Environmental monitoring review group feedback

The Drought Monitoring workshop of October 1996, held at the Jarvis Leyland Hotel in Preston, England, established 4 priority issues for dealing with the question: How do we monitor the environment to pick up unexpected change ? 1. Review existing data, and review related study areas throughout the country. 2. Modelling and analysis of data 3. Monitoring / new data / sentinel species' 4. Public relations / Promotion. A group was set up to review issue 1 and feedback to the main group. This report establishes this feedback to the group and refers to existing data / monitoring, other Regional and national work, external Organisations and Recommendations. Appendix 1, is a summary of work completed at the workshop.

NMFS / Interagency Working Group Evaluation of CITES Criteria and Guidelines.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: At present, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) criteria used to assess whether a population qualifies for inclusion in the CITES Appendices relate to (A) size of the population, (B) area of distribution of the population, and (C) declines in the size of the population. Numeric guidelines are provided as indicators of a small population (less than 5,000 individuals), a small subpopulation (less than 500 individuals), a restricted area of distribution for a population (less than 10,000 km2), a restricted area of distribution for a subpopula-tion (less than 500 km2), a high rate of decline (a decrease of 50% or more in total within 5 years or two generations whichever is longer or, for a small wild population, a decline of 20% or more in total within ten years or three generations whichever is longer), large fluctuations (population size or area of distribution varies widely, rapidly and frequently, with a variation greater than one order of magnitude), and a short-term fluctuation (one of two years or less). The Working Group discussed several broad issues of relevance to the CITES criteria and guidelines. These included the importance of the historical extent of decline versus the recent rate of decline; the utility and validity of incorporating relative population productivity into decline criteria; the utility of absolute numbers for defining small populations or small areas; the appropriateness of generation times as time frames for examining declines; the importance of the magnitude and frequency of fluctuations as factors affecting risk of extinction; and the overall utility of numeric thresh-olds or guidelines.

Beluga, Delphinapterus leucas, Group Sizes in Cook Inlet, Alaska, Based on Observer Counts and Aerial Video

Belugas, Delphinapterus leucas, groups were videotaped concurrent to observer counts during annual NMFS aerial surveys of Cook Inlet, Alaska, from 1994 to 2000. The videotapes provided permanent records of whale groups that could be examined and compared to group size estimates ade by aerial observers.Examination of the video recordings resulted in 275 counts of 79 whale groups. The McLaren formula was used to account for whales missed while they were underwater (average correction factor 2.03; SD=0.64). A correction for whales missed due to video resolution was developed by using a second, paired video camera that magnified images relative to the standard video. This analysis showed that some whales were missed either because their image size fell below the resolution of hte standard video recording or because two whales surfaced so close to each other that their images appeared to be one large whale. The correction method that resulted depended on knowing the average whale image size in the videotapes. Image sizes were measured for 2,775 whales from 275 different passes over whale groups. Corrected group sizes were calcualted as the product of the original count from video, the correction factor for whales missed underwater, and the correction factor for whales missed due to video resolution (averaged 1.17; SD=0.06). A regression formula was developed to estimate group sizes from aerial observer counts; independent variables were the aerial counts and an interaction term relative to encounter rate (whales per second during the counting of a group), which were regressed against the respective group sizes as calculated from the videotapes. Significant effects of encounter rate, either positive or negative, were found for several observers. This formula was used to estimate group size when video was not available. The estimated group sizes were used in the annual abundance estimates.

West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group 25th June, 1982.

This is the report from the West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group meeting, which was held on the 25th June, 1982. The report contains sections on the Application by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) for a temporary licence to abstract additional quantities from Wastwater, and River Derwent Abstraction (Prescribed Flows). The Fisheries Advisory Committee was part of the Regional Water Authorities, in this case the North West Water Authority. This preceded the Environment Agency which came into existence in 1996.

West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group 28th July, 1982

This is the report from the West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group meeting, which was held on the 28th July, 1982. The report contains sections on minutes of the meeting held on the 25th June, 1982, Application by British Nuclear Fuels Limited (BNFL) for a temporary licence to abstract additional quantities from Wastwater, and River Derwent Abstraction (Prescribed Flows) and fisheries implications. The Fisheries Advisory Committee was part of the Regional Water Authorities, in this case the North West Water Authority. This preceded the Environment Agency which came into existence in 1996.

West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group 9th March, 1983

This is the report from the West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group meeting, which was held on the 9th March, 1983. The report contains sections on Fish Passes at Yearl Weir River Derwent, Ennerdale, and Ehen; River Calder abstraction and augmentation from boreholes; and the augmentation of River Ehen by minewater to support increased abstraction by BNFL. The Fisheries Advisory Committee was part of the Regional Water Authorities, in this case the North West Water Authority. This preceded the Environment Agency which came into existence in 1996.

West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group 16th May, 1986

This is the report from the West Cumbria Special Fisheries Advisory Group meeting, which was held on the 16th May, 1986. The report contains sections on a Fish Pass at Ennerdale, Authority proposals for discharge of compensation water from Ennerdale and a diagram of fish pass at Ennerdale. The Fisheries Advisory Committee was part of the Regional Water Authorities, in this case the North West Water Authority. This preceded the Environment Agency which came into existence in 1996.

Brown trout habitat assessment on the River Bela catchment (as recommended by the strategic fisheries stock assessment task group 1995)

This is the Brown trout habitat assessment on the River Bela catchment produced by the Environment Agency North West in 1997. The Environment Agency (EA) and its predecessor the National Rivers Authority undertook strategic fish stock assessments in 1992 and 1995 on the River Bela catchment. These surveys found low numbers of brown trout {Salmo trutta) at some sites. Following this, habitat evaluation assessments were undertaken on the eleven poorest sites Factors probably responsible for declining trout populations on the three main tributaries of the Bela catchment include: Overgrazing by farm stock; Lack of suitable cover for parr; the absence of suitable spawning areas; existing potential of certain areas within the catchment not being utilised, due to poor dispersal. Habitat Improvement Schemes (H.I.S) are discussed and prioritised.