Summary

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 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 (Habitats Directive).

The aim of the Habitats Directive is the maintenance or restoration of habitats and species of European importance at a favourable conservation status. Conservation measures must be established which correspond to the ecological requirements of the habitats and species for which SACs are designated. Appropriate steps must be taken to avoid significant disturbance or deterioration of an SAC’s habitats and species.

The Habitats Directive is given effect in Great Britain by legislation commonly referred to as the Habitats Regulations. These Regulations set out in detail the duties and powers of the organisations responsible for implementing the Directive. The key provisions in relation to marine SACs in Wales can be summarised as follows:

i.      a duty on all public and statutory bodies to exercise their functions in accordance with the requirements of the Directive, assisted by advice from the Countryside Council for Wales.

ii.     certain statutory bodies (called relevant authorities) may jointly establish a management scheme under which they may exercise those functions.

This plan arises from these provisions. Whilst it is primarily the responsibility of the relevant authorities, the local community has played a significant role in its development.

The conservation objectives for the site are to maintain, within their natural variation, the distribution and abundance of the cSAC’s bottlenose dolphins. Establishing a mechanism to achieve these objectives has required a review of what is known about the dolphins and about human use of the bay, such as oil and gas exploration, sea fisheries, waste disposal and recreational activities. Each factor which may affect the bottlenose dolphins has been carefully considered to determine the type and likelihood of any effect it may have upon the animals and their habitat. Current management of these factors has been examined and, where it was felt appropriate, each relevant authority has proposed new or altered management actions to address perceived or potential impacts on the dolphins. A summary has been compiled of all relevant management arrangements and the organisations responsible.

In most cases there is considerable uncertainty as to whether an activity is, or is not, having an effect on the bottlenose dolphins. Local research is relatively limited and there has been a need for careful extrapolation and interpretation of cetacean research from other locations around the world. Even where an impact is present, showing irrefutable evidence that an activity is or is not adversely affecting the site’s bottlenose dolphins is difficult, since it would require more detailed local knowledge than is currently available with existing scientific capabilities and resources. It is essential, therefore, that a precautionary management approach is followed on behalf of the dolphins, to take actions early enough to minimise potentially serious or irreversible harm. Management decisions will need to take into account reasonable predictions of likely affects of human activities on the animals, despite a relative paucity of supporting scientific evidence.

Many potentially significant activities affecting SACs, particularly proposed coastal and offshore developments, are subject to specific requirements for the prior assessment of their impacts. These requirements are additional to the measures set out in this management plan. Also, no existing activity is known, at its current level, to constitute a clear and present danger to the long-term survival of the bottlenose dolphins. This view, the existing management regime, and the impact assessment procedures for many new operations, has resulted in a need for few changes to current management. However, this position is based on current levels of knowledge. Future research and monitoring may indicate that changes are required.

The development of this plan, whilst enabling communication between the relevant authorities and the local community about the management of the site as a whole, has been a long and complex process. The plan will continue to require significant maintenance since management of the site is an iterative process informed by research, monitoring and surveillance. Records will be kept of monitoring results, progress on identified actions and management effectiveness, with regular review of these and the plan as a whole. The conservation status of the site’s bottlenose dolphins and the management of activities is to be reported to the UK government and EC at six yearly intervals.