1.1 Purpose of plan
The conservation of the bottlenose dolphins
of Cardigan Bay is of local, national and international importance.
Society has a duty to seek to protect these magnificent animals
and their habitat from anything which would undermine their
long term survival.
Bottlenose dolphins range widely throughout
UK waters and considerably further afield, but Cardigan Bay
is one of the very few areas around the UK where significant
numbers are known to occur regularly. For this reason, efforts
have been made to manage parts of the Bay as protected areas
specifically to conserve the local dolphin population. This
began in 1992 with the establishment of the voluntary Ceredigion
Marine Heritage Coast, and has led most recently to the Cardigan
Bay candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) being identified
under the European Habitats and Species Directive [1]
(Habitats Directive).
The aim of the Habitats Directive is the
maintenance or restoration of habitats and species of European
importance to a favourable conservation status [2]
. Conservation measures must be established within SACs which
correspond to the ecological requirements of the habitats
and species for which the sites were designated. Appropriate
steps must be taken to avoid disturbance to species and the
deterioration of habitats for which the sites have been designated.
The purpose of this management plan is
to set out how these obligations will be met in relation
to the Cardigan Bay cSAC. To this end, this plan:
- is based upon the current state
of knowledge about the bottlenose dolphins and their
relationship with their environment;
- is a working document for use by the
authorities responsible for managing the cSAC, and others;
- describes a means of communication between
the authorities with responsibility for preparing it, and
the wider constituency of interested parties;
- identifies gaps in knowledge,
how they will be addressed and any resource requirements.
- identifies and attributes actions to
be taken to conserve the bottlenose dolphins in Cardigan
Bay.
- will be kept under review.
[1] Council Directive 92/43/EEC.
The conservation of natural habitats and of wild flora and
fauna.
[2] Favourable conservation
status, for both habitats and species, is defined in Article
1(e) of the Habitats Directive. For species, the definition
is as follows:
“The conservation
status will be taken as favourable when:
- population dynamics data on the
species concerned indicate that it is maintaining
itself on a long‑term basis as a viable component
of its natural habitats, and
- the natural range of the species
is neither being reduced nor is it likely to be reduced
for the foreseeable future
- there is, and will probably continue
to be, a sufficiently large habitat to maintain
its populations on a long term basis.”
