Ornithology Monitoring

Tender description

The aquaculture industry is an important economic activity on all coasts of Ireland. The aquaculture industry produces a variety of shellfish as well as salmon and trout. A significant proportion of the activity occurs within, or in proximity to, Natura 2000 sites which are designated areas under the EU Habitats and Birds Directives. These sites have a special status in that the features (habitats and species) for which they are designated must, in the long term, not be allowed to deteriorate. They are not closed areas or areas which fisheries and aquaculture need explicitly to be prohibited. Rather the activity of this sector must be planned in order that the risk they pose to the designated environmental features can be appropriately assessed and the scale and type of activity can be regulated such that the impacts to the environment in the long term are mitigated. On foot of a full assessment of oyster culture using bags and trestles in intertidal areas in Dungarvan Harbour SPA , it was concluded that the negative impact of aquaculture on the distribution of some bird species could not be discounted. Specifically, in the region of Whitehouse Bank, the impact of structures on the distribution on two bird species (Grey Plover and Dunlin) on the shore was considered significant. Movement up and down the shore appeared to be restricted by the recent addition of structures. In order to mitigate the impact of the structures, it was proposed that a 400m wide corridor (clear of all structures and use by operators – i.e. an exclusion zone) be created through the shore (from high-water to low-water) in order facilitate bird movement (and site use) throughout a full tidal cycle. In light of this, suppliers responding to the competition are invited to submit proposals to carry out monitoring of the effects of this mitigation measure on specific bird species as one lot.