Freedom of Information Request - Endrick Water SAC
Date: 18 November 2024
Our ref: SIR177590/A4820401
Information Request – Endrick Water SAC
Your Request
The Endrick Water has Special Area of Conservation designation (NatureScot site code 8252)
Would you please provide me with the following information. In the past 5 years how much has been spent in carrying out the conservation objectives with regards to Atlantic Salmon and what measures have been taken?’
Our Response
Following a search of the information we hold our response is below.
How much has been spent in carrying out the conservation objectives?
Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust (LLFT) was awarded funding under Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund, administered by NatureScot for their project – Beyond the Endrick. The total funding awarded to this project was £271,824 for activities from August 2022 to February 2024. The total paid to the project was £258,059. The project is now complete.
NatureScot also has a Partnership Agreement with the LLFT to carry out surveillance for beaver dams and potential impacts on fish populations in the Endrick Water SAC. To date NatureScot has made a payment of £3,850 to cover the first year of this Agreement. Further information about the LLFT projects is available from their website.
What measures have been taken?
As mentioned above, Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust undertook a project centred on the middle of the Endrick Water riparian zone which extended to the wider catchment. The information below is extracted from the End of Grant report for the project:
The project sought to address invasive non-native species colonisation, the erosion of riverbanks, overgrazing, sources of diffuse pollution, sediment wash out and the loss of riparian zones. Brash banking, willow spiling and bank re-profiling has been used to restore a number of sections of degraded riverbank. This work has removed significant sources of sediment input, provided new
habitats for wildlife and contributed to rebalancing natural river processes.
• Project Activities carried out - new fencing has been erected to block livestock access to a portion of the Altquhur burn, resulting in benefits for lamprey and salmonid species inhabiting the burn.
• Project timeline - one of the challenges for the project was when to carry out work to ensure work did not disturb nesting bird season and fish spawning season, the project postponed bank reprofiling until late Autumn when spawning had concluded. Regular surveys were conducted to identify signs of spawning before commencing work in the river.
• Maintenance plans – as part of Terms and Conditions for NRF supported projects is that the grant holder needs to comply with the 10-year compliance period ensuring the project benefits are maintained. As part of this the grant holder will carry out annual electrofishing and aquatic invertebrate surveys to assess fish species utilisation of woody debris and willow spiling sites. Conduct redd counts to evaluate salmonid distribution and spawning activity within the project area, comparing results with historical data.
Further information is publicly available StoryMap on the NRF supported webpages.
How We Handled Your Request
We believe you have asked for environmental information as defined in the Environmental Information (Scotland Regulations 2004 (‘the EIRs’), so we are dealing with your request under those regulations. To be able to use the EIRs, we must apply an exemption under section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (‘FOISA’). The Scottish Information Commissioner’s guidance recommends that public authorities apply this exemption to environmental information and handle request under the EIRs.
If you would like to find out more about the access to information legislation, there is a guidance booklet available on the Scottish Information Commissioner’s website.
Review and Appeal
I hope this information meets your requirements, but if you are dissatisfied with how we have responded to your information request, please write to us within 40 working days explaining your concerns. You can contact us at Battleby, Redgorton, Perth, PH1 3EW or email us at [email protected]. We will carry out a review of our response and contact you with our findings within 20 working days.
If you are not satisfied following this, you can make an appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner within 6 months. The Scottish Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Scottish Information Commissioner
Kinburn Castle
Doubledykes Road
St Andrews
Fife
KY16 9DS
Telephone: 01334 464610
Yours sincerely
FOI Officer,
NatureScot