Freshwater fisheries

Introduction

The European Communities Directive 78/659/EEC (the Directive), on the quality of fresh waters needing protection or improvement in order to support fish life was adopted in 1978. The purpose of the directive is to protect or improve the quality of running or standing fresh waters which support or which, if pollution were reduced or eliminated, would become capable of supporting fish life. Member states must designate waters as being capable of supporting salmonid or cyprinid fisheries. They are then obliged to monitor the waters and demonstrate that fish populations are safeguarded from the harmful consequences of pollution.

In Scotland, under the Surface Waters (Fishlife) (Classification) (Scotland) Direction 1999, 205 salmonid waters and 4 cyprinid waters have been designated, listed in Annex 1. These waters are required to comply with the physical and chemical environmental quality standards set out in the directive. SEPA is the designated competent authority and compliance with the directive is assessed annually using monitoring results for the calendar year.

The directive prescribes imperative (I) chemical and physical standards which must be met by designated fresh waters, and guideline (G) values which member states must endeavour to observe. Details of these standards as applied in Scotland are given in Annex 2. The directive also specifies the minimum sampling frequency and the reference methods of analysis which must be used. Compliance with the standards is measured to identify any surface waters requiring improvement. Article 5 of the directive requires that member states establish Pollution Reduction Programmes (PRP) to ensure compliance with the directive.

Pollution Reduction Programmes (PRP)

PRP are prepared on a cyclical basis. The monitoring period for the guideline fail PRPs is from 2002 to 2005 inclusive. PRPs for sites failing the directive's imperative standards are reported annually. Programmes for sites that failed guideline standards are presented for catchments or groups of catchments. It is worth noting that some rivers within these groups of catchments may not impact upon designated sites. Each PRP provides background information, reports the results of compliance monitoring, identifies point and diffuse sources of pollution and highlights recent and planned improvement actions designed to ensure compliance with mandatory standards and progress towards compliance with guideline standards. Annex 1 lists the sites, how they are grouped and their associated report number.

Severe difficulty is encountered in respect of the nitrites guideline standard, because at just 0.003 mg/l of nitrite-nitrogen (0.01 mg nitrites/l), it is at the limit of detection of enhanced sensitivity analytical methods, and also below any level of known ecological significance to fish. The low level of some other guideline standards also presents great sampling and analytical challenge, and a few guideline level quality standard exceedances may well not be real – statistical confidence in analytical results is inevitably reduced as analytical limits of detection are approached. They are nevertheless reported in the following programmes.

Recent compliance history

In 2007 only 3 sites failed to meet the Directive's Imperative standards, compared to 5 in 2006 and 9 between 2002-2005. Most of these failures were a result of either intermittent sewage pollution or long-term acidity problems.

During the 2002-2005 reporting period, there were 199 sites throughout Scottish waters that met all the required imperative physico-chemical quality standards prescribed by the Directive in all four of these years, an improvement of 6 sites on the last reporting period. Thus through this period a total of 10 sites failed to meet all criteria, and never more than 7 in any one year. Most of these failures were in respect of acidity, in acid sensitive catchments, upstream of controlled discharges. Compliance with the standards is influenced by many factors including some out with the current water pollution control statutes enforced by SEPA. These include intensive farming, and emissions of acidic gases to atmosphere throughout Europe which contribute to rainfall acidity.

The PRP detail recent and planned improvement actions for SEPA and other influential parties. Where problems caused by non-regulated activities are suspected to be causing or risking downgrade, SEPA is implementing "Action Plans" to ensure that adverse effects are minimised. In respect of regulated point sources, Scotland is benefiting from the largest ever programme of capital investment by the water utility Scottish Water (and its predecessors), which is currently in the third phase of its ‘Quality and Standards’ (Q&S) capital investment programme. Both the previous (2002/3 – 2005/6) Q&S2, and current (2006/7 – 20013/14) Q&S3 Scottish Water investment programmes are inevitably referred to in most of the PRP.

The PRP refer to new legislation, in particular the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Reform and the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC (WFD). CAP Reform proposals implemented in 2005 move away from subsidising farms based solely on the amount they produce, to payment on condition that the farmer complies with environmental, food safety, animal health and welfare legislation, and that land is maintained in good agricultural and environmental condition. This has further encouraged adoption of good agricultural practice and management, reducing diffuse agricultural pollution of rivers.

The WFD’s overall objective is to bring about the effective co-ordination of water environment policy and regulation across Europe, and eventually the Freshwater Fish Directive will be repealed by this legislation. The WFD aims to prevent deterioration and enhance the status of aquatic ecosystems, promote sustainable water use, reduce pollution and contribute to the mitigation of floods and droughts. New legislation for Scotland driven by the WFD introduced abstraction and impoundment controls in April 2006, and alongside diffuse pollution regulations that are anticipated from 2008, assist SEPA to further improve the quality of fresh waters.

The PRP will continue to be developed and implemented, and will be fed into the production of the River Basin Management Plans which, after consultation, will be finalised by December 2009. As part of these plans, ‘Programmes of Measures’ are being defined. These are now being prepared with the help of an unprecedented high level of stakeholder involvement and public participation. It is anticipated that implementation of these agreed programmes will lead to sustainably improved water quality and high quality fisheries across Scotland.

Future reporting

In October 2007 the Scottish Government issued new Directions to SEPA which revised the original list of classified waters and included the remaining parts of waters not previously classified.

This included the significant additions of the lower River Clyde (downstream of Bothwell Bridge), the lower North Calder Water the Kittoch Water, the River Kelvin and the River Almond; all of which had previously not been classified.

SEPA will report its findings from these new waters to the Scottish Government at the end of 2008. However, interim (partial) assessment has been completed which suggests many of these newly designated stretches will not comply with imperative standards. These waters are therefore at risk of failing the directive's requirements and will require SEPA to draw up and implement PRPs.

These new designations are providing SEPA and the industries it regulates with new challenges in order to meet the directive’s water quality criteria.