Estuary Wildlife Gets European Protection

The two largest estuaries in Wales have become Special Areas of Conservation under European laws to protect wildlife.

The Dee and the Severn Estuaries, both of which straddle the border between Wales and England, are considered to be amongst the best areas in Europe for their diversity of estuary habitats and species. Both estuaries support important populations of migratory fish species while the extensive mudflats, sandflats and saltmarshes sustain abundant populations of wintering water birds.

Welcoming the decision, Dr David Parker, CCW’s Director of Science said:

“This is good news for the biodiversity of Wales. Designation of these two estuaries brings the total number of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) in Wales to 92, covering an area of 628,000 hectares, of which 7 are marine sites, protecting many rare or threatened marine species and habitats.”

Early in the new year CCW and Natural England will be writing to landowners, local authorities and other interested parties to confirm the details.

Dr Parker added:

“The designation of these SACs is the culmination of a long consultation process which began on the Severn in 1995. Both sites have had legal protection for some time, so this final designation stage is not expected to significantly affect the way in which commercial and recreational activities are already managed.”

At the same time as confirming the two SACs, Welsh and English Ministers have also confirmed changes to the existing designation of The Dee Estuary as a Special Protection Area for birds and as a Ramsar site - an important wetland under the international wetlands convention.

Severn Estuary Fact File

• The Severn Estuary is one of the largest estuaries in Europe. The overall conservation area is nearly 74,000ha – roughly the same size as Anglesey. Two thirds is underwater and one third is intertidal habitats.
  
• The estuary’s classic funnel shape helps give it the second highest tidal range in the world at more than 12 metres. This shape is what gives rise to one of Britain's few truly spectacular natural phenomena, the Severn Bore; a large surge wave that can be seen in the estuary of the River Severn.
  
• Up to 90,000 birds are attracted to the large areas of mud, sand and saltmarsh exposed during low tides during the winter months. The estuary’s mud is twice as fertile as the richest farmland and huge numbers of invertebrates thrive in it. They, in turn, provide a feast for many waterbirds such as dunlin, redshank, curlew, ringed plover and shelduck during the winter and on their migrations in spring and autumn.
  
• The estuary and its tributaries are an important area for migratory fish, such as river and sea lamprey, allows passage to 3 of the 4 confirmed breeding sites for twaite shad in the UK. The Severn holds the highest recorded number of fish species for an estuary in Britain, acting as an important nursery for juvenile fish and supporting economically important salmon fisheries. It is also the most important estuary in Britain for eels.
  
• Beneath the waves, only specialist plants and animals that can tolerate extreme conditions are found. This is because the Severn has some of the strongest tidal currents in the UK. The Severn Estuary has the only known extensive subtidal reefs of the honeycomb worm in Britain for example.

Dee Estuary Fact File

• The Dee Estuary is the sixth largest estuary in the UK with an area of over 14,000 ha - roughly the area of Cardiff.
  
• At low spring tides, over ninety percent of the estuary dries out, exposing vast areas of mudflats and sand flats. These are home to thousands of invertebrates like worms and shellfish, which are a rich source of food for birds and fish.
  
• The Dee Estuary is the winter home for 120,000 waders and wildfowl, making it the most important wetland site for birds in Wales. Ducks such as shelduck, pintail and teal feed on the open waters and saltmarshes, while waders like curlew, black tailed godwit and oystercatcher use their long beaks to probe in the mud for food. It is also an important staging post for birds on such as the ringed plover and redshank.
  
• The Estuary is an important breeding, sheltering and nursery area for coastal fish species. It is also a vital connection for fish that have their breeding grounds in the River Dee, including the Atlantic salmon, sea trout, smelt, twaite shad and eels as well as sea lamprey and river lamprey.
  
• Sometimes as many as 500 grey seals can be seen near Hilbre Island.
  
• The SAC also includes areas of a once extensive dune system which stretched all along the north east coast of Wales. The dune areas that remain support a rich variety of plants, including the rare petalwort.

In conclusion, Dr Maggie Hill, Regional Manager for South and East said:

“It is clear to see why these areas are so important in terms of our wildlife conservation. We now have to play our part in celebrating the importance of these areas for the environment as well as ensuring that they remain a place for people to enjoy and areas that can contribute to the Welsh economy.”

ENDS

For further information, please contact:

Press officers:
Helen Evans on 01248 385500 or 07717225589 ; or Brân Devey on 02920 772403

Further notes to Editors

European and international wildlife designations

• Special Areas of Conservation are designated under the 1992 EU Habitats and Species Directive. Together with Special Protection Areas (SPAs) designated under the 1979 Birds Directive, they make up a network of sites across all 27 EU member states, called Natura 2000. The purpose of the Natura 2000 network is to help halt the loss of biodiversity that has been occurring for many decades across Europe, by maintaining or restoring a wide range of habitat types and species to a favourable conservation status. There are currently about 870 Natura 2000 sites in the UK and over 28,000 in the EU as a whole. Natura 2000 sites are not ‘no go areas’ or strict nature reserves, but potentially damaging activities have to be managed sensitively to protect the important habitats and species.

• The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, often called the Ramsar convention after the town in Iran where it was signed in 1971, is a global treaty which aims to protect wetlands and the species they support from further loss and damage from development, pollution and over exploitation. As a signatory to the convention, the UK has designated 146 Ramsar sites. Although not subject to the same legal protection as SACs and SPAs, UK government and Welsh Assembly Government policy is that Ramsar sites should be treated in the same way as SACs and SPAs.

• The Dee Estuary has been a Special Protection Area and Ramsar site for a number of years. Both these designations have now been updated to take account of improved information on the location of important habitats and species in and around the estuary.

The Countryside Council for Wales is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body, working for a better Wales where everyone values and cares for our natural environment. More information about our work is available on www.ccw.gov.uk