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Preliminary
Report (Part 1) Ireland's Most Threatened and Rare Freshwater Fish Institute
of Fisheries Management - Irish Branch Spring
Seminar in co-operation
with the
Morning Session
Mr Eammon Cusack opened the seminar, introduced Mr Vincent Roche, the Chairperson of the morning session and welcomed all who had attended the seminar. He thanked the North Western Board and especially Dr John Connelly, the Irish Char Conservation Group and Dr Fran Igoe who had all been involved in organising the seminar. Mr Vincent Roche introduced the internationally renowned Prof. Peter Maitland, who since graduating from Glasgow University had lectured and become a Professor there. Prof Maitland also works as a Consultant advising bodies such as NERC. Professor Peter Maitland Prof Maitland thanked the organisations involved for inviting him to speak. In his presentation entitled ‘An International Perspective on Fish Conservation’, he covered 3 main topics,
1. Maitland used the Definition of Conservation given in the Irish Red Data Book. He emphasised the importance of naming a species and correctly classifying it, to ensure its conservation. He used a humorous example to illustrate this point. In Biologia. 52/suppl.5 1997, the Lough Ness Monster, ould Nessie, was give a taxonomic or scientific name, inorder to promote the conservation of the species should it really exist. Prof. Maitland also discussed the difference between sub-species and new species. He stated that practical management on the ground was paramount to saving these rare species and that legislation in itself is not always enough. He also emphasised the importance of having information on the ecology and life cycles of the species in their conservation. 2. International Legislation Prof Maitland gave a run down of the development and evolution of various international treaties aimed at conserving wildlife. The name of and details of the following conventions: International Conventions Ramsar Convention, 1971 (Iran) CITIES 1975 Bern Convention, 1979 Bonn Convention, 1979, revised 1994 Convention of Biological Diversity, 1992 EEC Habitat Directive, 1992 (92/43/EEC) Water Framework Directive, 2000 (2000/60/EC) UK Legislation Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 and 1985 Prof Maitland felt that prominence in legislation and practical conservation was often given to the three f’s, i.e., ‘Flowers, feathers and fur’ and that there was a need to ensure fish were added to this list, because of they were endangered, beautiful and of substantial economic importance. Also some of the legislation relates to species which are already extinct or in severe difficulties, action should have been taken sooner. 3. Prof. Maitland went on to discuss a number of fish species in order of what he felt was the need for Conservation
Conservation methods to be considered are: Habitat management as a long-term measure, Maitland urged consideration of translocation to save local stocks.
Allis Shad – In the UK there are no breeding stocks, yet ripe females have been caught around the coast.
Action is required regarding legislation. Publicity is required to raise the profile of these fish. Measures such as the requirement on developers in Canada since 1986, to ensure any development results in ‘No net loss of habitat’ should be considered. Mr Trevor Champ Mr Trevor Champ gave a presentation on ‘The way forward for Irish Freshwater Fish Conservation’. Mr Champ gave an outline of the role of the Central and Regional Fisheries Boards. He listed the Fisheries Acts, which demonstrated the Boards’ broad remit in relation to conservation, protection, management, development and improvement of inland fisheries (including habitat and water quality). He stated the in order to protect species we must understand the species biology and be able to predict or recognise the consequence of environmental change. (This is an important point, with which the ICCG fully agrees, especially in relation to Arctic char and our lesser understood rare fish species). In relation to fish species the boards have done considerable amounts of work on salmon and eel. Kennedy (the Doc Kennedy is a well respected pioneer of fisheries biology in Ireland and was awarded an honory Ph-D for his vast contribution to Irish fisheries science) and Fitzmaurice produced papers on many other species, but data on char and smelt had been collected along the way, whilst work was being carried out on other species. Mr Champ felt there had been too much emphasis on the value added and commercial species. He said there was a need to collect additional information on species biology, stock composition, spatial distribution to serve the Habitats Directive, Biodiversity Plan and the Water Framework Directive. Mr Champ listed a number of pressures faced by rare fish species: Eutrophication, inter-species competition often caused by the explosion population levels of newly introduced fish species e.g. effects of some roach introductions. He emphasised the importance of controlling such explosions and stopping the introduction of species. He outlined EU directives and the need for the Fisheries Boards to be involved with other relevant agencies in setting the standards and designating areas on Conservation. We fully agree this with sentiment and are working as much as possible with the Fisheries Boards on a number of issues relating to the conservation of Arctic char. ICCG The introduction of River Basin Drainage projects highlighted the need for greater ‘inter agency’ co-ordination for implementation. Mr Philip Buckley Mr Philip Buckley spoke about ‘Forming Policy within the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands’. He gave an outline of the Structure of the Department and how Duchas fits in, Policy Formation, the Wildlife Act and Biological Diversity. The Heritage council, although independent, works under the auspices of the Department of A,H,G & I. The different dimensions influencing policy making are complex, but essentially consist of the input from the following institutions and organisations: International e.g. UN, EU, Council of Europe. Government, other departments e.g. AG’s Office Non-Government Organisations e.g. academic institutions, General Public Minister of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands Heritage Planning and Legislation Department Duchas Heritage Council The Wildlife Act The Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000, is essentially an amendment of the original Wildlife Act of 1976, and provided the legal basis for setting up National Habitat Areas. In the 1976 act fish species had to be specially included, whereas in the 2000 all fish species will be included except those named as exempt. It is expected that angling and commercially exploited fish will be excluded. Species will be excluded using a Statutary Instrument, rather than by Primary Legislation. This means that the act has more flexibility for the addition or the removal of species. The Biodiversity Plan The UN Convention on Bio-diversity is in the process of on-going negotiations, and the EC Bio-diversity group have drawn up a strategy, which was adopted recently. This will lead to the production of a National Bio-Diversity Plan, which is now at a draft stage. The bio-diversity plan will cover areas such as: Catchment water quality, guidelines for drainage and biodiversity, initiatives for conservation of fish species and communities (including sites for fish communities), review of the guidelines for translocation of fish species. Mechanisms will be set up to process the plan. Bio-diversity plans will probably include, Sectoral action plans and Species action plans and an inventory for priority and important species. Dr. Kieran O’Keeffe
Kieran O’Keeffe spoke about the scientific input into the designation process of SAC’s and the criteria used for site selection. Sites for lampreys, twaite shad and pearl mussel have been largely decided. Arctic char, smelt and pollan (Annex IV) have no protection under the act. The work on designation of sites for Salmon (in freshwater only) will begin shortly. Kieran outlined the 4 selection criteria for SAC designation,
Under the EU guidelines states should designate up to 60% of habitat for priority species and 20 % for non-priority species. The designation of areas is complex and involves much consultation between relevant agencies and landowners. Professor Andrew Ferguson stated that biodiversity exists at many levels, from the gene to ecosystem level. He emphasised the need to recognise (appropriate units) or define a species, before an assessment of whether, or not it was threatened or rare could be conducted. How do we know if something is threatened or rare, if we cannot define or recognise it. He said mis-taxonomy could result in wasting resources in efforts of conservation or could result in the extinction of rare species. Traditionally species was and is the main category for legislation and management. Species designation is often arbitrary and subjective, but is normally done on basis of:
One of the main problems in the use of visible characters (morphology) is that these can be genetically, environmentally deternined, or in most cases, both. Therefore there are problems in deciding the degree of differences, which constitute a separate species. He then outlined the genetic techniques and their evolution that can be used (electrophoresis and DNA) to circumvent this. Sub-species are only recognised in a few cases. Genetic diversity is something that should be emphasised more, when discussing conservation. As even within clearly recognisable species, substantial genetic differentiation can occur among constituent populations and this variability should be taken into account. But in many cases, current taxonomy does not reflect the biodiversity in need of protection. The species notion is now outdated-the focus instead should be based on populations. Andy then outlined the notion of conservation units and the we could take a leaf out of the US endangered species act, which considers ‘distinct’ population segments to be ‘species’ and thus eligible for legal protection. Prof. Ferguson gave an overview of how he thought pollan had colonised and spread across Ireland. Here pollan Coregonus autumnalis is a good example of the correct taxonomy, as it is distinct from the other British and European whitefishes. He then discussed brown trout diversity and stated that not all the differences noted between populations are environmental. (The ICCG feel that this is a very important point which has very real management implications for our native brown trout fisheries). In the past many species of trout were recognised by taxonomists, but in the 20th century biologists lumped them into single species, Salmo trutta. This however is too simplistic a concept and most trout biologists now acknowledge that the single species concept is not realistic but insufficient information constrains realistic taxonomy. There are five major ancestral groups of brown trout, and the brown trout in Ireland belong to the Atlantic group, and have existed in Ireland since the end of the last Ice Age. Irelands trout diversity is the result of atleast three genetically distinct groups of trout, which colonised Ireland after the ice retreated. He described the unique community in Lough Melvin which also includes Arctic char. Importantly there are three "types" of brown trout, the gillaroo, sonaghen and ferox. These differ in colouration, feeding, spawning and behaviour. These three types are genetically very distinct and do not interbreed. Therefore this lack of breeding qualifies them as separate species. It is likely that their equivalents live in other Irish lakes, and examples of some of these types have been identified in Lough Mask and Lough Corrib. The brown trout of Lough Melvin are unique and effective conservation must be based on the genetic differences between these trout. He discussed the notion of prioritising our wild trout population to a number of criteria to ensure the best examples are preserved. He listed the 3 main threats to brown trout in Ireland today:
He said Ireland had a unique diversity of brown trout, which should be given a high priority conservation status by both fisheries and heritage managers, irrespective of what names are used. He said there was a need to educate both the general public and anglers about conservation of fish species. Brown trout need to be given higher conservation status by both fisheries and natural heritage managers. Help further research in the genetic diversity of our trout populations. Prof. Andy Ferguson, intends extending this most interesting and necessary work, and his student Niall McKeown will examine the relationship of the Melvin trout with those in other Irish lakes. Therefore samples from potential gillaroo, ferox or other unusual trout are requested. Either Adipose fin / gill / liver should be immersed in pure alcohol in order to preserve the DNA. Contact the ICCG or Niall directly for more information.
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2003. ICCG ©2003 |
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