18
P. Tett
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are areas designated under the European Directive
commonly known as the ‘Habitats’ Directive. Together with Special Protection Areas,
which are designated under the Wild Birds Directive for wild birds and their habitats, SACs
form the Natura 2000 network of sites. SNH acts as the advisor to Government in proposing selected sites for Ministerial approval as possible SACs. SNH then consults with…
owners and occupiers of land, local authorities and other interested parties … [and] negotiates the longer term management of these sites. Following consultation, SNH forwards all
responses to Scottish Ministers who then make a decision about whether to submit the site
to the European Commission as a candidate SAC. … sites which are adopted by the
Commission become Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), after which they can be finally
designated as Special Areas of Conservation by national governments. All candidate SACs
in Scotland were approved by the European Commission as SCIs on 7 December 2004.
Scottish Ministers then formally designated all these sites as Special Areas of Conservation
on 17 March 2005.
Under Regulation 33(2) of the Habitats Regulations once a marine area becomes a designated SAC (European marine site), SNH is obliged to advise other relevant authorities as
to a) the conservation objectives for that site, and b) any operations which may cause
deterioration of natural habitats or the habitats of species, or disturbance of species, for
which the site has been designated.
Loch Creran have been designated as a SAC because of the
biogenic reefs of the calcareous tubeworm Serpula vermicularis, which occur in shallow
water around the periphery of the loch. The species has a world-wide distribution but the
development of reefs is extremely rare: Loch Creran is the only known site in the UK to
contain living S. vermicularis reefs and there are no known occurrences of similarly abundant reefs in Europe. Biogenic reefs of the horse mussel Modiolus modiolus occur in the
upper basin of the loch. M. modiolus reefs are an important element of Scotland’s marine
biodiversity, and are considered to be habitats of high conservation value.
SNH’s advice about Creran (SNH 2006a) includes the following comments:
Finfish farming has the potential to cause deterioration of reef habitats and communities
through changes in water quality, smothering from waste material, physical disturbance (in
the case of rocky reefs), and physical damage (in the case of more fragile biogenic reefs)
from mooring systems. There is also potential for accidental introduction of new non-native
species and increasing the spread of existing non-native plants and animals…
[Shellfish farming] has the potential to cause deterioration of the reef habitats and communities through physical damage (e.g. installation of mooring blocks and continued
scouring by riser chains) and changes in community structure caused by smothering from
pseudo-faeces (undigested waste products) and debris (including dead shells) falling from
the farm. There is also potential for accidental introduction of new non-native species and
increasing the spread within the UK of existing non-native plants and animals… through
importation and translocation of shellfish stocks.
[In both cases,] invasive species have the potential to cause deterioration of the qualifying
interest by altering community structure and quality. The … environmental effects [associated with aquaculture] are usually localised but the reduced water exchange within Loch
Creran may exacerbate these effects and cumulative impacts should be considered.
It was also noted that domestic and commercial effluents (whether treated or
untreated) have
P. Tett
Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) are areas designated under the European Directive
commonly known as the ‘Habitats’ Directive. Together with Special Protection Areas,
which are designated under the Wild Birds Directive for wild birds and their habitats, SACs
form the Natura 2000 network of sites. SNH acts as the advisor to Government in proposing selected sites for Ministerial approval as possible SACs. SNH then consults with…
owners and occupiers of land, local authorities and other interested parties … [and] negotiates the longer term management of these sites. Following consultation, SNH forwards all
responses to Scottish Ministers who then make a decision about whether to submit the site
to the European Commission as a candidate SAC. … sites which are adopted by the
Commission become Sites of Community Importance (SCIs), after which they can be finally
designated as Special Areas of Conservation by national governments. All candidate SACs
in Scotland were approved by the European Commission as SCIs on 7 December 2004.
Scottish Ministers then formally designated all these sites as Special Areas of Conservation
on 17 March 2005.
Under Regulation 33(2) of the Habitats Regulations once a marine area becomes a designated SAC (European marine site), SNH is obliged to advise other relevant authorities as
to a) the conservation objectives for that site, and b) any operations which may cause
deterioration of natural habitats or the habitats of species, or disturbance of species, for
which the site has been designated.
Loch Creran have been designated as a SAC because of the
biogenic reefs of the calcareous tubeworm Serpula vermicularis, which occur in shallow
water around the periphery of the loch. The species has a world-wide distribution but the
development of reefs is extremely rare: Loch Creran is the only known site in the UK to
contain living S. vermicularis reefs and there are no known occurrences of similarly abundant reefs in Europe. Biogenic reefs of the horse mussel Modiolus modiolus occur in the
upper basin of the loch. M. modiolus reefs are an important element of Scotland’s marine
biodiversity, and are considered to be habitats of high conservation value.
SNH’s advice about Creran (SNH 2006a) includes the following comments:
Finfish farming has the potential to cause deterioration of reef habitats and communities
through changes in water quality, smothering from waste material, physical disturbance (in
the case of rocky reefs), and physical damage (in the case of more fragile biogenic reefs)
from mooring systems. There is also potential for accidental introduction of new non-native
species and increasing the spread of existing non-native plants and animals…
[Shellfish farming] has the potential to cause deterioration of the reef habitats and communities through physical damage (e.g. installation of mooring blocks and continued
scouring by riser chains) and changes in community structure caused by smothering from
pseudo-faeces (undigested waste products) and debris (including dead shells) falling from
the farm. There is also potential for accidental introduction of new non-native species and
increasing the spread within the UK of existing non-native plants and animals… through
importation and translocation of shellfish stocks.
[In both cases,] invasive species have the potential to cause deterioration of the qualifying
interest by altering community structure and quality. The … environmental effects [associated with aquaculture] are usually localised but the reduced water exchange within Loch
Creran may exacerbate these effects and cumulative impacts should be considered.
It was also noted that domestic and commercial effluents (whether treated or
untreated) have