Research requirements in the context of offshore renewables

John Armstrong & Donna-Claire Hunter

on behalf of most of the science staff at the Freshwater Laboratory

Briefly review recent tracking work of salmonids in the Scottish coastal zone Outline priorities for information in relation to offshore renewable energy Set the scene for discussions

West Coast sea trout smolts- sea loch

Habitat use and dispersal of post-smolt sea trout Salmo trutta in a Scottish sea loch system. Journal of fish Biology 2009 S. J. Middlemas*, D. C. Stewart, S. Mackay, J. D. Armstrong

Shieldaig

How: Acoustic tags with automated receivers

Buoy

VEMCO VR2 receiver

Anchor

2006 listening station deployment

2006 listening station deployment

Balgy

Spring 2006
Balgy: 24 smolts Length 190mm (152-242) 26th April-9th May

Shieldaig: 24 smolts Length 180mm (152-215) 26th April-9th May

Spatial use: Balgy 2006

Average hourly positions
Size of circle indicates number of detections

1000h 100h 10h

Spatial use: Shieldaig 2006

2000h 200h 20h

Between Loch movements Between Loch movements

3 2 7 12

West Coast salmon smolts- sea loch

Inshore migration of salmon smolts Loch Linnhe

Post-smolts (n=38) generally head straight out to the open seas Rapid movement (1-2 days) Not all fish do the same thing, no consistent use of near-shore areas.

East coast adult salmon- estuary

Where?

Cromarty Firth

Position of receiver stations

Balnagowan Alness Glass Sgitheach Deephaven Ferry Bridge

Sutors

Conon

Cromarty Firth

Upper Cromarty Firth loss

1.0 0.8

proportion in area

0.6

0.4

42 salmon followed

0.2

2 lost in the estuary (5%)

0.0 0 10 20 30 40

time since release (days)

Causes of Loss
Seals Disease Throwing tag Netting
SMRU

Other

Migratory behaviour: spatial/temporal

Adults
Acoustic tracking of adults on the East Coast (6 fish over 1-2 days)
Move with the tide until reaching river mouth When entering rivers Dont get the correct river first time

Over-summering behaviour of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar returning to rivers in the Cromarty Firth, northeast Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology 2009. D. C. Stewart*, S. J. Middlemas, S. Mackay, J. D. Armstrong

Balnagowan Alness Glass Sgitheach Deephaven Ferry Bridge

Sutors

Conon

Over-summering behaviour of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar returning to rivers in the Cromarty Firth, northeast Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology 2009. D. C. Stewart*, S. J. Middlemas, S. Mackay, J. D. Armstrong

Balnagowan Alness Glass Sgitheach Deephaven Ferry Bridge

Sutors

Conon

Over-summering behaviour of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar returning to rivers in the Cromarty Firth, northeast Scotland. Journal of Fish Biology 2009. D. C. Stewart*, S. J. Middlemas, S. Mackay, J. D. Armstrong 50% drop back after 33-80 days

Balnagowan Alness

Glass Sgitheach Deephaven Ferry Bridge

Sutors

Conon

Offshore wind farms

Wave devices

Tidal turbines

National Research and Monitoring Plan

1. Scoping (Malcolm et al, 2013) 2. Engagement
Steering Group Stakeholders

3. Prioritization
Meetings

4. Project Development
Adult Post smolts

Engagement: Steering Group

Steering Group
John Armstrong (MSS) D-C Hunter (MSS) Jim Mckie (MS-LOT) Ian Davies (MSS) Tracey McCollin (Renewable Policy) Jeff Gibbons (Freshwater Fisheries Policy) Alan Wells (Wild Fisheries Policy) Melfort Campbell (Wild Fisheries Sector) Lindsay Leask (Renewables Policy) Douglas Watson ( Renewables Wave and Tidal) Sarah Pirie (Renewables Wind)

First Meeting 16th of July Next Meeting Scheduled for end of September (Date TBC)

Engagement: stakeholder outcomes

Wild Fisheries Sector
Satisfied with the priorities identified in the scoping document Priority Areas
Distribution Population Status Noise EMF Collision/Strike Lamprey Robustness

Marine Energy Sector

Satisfied with the priorities identified in the scoping document Priority Areas
Distribution Population Status EMF Collision/Strike

Agreed stakeholder engagement strategy is appropriate Follow up meeting in six months

Agreed stakeholder engagement strategy is appropriate Follow up meeting in six months.

General strategy used to evaluate potential impacts

Spatial overlap yes no no yes

Mechanisms yes
Mitigation no Potential Issue

Limited concern

Population status

IMPACT

General strategy
Focus on information that can immediately rule out major concerns Pentland Firth Collision AC EMFs Construction noise

Overlap
Which parts of coastal zones are used by salmon When salmon are present in the coastal zone How do they use the water column
Should there be concern about tidal turbines in the Pentland Firth? Previous work suggests salmon migrate through this area We dont understand fine scale spatial use including swimming depths

MeyGen tidal stream project

Electromagnetic fields Perceived possible interactions Collision

Noise

 Catch returning salmon on the north coast

Use genetics to determine home river

Attach pop-off satellite tags or data storage tags to record depth, temperature and location

Top level regional SNP structure in Scotland

1.0 Proportion 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8

NW

EC Region

KY

Mixed stock fishery analysis results from the Armadale fishery . Proportions of fish assigned to the different regional assignment units.

Inshore migration of returning adults

What routes are used?

Networks of acoustic receivers?

Distribution from satellite tags?

Project development: post smolts

Distribution
Particle Tracking Acoustic Trackingvectors Timing Trawling