Scottish seabird conservation action plan: vulnerability report

Annex 4: Review of existing measures in place

Table A4. 1 Summary of high-level review of measures already in place, actions underway and where more could be done to benefit seabirds.

Impact/threat: Reduction in prey availability

Existing Measures in place: Closure of fishing for sandeel in Scottish waters

Fisheries measures implemented in some non-seabird MPAs

Actions committed or underway: Development of fisheries measures in seabird MPAs.

Opportunities for action: Scope for more actions that can enhance prey availability, such as managing other forage fish species, and enhancing/restoring prey supporting habitats such as spawning and nursery areas.

Impact/threat: Invasive predatory species

Existing Measures in place: Eradication of invasive predatory mammals from three key seabird islands – Canna, Ailsa Craig and the Shiant Isles.

Actions committed or underway: Eradication of stoats on Orkney.

Produced Biosecurity Plans for seabird islands and established three incursion response hubs.

Opportunities for action: Scope for more actions that can enhance safe breeding opportunities such as, removing and/or controlling invasive predatory mammals from seabird colonies where predation is an issue, securing long-term island biosecurity measures, managing grazing levels and vegetation composition/structure where these are damaging breeding habitats.

Impact/threat: Bycatch

Existing Measures in place: Voluntary use of mitigation measures in some fleets.

Actions committed or underway: UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative. Trials on the use of streamers and altered buoyancy regimes are ongoing through the European LIFE funded project, CIBBRiNA and UK Bycatch Monitoring Programme.

Opportunities for action: Scope for more actions that can reduce incidental bycatch mortality, such as developing and implementing technical and spatial measures to reduce seabird bycatch in the fishing sector and continuing to improve techniques to reduce entanglement in aquaculture nets.

Impact/threat: Collision, displacement and barrier effects

Existing Measures in place: Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind for ScotWind.

Actions committed or underway: Minimising impacts of marine renewables development at strategic and project level through mitigation and where appropriate, compensation.

Opportunities for action: Scope for more actions that can reduce risk of incidental injury and/or mortality of seabirds from marine renewables and, development of appropriate actions to be considered for compensation.

Impact/threat: Disease

Existing Measures in place: Scottish Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Response Plan.

Actions committed or underway: Ongoing review of the HPAI plan in wild birds response plan.

Opportunities for action: Be prepared for new and emerging wildlife disease threats to seabirds.

Impact/threat: Disturbance

Existing Measures in place: Scottish Outdoor Access Code and the Scottish Marine Wildlife Watching Code.

Some information and site managers available on Nature Reserves.

Scottish Seabird Centre – educational programmes

Actions committed or underway: Opportunities for action: Scope to promote the Codes to raise awareness of the potential to cause disturbance and explore opportunities to minimise disturbance.

Scope for additional visitor engagement, raising awareness and education.

Impact/threat: Pollution

Existing Measures in place: Industry standards on oil spill (including Oil Pollution Emergency Plans (OPEPs))

Scottish Marine Litter Strategy

Actions committed or underway: Marine litter initiatives are underway from a wide variety of organisations.

Opportunities for action: Scope to reduce sources of marine litter through delivery of Scottish Marine Litter Strategy.

Impact/threat: Habitat loss

Existing Measures in place: Designated a network of Marine Protected Areas that include important seabird breeding and foraging sites.

Opportunities for action: Scope for marine and coastal habitat restoration and enhancement.

Impact/threat: Intentional taking of adults/eggs (licenced culling, control and harvesting)

Existing Measures in place: Removed gulls from the gull general licence.

Gull licence guidance available.

Actions committed or underway: Presumption against issuing gull licences.

Review and analysis of licence returns.

Opportunities for action: Scope for additional pre-emptive guidance and engagement to reduce gull licence applications.