An Overview Of Our Solution
Isle of Arran Scotland Community No Take Zone Solution
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Océans/Côtes
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: L'Europe
Problem
Describe the problem
COAST was founded 14 years ago. The end of Arran’s international sea angling festival, due to the collapse in white fish stocks, was one of the starting points. 7 tonnes of fish were caught over 3 days in the 1960s just 13 kg by the 1990s.The vision for sustainable bio-productivity in a protected Lamlash Bay has never wavered since then, despite the difficulties of persuading politicians that short-termism will not work when complexity is considered vital for long term productivity. 2008 saw the first No Take Zone in Scotland come into being offering protected nursery areas for fish and marine invertebrates. The maerl beds in Lamlash Bay are the remnants of vast tracts of fragile red calcareous seaweed in the Clyde Estuary, and are thought to have been hundreds of years in development.
Biodiversity Impact
The Clyde estuary has seen a collapse in white fish stocks and a steep reduction in sea trout populations. The bottom trawling for Nephrops and dredging for scallops have been destructive to the bottom sediments and the ecosystems. These sediments of many types support the creatures at the base of the food chain, which support white fish populations and provide nursery beds for fish, scallops and shellfish. Too many maerl beds have been destroyed; the survival of one in the Bay became the main reason for the campaign for the NTZ by the local community. The benthos system is vital to promoting ecosystem health. Many epifaunal species are active and may move considerable distances. The presence of infauna at a site indicates that conditions are suitable for them over long periods. Monitoring of environmental quality focuses on benthic invertebrates, which include a wide range of polychaete worms, gastropod molluscs, bivalve molluscs, and various crustaceans. Some of the most common epifauna are hydroids. They do not survive with dredging and bottom trawling as they are quite delicate in construction. The strategic aim is to increase scallop, shellfish and white fish stocks in the NTZ so re-seeding outside the zone will occur over time. The effectiveness of this approach has been demonstrated around the world. A return to profitable sea angler tourism is another objective, since Arran is a visitor destination. This environment has suffered badly from a dangerous “out of sight out of mind†attitude. COAST set about changing that perspective.
Solution
Dredging and bottom trawling, by damaging the benthos, strike at the heart of ecological sustainability. The establishment of a dense epifaunal community depends on the habitat remaining relatively undisturbed. Scallop dredging and other types of bottom fishing degrade habitat complexity by impacting sessile epifauna species and by extension their associated organisms. The spring and early summer is the peak growing/breeding season for many species with warmer waters and increased phytoplankton creating ideal conditions for reproduction and growth. Given that epifaunal hydroids are an important settlement substrate for scallop spat, NTZs create environments where spat settle and grow undisturbed in the early stages of their development. Spat have a greater density of hydroids on which to settle, and are thus able to grow undisturbed throughout their life cycle. Marine sedimentary infauna alter the substrate, creating voids and air bubbles, manipulating sand grain size and shell distributions, moving interstitial fluid and creating surface roughness elements. Worms and other burrowers continually change the characteristic of the sediments. They create permeability and oxygen flow as well as the nutrient flux in sediments. So although out of sight infauna is an important part of the complex ecosystem that sustains epifauna on the sediment surface and in turn creates desirable habitats for juvenile growth. The loss of this habitat supporting countless species goes unrecorded or grossly underestimated in fishery resource records, fishery landing and discard statistics. // The NTZ is 267 ha. COAST is aiming for an MPA expanded to 15000 ha by end of 2012 featuring endangered species- sea grass beds, rare species of anemones, fan worms, herring spawning grounds and majestic kelp beds. The variety of habitats includes intertidal and deep-water reefs, sand, gravel and muddy sand. This diversity will provide over time the complex ecosystems for nursery bed sustainability of many species, with creeling (potting), scallop diving and sea angling allowed but with a ban on destructive dredging and trawling. Arran is known as ƒ??Scotland in Miniatureƒ?; the sea and 57m (90km) coastline is part of its magical appeal. However, when sparkling sea is seen, how often do we think about the wonders below? On land, areas of immense biodiversity value are protected and nurtured, designated as Nature Reserves. Only in September 2008, has the first small part of Scotlandƒ??s seas finally been given legal protection as a NTZ in an attempt to stop and reverse the loss of species and habitats. COAST evolved from the vision of two local divers 16 years ago to win protection for Lamlash Bay. They monitored the depletion of life beneath the waves and destruction by overfishing and dredging. In carrying the vision forward, COAST grew into an island community organisation enjoying massive local support with over 1750 members. All this effort is voluntary. This year COAST obtained funding for a Marine Project Officer. Sustaining the commitment to seek change, we have campaigned tirelessly to convince those in authority to recognise the value and need for continuing protection.
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 3 years // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? No // Sustaining the NTZ takes commitment from us so Marine Scotland Compliance (Fishery Protection) knows about trawlers fishing in the NTZ. Photographic evidence is collected, offices phoned and records kept. We keep the statutory bodies on their toes! Through SEASEARCH, a UK National Project for volunteer divers mapping out the various types of sea bed, fauna and flora, COAST has been able to illustrate the damage already done and need for protection; we have trained divers. We raised funds for a compressor for nitrox and air-filled tanks to support diving surveys; we involve local boats for research and wildlife trips. Three Masters Students from York University spent the summer here, one with an Arran commercial potter looking at lobsters, one diving to conduct survey transects through and outside the NTZ and one studying the visitor and islander knowledge and attitude to the NTZ and MPA. In addition a PhD student is following up studies from last year on scallop populations (size and weight) in and outside the NTZ. COAST continues to work hard to help the community appreciate our environment. The committee has events to help everyone understand the issues; shows films, fund-raising events and public awareness days. It has a presence at the local agriculture show, and has fun ceilidhs. COAST has produced two DVDs. “The Bay†is about this underwater world; it is informative and already being used in schools as an educational film. “Caught in Time†provokes thought and debate about what has happened in the past, and what can be done in future to help the sea recover.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
COAST started as a campaigning organisation to protect coastal marine biodiversity on an island with 5000 permanent residents. It campaigned for the relocation of a new sewage discharge pipe to the north of the bay. It fought against a proposal to locate a huge industrial fish farm (800,000 salmon up to 4.5 kg which would have discharged 600 tonnes of faecal and food waste over the growth period of 22 months) just outside the Bay. With the help of the whole community and others, it was turned down. We lobbied strongly in Scottish government forums to ensure our representatives knew the inshore waters are a commons with fishing rights for us all, not just powerful commercial interests. We have applied SEASEARCH, using volunteer divers to map the flora and fauna around Arran. COAST takes the marine environment into the 6 primary schools on Arran, supports work experience for the high school, organises beach walks for visitors and locals, runs stalls at island shows and erects interpretation boards. Meetings in the villages regarding the proposal for an MPA in the south of the island received universal support. The campaign through the years has been directed at every conceivable centre of influence; write for the press; run www.arrancoast.com, interviews and conferences. It is a model for other communities. A Symposium on Arran in 2010 for community stakeholders, politicians, government scientists, academics and NGOs shared experiences and supported the efforts of communities to be heard by government. Social capital, economic and environmental knowledge have increased. // COAST is changing the perspective of “out of sight, out of mind†of our inshore waters. It grew into an island community organisation enjoying massive support. We have received grants in 2011-12 from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and The Underwood Trust and are independent of government finance; so we ask sensitive and difficult questions of the government! We are in regular contact with local politicians, who give support. COAST is a Charity Registered in Scotland SC042088 and Company Limited by Guarantee (No 299917 at Companies House, Edinburgh); the Committee meets monthly comprising residents or regular visitors to Arran and exhibits a range of skills. Training sessions for the Committee ensure newer members feel included and confident about the task. We respond to government consultations on marine issues; the Marine (Scotland) Bill 2010, Scotland’s Marine Regions, marine spatial planning, Draft Management Plan for the Clyde Inshore Fisheries Group, Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), aquaculture (salmon) farms. We appeared before the Scottish Parliamentary Committee on Rural Affairs and Environment. Importantly, we also see our role to assist small marine island communities, campaigning for ecosystem sustainability, especially in the west of Scotland. Our COAST Newsletter (www.arrancoast.com) runs topical articles and educational papers on issues that affect many coastal communities. We have written up COAST as a good practice case study on the UKMPA website. We have our first small office in Lamlash, which is an exciting step forward in sustaining our effort.