SETTING SETTING SETTING SETTING FAVOURABLE REFERENCE FAVOURABLE REFERENCE FAVOURABLE REFERENCE FAVOURABLE REFERENCE VALUESVALUESVALUESVALUES

Second Natura 2000 seminar

for the Baltic, Atlantic, Macaronesian, Mediterranean and Black Sea marine biogeographical regions

Susan Gubbay

N2K Consultancy

©A.R.Davis

FAVOURABLE REFERENCE VALUES (FRVs)

Key reference levels to define when favourable conservation status (FCS) is being achieved for individual species and habitats.

Needed for;

- range of habitat types and species

- area of habitat types

- population sizes of species

Similar concepts are applied to the Birds Directive.

1994199419941994

Data and approaches in the early 1990s’

SEABIRDSSEA TURTLES

SMALL

CETACEANS

Broderick, A.C. & Godley, B.J. (1996)

http://www.cyprusturtles.org/pdf/BroderickAC_1996_ZoolMidEast.pdf

Stone, C.J. et al., (1995) http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/page-2407

Hammond, P. et al., (1995) https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/52045935.pdf

Historical information

State of the Environment of the Black Sea (2009).

http://www.grid.unep.ch/bsein/tda/files/3b311m.htm

Halkka, A. & Tolvanen, P (2017)

https://wwf.fi/mediabank/9825;

BALTIC RINGED SEAL

PHYLLOPHORA BEDS

Reference conditions

e.g. Dankers, N. et al., (1991)

The Wadden Sea in the Future

– why and how to reach. RIN

Contributions to Research on

Management of Natura

Resources 1991-1.

Guidance

• FRVs must be at least the value (range, surface area, population size) when the Habitats Directive came into force.

• FRVs should be based purely on scientific grounds.

• FRVs are not targets (which would include technical questions and related to resources and other factors).

Evans & Arvela,(2011)

https://circabc.europa.

eu/sd/a/2c12cea2-

f827-4bdb-bb56-

3731c9fd8b40/Art17-

Guidelines-final.pdf

©A.R.Davis

• Expert opinion as the main basis for setting FRVs

• Feasibility not used

• Estimates of minimum viable population size were not used by around 50% of the MS

• Values when the HD came into force. Several said it is not very relevant to the process of setting FRVs. Increased knowledge and better data now and exact values are and will remain poorly known.

• Historical range and distribution important factors in setting FRVs

• Mobile species with dynamic ranges explicitly considered by only a few MS

• MS suggest reference values about MS level for some species (seals, marine migratory species, migratory fish)

Bijlsma et al., 2018. Defining and applying the concept of Favourable Reference Values for species and habitats under the EU Birds and Habitats Directive.

Using ‘operators’

The operator symbols mean: ≈ “approximately equal to”, > “more than”, >> “much more than”. If the operator is ‘>>’, the current value is very likely to be

more than 10% below FRV. The operator ‘less than’ (<) can be used only in exceptional circumstances and an explanation of the reasoning why this operator has been used should be given.

CURRENT VALUE RELATIVE TO FAVOURABLE REFERENCE RANGE

Flowchart for the stepwise process of

setting FRVs for species and habitat types

Bijlsma et al., 2018

SOME DECISIONS

• Select spatial scale and historical perspective.

• Consider reference or model-based approach

• For habitats FRVs at a national level.

• For species - may need to set FRVs at regional or whole biogeographical level

SOME EXAMPLES………..

©A.R.Davis

Setting FRR and FRA for habitats

• Current range generally well known for intertidal/coastal habitat features, less so for permanently submerged/offshore features

• As many are physiographic features the underlying geological, physical and oceanographic processes are especially important influences on potential range.

• Historical range – timescale important. Human timescale e.g. estuaries and mudflats in the 18th/19th century , geological timescales e.g. Baltic inlets.

©A.R.Davis

H 1110 Shallow sandbanks

Favourable Reference AreaFavourable Reference Range

http://jncc.defra.gov.uk/pdf/Article17Consult_20131010/h1110_UK.pdf

Setting FRVs for species

Supranational assessment must be considered for species when

• sustainable population size at the population level is not or only just met and

• the biology of the species allows for long-distance exchange (large home range or large dispersal distance)

• or individuals have small home ranges and occur in only one or a few isolated populations at supranational level.

©A.R.Davis

Grey seal – Halichoerus grypus

Population structure

Country MSFD assessment unit: Main breeding area monitored

(from ICES, 2014)

United Kingdom North Sea: Shetland, Scotland

North Sea: Orkney, Scotland

North Sea: Fast Castle, Isle of May and adjacent colonies,

Scotland

North Sea: Moray Firth, east Scotland

North Sea: Farne Islands, east England

North Sea: Donna Nook & Norfolk colonies, SE England

Netherlands North Sea: Wadden Sea

North Sea: Delta

Germany North Sea: Schleswig-Holstein, Wadden Sea

North Sea: Helgoland

Denmark North Sea: Limfjord

North Sea: Kattegat

Norway North Sea: Rogaland

France North Sea: Archipelago of Sept Iles and adjacent haul-outs

North Sea: Archipelago of Molene and adjacent haul-outs

North Sea: Baie de Somme and adjacent haul-outs

United Kingdom Celtic Sea: West Scotland

Celtic Sea: Western Isles, Scotland

Celtic Sea: Welsh coasts and southwest England

Ireland Celtic Sea: Sturral (near Glen head) to Maghera in SW

Co.Donegal

Celtic Sea: the Inishkea Island group off northwest Co.Mayo

Celtic Sea: Inishshark, Inishgort and associated islands off NW

Co.Galway

Celtic Sea: Islands around Slyne Head, Co.Galway

Celtic Sea: the Blasket Islands, Co.Kerry

Celtic Sea: the Slatee Islands, Co.Wexford

Celtic Sea: Lambay Island & Ireland's Eye, Co.Dublin

©A.R.Davis

Historical minimum population size of grey seals in the Baltic, estimated from hunting statistics (from Harding et al., 2007)

Historic and contemporary abundance of grey seal in northern Europe, showing a shift in the relative population sizes of grey seals in the North Sea (NS) and the Baltic Sea (BS) (from Fietz et al., 2016)

UK grey seal pup production at annually monitored breeding colonies (Scotland’s Marine Atlas. Sea Mammal Research Unit)

NEA FRP >CV

BALTIC FRP >>CV

FRR assessment

• Although the population of grey seals is increasing, the distribution and range of breeding colonies remains reduced compared to historical reports.

• For all populations and management units at least FRR > CV.

• For management units in the Baltic, FRR >> CV is more appropriate.

©A.R.Davis

FUTURE SCOPE FOR JOINT ACTIONS RELATING TO FRVs ?

© S.Gubbay

• Understanding the biology

• Historical information

• Data – sources and collection

• Methods – model/reference

based

• Methods – detail/expertise