COUNTRYSIDE COUNCIL FOR WALES
YNYS MÔN GLANNAU PENMON I FIWMARES
Date of Notification:
Site Area: 170.1 ha
Introduction:
This management statement contains CCW’s opinion of the way in which the SSSI should be managed in order to maintain its special interest. It also provides a basis for future discussions and decisions on the conservation management of the SSSI. It is important that any works described in this statement are fully discussed with and formally consented by CCW, before any of these management activities are started.
The document sets out a vision for the features of interest; it describes the key issues affecting those features and outlines any management considered necessary to safeguard the features.
It is very important to recognise that management may need to change with time. Problems that we are aware of today may be resolved or completely removed and new unforeseen problems may arise. New improved management techniques may also become available. Consequently the management outlined in this document is considered appropriate for the short term but may need to change in the long term.
Features of Special Scientific Interest:
The best examples of the communities of animals and plants typical of mixed sediment and of muddy gravel shores between Bardsey Island and Great Orme’s Head.
Four communities of restricted national distribution:
Piddocks burrowed into lower shore limestone overgrown with serrated wrack.
Sponges, sea-squirts and serrated wrack on tide-swept lower shore rock.
Sponges, sea-squirts, red seaweeds and serrated wrack found on a tide-swept mixture of mud, sand, cobbles and pebbles.
Lower shore muddy gravel inhabited by a diverse group of small marine worms.
Two species-rich communities of marine plants and animals:
Sponges, sea-squirts and sea-mats on bedrock overhangs.
Serrated wrack and various animals under lower shore boulders.
The most extensive muddy gravel and mixed sediment shore between Bardsey Island and Great Orme’s Head.
A succession of ice age sediments exposed in the soft coastal cliffs and foreshore at Lleiniog, which provides evidence for environmental conditions between 10-24,000 years ago.
As well as the features listed above, Glannau Penmon i Fiwmares SSSI has other habitats that contribute to the special wildlife interest. These include other marine communities and maritime cliffs. This diversity of habitats is important for a wide range of species. Except where specified below, management of this site should aim to look after these habitats as well as the listed features of interest.
An excellent example of the communities typical of mixed sediment and of muddy gravel shores.
Fifteen marine communities typical of mixed sediment and/or muddy gravel have been recorded at the site, making it the best example of such shores in this area. This range of communities should be maintained, subject to natural variation in the marine environment.
Four communities of restricted national distribution.
The important lower-shore communities dominated by seaweeds, piddocks, sponges, sea-squirts and worms should continue to be found on the site and should not decrease significantly in extent, subject to natural variation in the marine environment.
Two species-rich communities of marine plants and animals.
The bedrock-overhang and under-boulder communities on the site should continue to be found here. Each contains at least ten major groups (‘phyla’) of plants and animals (such as worms, sponges, red seaweeds, shelled-animals) and the overall diversity of species in each community is high. The presence and diversity of these communities should be maintained, subject to natural variation in the marine environment.
The most extensive muddy gravel and mixed sediment shores in the area
The area of the shore should be maintained at the level recorded in CCW’s survey of 2000/2001, subject to natural changes. The quality of the component communities, as described above, should be maintained also.
A succession of ice age sediments exposed in the soft coastal cliffs at Lleiniog.
The coastal cliffs and foreshore at Lleiniog should be maintained in as natural state as is possible, and continue to be unobscured.
Key Management Issues:
Natural cycles
Communities on this shore are subject to natural fluctuations in distribution, extent and species composition, attributable in part to random events such as storms and other seasonal and temporal changes. It is important to monitor the communities carefully so that natural cycles can be distinguished from human influences.
Recreational pressure
Trampling, as a result of intense visitor pressure, can have a detrimental impact on shore communities. However, it is not thought that recreational use of the shore is detrimental to the marine features at present. If trampling is perceived to be a factor in future, CCW will work with owners, occupiers, interested parties and other agencies to provide information to visitors regarding the biological sensitivity of the site, with the intention of minimising disturbance to important features.
Bait collection
The collection of bait for fishing is recognised as a legitimate activity on the shore. Bait collection at the site involves boulder turning for “peeler crab” (crabs that have recently shed their shell, so are soft to touch), digging for lugworm and ragworm, or placing bait-collecting structures on the shore. Bait collection within the communities of interest may have some detrimental effect on the associated plants and animals. The nature and scale of bait collection should be monitored, to enable better understanding of its likely impact.
CCW does not propose a ban on such activities, but we are concerned about the sustainability of bait collecting in the Menai Strait as a whole. We consider that sustainable management of bait collection throughout the Strait could be achieved through the interested groups and individuals agreeing practices that balance the needs of bait collectors with those of other interests, including habitat and species conservation. The needs of commercial bait collectors must also be recognised and accommodated in the Strait in appropriate locations.
Recreational Fishing
There is currently no evidence that recreational fishing (angling, shrimping etc) is causing any significant damage to the marine communities of special interest on this site. There are no proposals to restrict such activity.
Commercial Fishing
There is currently no significant commercial fishing within the site. If any such operation is proposed CCW will work with the relevant bodies to avoid damage to the features of importance.
Boat mooring
The placement and use of boat mooring structures can cause localised damage to the soft sediment communities of interest on this shore, but it is considered that the existing moorings do not pose a significant threat to the integrity of the site. If further moorings are required they should be sited in the least sensitive habitats at the site, in consultation with CCW.
Coastal protection
Erosion is a natural process that is integral to the quality of the shore and therefore proposals to carry out works which could disrupt the erosion of the cliffs, such as the building of sea defences, are likely be discouraged to maintain the interest of the site. Issues of overriding public interest will, however, be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Pollution
The marine communities are vulnerable to pollution from land and sea, such as oil spills, sewage outfalls and fertiliser run-off from farmland. Nutrient enrichment of the shore could adversely affect the diverse balance of life in the marine communities for which the site is notified and should, therefore, be prevented or, in the case of outfalls and drains, carefully sited after liaison with CCW. Precautionary measures to guard against such pollution will be encouraged by CCW working together with other statutory organisations with responsibility for pollution control, e.g. the Environment Agency. CCW, together with a number of other statutory agencies and other organisations is already involved in pollution contingency planning work and would work with these groups to try to minimise the impact of a pollution incident.
Ice-age sediments at Lleiniog
Coastal protection
Coastal defence works pose the principal threat to the geological interest. If such measures were taken in front of the cliffs at Lleiniog the geological interest at the site would be substantially obscured and natural erosion of the cliff sediments, leading to fresh exposure of stratified features, would be prevented. This would lead to a build-up of slumped material, damaging the geological interest.
Bait collection
The geological interest extends onto the foreshore at Lleiniog and therefore bait digging has the potential to damage and disturb these deposits and should be discouraged there.