and Habitats and Species Directive (92/43/EEC) can be summarised as the following overall objectives for the proposed protected area:

bulletTo safeguard and enhance the seabird importance of Fair Isle and its surrounding waters, with particular emphasis on the requirements of birds when feeding, breeding, moulting, wintering and resting;
bulletTo contribute to the coherence of the Natura 2000 network and support the requirements of the Habitats Directive.

2.2 Site conservation objectives

For the purposes of this illustrative plan, three site-specific conservation objectives have been identified:

  1. Ensure the maintenance and protection of Fair Isle’s internationally and nationally important seabird populations;
  2. Maintain and, where appropriate, restore a natural marine ecosystem on which the functions, distribution, abundance and long-term survival of these internationally and nationally important seabird populations depend;
  3. Maintain and, where appropriate, restore the quality of the physical environment necessary to preserve the biodiversity and natural functioning of the marine ecosystem.

2.3 Broad policies

In common with RSPB (1997), the following broad policies are considered necessary to achieve the overall conservation objectives:

 

Safeguard food supplies;

Minimise disturbance;

Safeguard habitat (eg nesting sites, water quality);

Improve understanding of seabirds;

Ensure consistency with Habitats Directive.

 

2.4 Prescriptions

The five recommended areas for action have been adapted from RSPB (1997):

(Key words in the right-hand column show how the action relates to the overall conservation objectives. Underlined text indicates which broad policy is promoted by the proposed action.)

Influence the management of activities such as commercial fisheries. These may affect the availability and composition of prey that are an important part of the diet of the seabirds in the area, and on which successful rearing of chicks depends. Particularly

important in relation to Feeding Breeding
Minimise disturbance to seabirds in the proposed protected area, particularly during the breeding season, through management of access and activities on land, sea and air. Breeding Resting Moulting
Influence the development of management plans and policies which affect the quality of the physical and chemical environment of the proposed protected area. For example, regarding water quality, plans and policies should raise standards, minimise (or where possible eliminate) inputs of substances which are toxic, persistent and liable to bioaccumulate, and include comprehensive emergency procedures for dealing with pollution incidents. Feeding Breeding Wintering Resting Moulting
Carry out research and monitoring of seabirds which breed in the proposed protected area, with particular emphasis on learning more about their feeding ecology, factors influencing breeding success, and other impacts on the health and viability of the populations. Disseminate this information to managers, policy makers and the general public. Feeding Breeding Wintering Resting Moulting
Identify and locate habitats and species listed in the Habitats Directive which occur in the proposed protected area. Where possible use management measures which would benefit these species and habitats as well as the seabirds which use the area. Natura 2000

 

2.5 Targets

Species targets developed from the national targets, such as those included in Biodiversity Challenge (Wynne et al, 1995), can also be used to refine the overall objectives for a site and clarify what action needs to be taken. Where targets specify numbers, detailed analysis will be needed to determine the contribution which Fair Isle can make to that target, and should be part of the research required under Article 10 of the EC Wild Birds Directive to provide the basis for the protection and management of birds.

It would be possible to set site-specific targets for Fair Isle’s breeding seabird populations (eg population size not to change between specified limits or below a certain proportion of the national or biogeographical population). However, most species were at their highest recorded levels in the mid 1980s, due to population increases partly attributed to unsustainable fisheries practices. Measures applied to ensure more ecologically sustainable fisheries management may lead to readjustment of seabird populations, within acceptable limits, below their peak levels. It is therefore preferable to have lower seabird populations feeding on natural food sources, than artificially high levels exploiting unsustainable fishing methods (eg discards). For these reasons, no attempt at defining species targets has been made in this report.

However, target-setting is an essential principle for the management of any protected area, even if the key factor may not be population size. More appropriate variables may include chick growth rates and breeding productivity levels. Targets would need to be set individually for each species and would define acceptable limits of change. Species of national and/or international importance (see Table 3, Appendix 1) should be considered the key species for conservation action. The high diversity of seabird species breeding on Fair Isle is, in itself, of conservation value; measures that are responsive to established targets may benefit seabird diversity as well as the species of highest conservation concern.

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Last modified: February 05, 2002