Site Selection Process
The challenge of the marine environment
Identifying important sites for birds in the marine environment
is challenging. It is difficult to collect good quality information
on the ecology of birds at sea, due to the logistical and financial
implications of collecting data within the vast extent of UK
waters.
Marine bird distributions often show strong
associations with habitat features, such as the distribution of
their prey, other birds and/or marine mammals, as well as physical
and/or biological processes and features. Habitat boundaries are
often not visible, may be much more dynamic, both spatially and
temporally, than those on land, and may extend across small to very
large scales.
Consequently, it can be extremely difficult to
define discrete sites, to estimate bird numbers within them, and
thereby assess their relative or absolute importance to bird
populations. JNCC is working with the country conservation
agencies to find the best approaches for overcoming these issues
and to ensure that common standards are adopted throughout the
UK.
SPA Site Selection
Guidelines
Guidelines for the
establishment of SPAs in the marine environment have been kept
consistent with the established guidelines for the terrestrial
environment, which were formulated with the overall aim of
achieving ecological coherence of the SPA and wider Natura networks
as a whole.
The UK SPA site selection
guidelines follow a two stage process based on population
thresholds and ecological judgements. In accordance with the Birds
Directive, JNCC’s advice on the selection of marine SPAs is founded
upon ornithological criteria only - socioeconomic, management, or
political considerations are not applied.
Further reading:
Species being considered
A list of 52 marine birds for which
marine SPAs in the UK are being considered, has been compiled by
JNCC. These include most marine bird species, including divers,
grebes, several seaduck, and all seabirds (except black guillemot,
which is neither listed on Annex I, nor considered a migratory
species in the UK). Sites for these species are currently being
considered for these species within four main types of marine
SPA.
However, most of these birds are also reliant on terrestrial
environments at some stage in their life cycle. As such, their
presence in an SPA (as a qualifying interest feature) alone does
not signify that this site is a marine SPA. Conversely, some
'terrestrial' species are dependant on the marine environment for
part of their lifecycle.
JNCC has therefore defined ‘SPAs with a marine
component’ as those SPAs with qualifying Birds Directive Annex I
species or regularly occurring migratory species that are dependent
on the marine environment for all or part of their lifecycle, where
these species are found in association with intertidal and subtidal
areas. In this context, 119
bird species make significant use of the marine
environment around the UK (and Gibraltar).
Consultations
On 27 November 2009,
JNCC started a three month formal consultation in conjunction with
Natural England and the Countryside Council for Wales on two
potential Special Protection Areas (along with 10 possible
Special Areas of Conservation); Outer Thames Estuary pSPA and
Liverpool Bay/Bae Lerpwl pSPA. The Outer Thames Estuary pSPA
has been proposed because of its nationally important wintering
red-throated diver population. It crosses the 12 nautical mile
boundary, but because more than 90% of it lies within the 12
nautical mile boundary, Natural England will be taking the lead in
progressing this site, rather than JNCC. Liverpool Bay/Bae Lerpwl
pSPA holds internationally important numbers of
north-west Europe’s wintering common scoters and nationally
important numbers of GB’s wintering red-throated divers. This
pSPA is a cross-border site, with elements within both English and
Welsh territorial waters. Natural England and CCW will jointly
progress this site. More information on the formal
consultation and how to respond to it is
available.
SNH
consultation on colony extensions
