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1 Eve O'Sullivan Subject: Attachments: Importance: SFPC Dumping at Sea Application EPA Ref: LT04 RPS to EPA Additional 1nformation.pdf High From: Sheila Downes Sent: 14 March :47 To: Tara Higgins Subject: SFPC Dumping at Sea Application EPA Ref: SOO19-01 Importance: High Tara, Please find attached a further letter in response to the DAU submission on the Shannon Foynes Port Company East Jetty Dumping at Sea Application which we would appreciate is taken into consideration on preparation of the associated Dumping at Sea permit, Kind Regards Sheila Sheila Downes Bsc (Hons) PgDip MSc MCIWEM CSci CEnv C.WEM Senior EngineerlScientist - RPS Consulting Engineers, Unit 33, Innovation Works, National Technology Park, Limerick. Ireland Tel: +353 (0) Fax: +353 (0) Direct: +353 (0) www: Sheila.Downes@rpsqroup.com RPS Group Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of RPS Group PIC. RPS Group Ltd is the parent company in the Republic of Ireland for all Irish subsidiary companies, namely: RPS Consulting Engineers Ltd and RPS Engineering Services Ltd. The Registered Office of each company is: West Pier Business Campus, Dun Laoghaire, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and each company is registered at the Irish Companies Registration Office in Dublin. Details of the companies registered numbers are as follows: RPS Group Limited - Registration Number: RPS Consulting Engineers Limited - Registration Number: RPS Engineering Services Limited - Registration Number: This has been scanned by the Symaiitec Einail Security.cloud service. For more information please visit litt~:// 1

2 RPS, Unit 33, Innovation Works, National Technology Park, Co. Limerick. Republic of Ireland T 4353 (0) F +353 (0) web-site: rpsgroup.com/lreland Dr Tara Higgins, En vi ron men ta I Licensing Frog ra m me, Office of Climate, Licensing & Resource Use, Environmental Protection Agency, PO Box 3000, Johnstown Castle Estate, County Wexford 14 h March 2014 Re: - Shannon Foynes Port Company Application for a Dumping at Sea Permit -Additional Information Our Ref: R:\IBE0867 SFPC D@S Application 201 3\East Jetty Capital Dredging D@S Application EPA Ref SOO19-01 Dr Higgins, Further to correspondence from the statutory authorities which were up-loaded to the EPA D@S permit viewer associated with application SOO19-01 please find below additional information. Dr. Simon Berrow of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation carried out a marine mammal survey as part of his overall investigations in relation to the East Jetty Land Reclamation project at Foynes, Co. Limerick. The full report outlining the results of the static acoustic monitoring carried out can be found in Appendix 1 - Marine Investigations Final Report and were supplied as part of the planning application and associated Dumping at Sea Application. The investigation and subsequent incorporation of appropriate mitigation measures into both the accompanying EIS and in particular the Habitats Directive Assessment Natura Impact Report took cognisance of the DAHG Guidance to Manage the Risk to Marine Mammals from Man-made Sound Sources in lrish Waters. The mitigation measures which have been proposed for this project are taken from this guidance and adhere to the strict requirements there in. This is the most relevant and only guidance available from the DAHG in relation to the potential impacts from man-made sound sources in Ireland on Marine Mammals and therefore it is concluded given its most recent publication to be the most relevant piece of guidance and most accurate in terms of mitigation potential affects. Furthermore Dr. Berrow in conjunction with Dr Joanne O Brien has prepared the following Marine Mammal Risk Assessment to further inform the decision in relation to an application for a Dumping at Sea permit to the EPA associated with the East Jetty Reclamation project. The Shannon Estuary is the most important habitat for bottlenose dolphins in Ireland. Research since 1993 has shown that the dolphins are resident, occur throughout the year and that it is an important calving area (Berrow et al. 1996; lngram 2000). Historical references suggest the dolphins have been in the estuary since at least 1835 (Knott 1997) and probably much longer. A recent study on genetics of bottlenose dolphins in Ireland suggested that the bottlenose dolphins in the Shannon Estuary are genetically discrete and thus of very high conservation value (Mirimin et a/ ). The Lower River Shannon is the only candidate Special Area of Conservation (csac) for bottlenose dolphins in Ireland. Shannon dolphins have been recorded in Tralee Bay where dolphins were recorded 24km west of the boundary of the Lower River Shannon csac (Ryan and Berrow 2013). No Shannon dolphin was recorded by O Brien et a/. (2009) despite dolphins from other parts of Ireland exhibiting long distance movements around the entire Irish coast. Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI 2oM)4.

3 Dolphins have been recorded throughout the Lower River Shannon SAC but highest concentrations occur in the outer estuary off Kilcredaun Head and off Moneypointrrarbert in the middle estuary (Ingram and Rogan 2002). A recent survey during the winter suggested dolphins frequently range upriver and are as abundant in the mid-estuary around Tarbert and Foynes, as during the summer (Berrow 2009). The dolphins exhibit a classic fission-fusion social structure with high mixing and no strong association between individuals (Foley et al ). Several population assessments of bottlenose dolphins have been carried out in the Shannon Estuary since 1997 with the most recent in 2010 (Ingram 2000; lngram and Rogan 2003; Englund et al. 2007; 2008; Berrow et a/. 2010). Estimates ranged from in 2006 to 107 f 12, CV = 0.12 in Although elevated in 2006, all other estimates, were within % of each other, which is remarkably consistent and all within 95% Confident Intervals. This suggests that, within the power of the survey technique, the bottlenose dolphin population in the Lower River Shannon csac is relatively stable. The use of Fovnes Island bv bottlenose dobhins Since research on the bottlenose dolphins in the Shannon Estuary started in 1993, most survey effort has been in the middle and outer estuary with relatively little work carried out upriver of Tarbert, CO Kerry. Boat-based surveys during the summer months have consistently shown that bottlenose dolphins are frequently observed from the Shannon ferry with peaks from May to September and especially on an ebb tide (Berrow et al. 1996; lngram and Rogan 2002). Observations of bottlenose dolphins up river in the inner estuary are scarce due to lack of survey effort. Berrow (2009) carried out boat-based transects up river between Kilrush and Shannon Airport throughout the winter (November to March) over a three year period. He recorded bottlenose dolphins on 70% of boat transects with a total of 11 sightings. Five of these (45%) were between Bolands Buoy and Foynes Island and showed that bottlenose do regularly travel upriver of Tarbert, at least during the winter. The SDWF have carried out 14 dredge monitoring operations at Foynes Harbour to meet obligations under Dumping at Sea permits (Table 1). Dredge material removed from Foynes Harbour was dumped at the same site during each license. This site is that proposed as the dump site for the present application and occurs within the Lower River Shannon csac. Most of the previous dredge operations were carried out during the winter with only two during summer (Table 1). Single sightings of bottlenose dolphins were recorded in winter and summer. During a total of 45 days of observations dolphins were observed on only two days. Table 1. Dolphin observations during Marine Mammal Operations (MMO) in the area of interest near Foynes Harbour (SDWF Unpublished Dredge Monitoring Reports) I I Datestarted I Date finished I Duration. I Dolphins recorded Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Plarming 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI

4 Static Acoustic Monitorinq Static Acoustic Monitoring has been carried out at Foynes Island using PODS. PODS are self contained click detectors which log the echolocation clicks of porpoises and dolphins. Once deployed at sea, the POD operates in a passive mode and is constantly listening for tonal clicks within a frequency range of 20kHz to 16OkHz. When a tonal click is detected, the POD records the time of occurrence, centre frequency, intensity, duration, bandwidth and frequency of the click. A POD was deployed from 21 January to 12 July 2001 at the crossing of the Bord Gais pipeline, just west of the channel into Foynes Harbor on the west side of Foynes Island and within the area of interest for this proposed project (Berrow 2001). This was the first time this equipment was used in Ireland and was used to assess the impact of rock armour deployment on the gas pipeline crossing the estuary. During this six month deployment, dolphins were detected acoustically on seven occasions in five different months and observed on two occasions. More recently CPODs have been deployed each year off the north side of Foynes Island since 2009, providing high quality acoustic monitoring data. CPODs were suspended from the old jetty which is approximately 900m from the edge of the proposed dump site. The spatial scale of acoustic monitoring using CPODs is limited, with a detection distance for clicks estimated to be around 800m. Although this detection distance does not span the entire dump site any dolphins in the vicinity of the dump site should be detected. Acoustic monitoring was carried out by O Brien et a/. (2012) from Foynes Island for two full years between January 2009 and February During this period bottlenose dolphins were detected acoustically on 41 % of days with a peak in detections in the spring which gradually decreased throughout summer and autumn. Detections were lowest during the winter. (O Brien et al. 2012). Diel cycle was also found to be significant, with higher detections during the night and morning and lower detections during the day and evening. A further 12 months of acoustic monitoring was carried out by O Brien and Berrow (2012) from November 2011 until November 2012 at the same site and this showed that dolphins occurred on 47% of days, though the duration of each detection period was small ranging from 1-24 minutes per day on days with detections. Season also had a significant effect on the presence of dolphins at the site with a peak in detections recorded during the spring and at night. Tidal cycle and tidal phase were not found to be significant factors influencing dolphin presence off Foynes Island. The results of these studies are very consistent suggesting the presence of dolphins is consistent throughout the year but they tend to be passing through the site rather than spending extended periods, such as that associated with an important foraging area (see O Brien et a/. 2012). A CPOD was also used to monitor Foynes Harbour for bottlenose dolphins between February and October 2010 during this EIA study. During 176 days of acoustic monitoring dolphins were detected on 75 days (42%) although for only very short durations (mean = 0.87 Detection Positive Minutes per day on days with detections). Although monitoring within the harbour was restricted to the period February to October, detections were very low and no seasonal pattern was suggested. The presence of dolphins between November and January is likely to be similarly infrequent and transient in nature. Underwater noise characteristics The potential for disturbance to bottlenose dolphins is probably greatest when elevated levels of underwater noise are considered. Cetaceans have well developed acoustic capabilities and are sensitive to sound at much higher frequencies than humans (Richardson et a/. 1995). They are less sensitive to lower frequencies than humans as humans have peak sensitivity at around 4 KHz. There is still great uncertainty over the effects of sound pressure levels on marine mammals. Dredqinq Dredging at the site will be carried out to depths down to -19.3m Ordnance Datum Poolbeg to allow soft sediments to be replaced with rockfill in order to improve the structural performance of the proposed retaining wall. Seabed conditions comprise uncompacted clays and silts overlying sands and gravels, which then overlies limestone, depending on location. Dredging will be required in these uncompacted clays and silts, with no rock dredging anticipated. The anticipated dredge duration is not expected to exceed 6-8 weeks in total at Foynes Port. Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning & Environment Registered in Norfhern Ireland No. NI 20604

5 The soft overlying silt material is unsuitable for use in the works and therefore this will be removed by the use of a submersible dredge pump, and disposed of at a suitable sea disposal site by barge. A typical submersible dredge pump is illustrated in Plate 1.I. Plate 1.1 Typical Submersible Dredge Pump Dredging will take place along the rear of the existing jetty after the main retaining wall has been installed. Various types of dredging technique can be used to remove the overlying silts however restrictions with available access and reach of feasible dredging equipment mean that dredging will most likely be carried out from above the existing jetty structure using a submersible dredge pump, suspended from crane machinery operating from on top of the existing jetty. While dumping from the barge is taking place in the estuary noise levels will remain constant as a) the submersible pump (while not up taking silt) will continue to operate on a neutral basis up-taking and pumping water and b) the associated crane machinery will move along the jetty to get into position for the return of the barge both of these elements will therefore ensure no break in works as per the DAHG guidance. Therefore, there will be no requirement for additional soft starts by night once dredging has commenced as the low level noise produced by the dredge operation will continue while dumping takes place. A summary of typical sound sources arising in the marine environment from man-made sources is shown in Table 2. Received levels of dredging noise by cetaceans can exceed ambient levels to considerable distances depending on the type of dredger used (Richardson et al. 1995). Hopper dredges produce broadband sound between Hz with the highest levels occurring during loading. Dredging is considered to be at the lower end of man-made noises in the marine environment with typical source levels of db at low frequencies at around 20Hz to 20KHz with main energy <I KHz which is below the auditory threshold of bottlenose dolphins. Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI

6 Table 2. An overview of biological and manmade sound sources listed in decreasing order of source levels at Im. Evans (2000) suggested dredging activities produce sounds varying from db re 1 ypa at 1 metre over the broadband range 45 Hz to 7 khz but there have been no studies examining the reaction of dolphins to this activity. Audiograms for bottlenose dolphins show peak sensitivity between khz and no sensitivity below 2 khz and above around 130 Khz (Richardson et a/. 1995). Because of rapid attenuation of low frequencies in shallow water dredge noise normally is undetectable underwater at ranges beyond 20-25km (Richardson et a/. 1995). Richardson et a/. (1995) referred to two studies on the reaction of bowhead and right whales to dredging. Neither showed significant reaction or displacement and it was thought these whales accommodated quickly to dredging noise. There have been no further studies on the effects of marine dredging on marine mammals (Nowacek et al. 2007). The effects of low frequency (4-8 khz) noise level and duration in causing threshold shifts in bottlenose dolphins were predicted by Mooney et al. (2009). They found that if the Sound Exposure Level was kept constant significant shifts were induced by longer duration exposures but not for shorter exposures. They found that short duration exposures require greater sound energy to induce Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) but predicting TTS in odontocetes is complicated and a logarithmic algorithm was suggested for inducing TTS and also for recovery. The broadband sound generated by DOP Pump Dredging equipment which will be used for the East Jetty Reclamation Project are at the lower end of the spectrum detectible by bottlenose dolphins thus disturbance from the noise generated will be minimal. Noise generated during dumping is considered minimal. The sediment being dumped is 100% silt and thus will not create elevated noise from hitting the seabed during dumping. Indeed the strong current at the dump site will see the silt dispersed before it reaches the seabed. Thus the proposed noise generated during dumping is considered minimal and most likely below ambient noise levels, especially during strong tides when ambient noise levels increase. In addition during the course of dumping of dredge spoil from Foynes Port to the approved dump site a barge will be used to convey the dredge spoil to the dump site. This barge will move at Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading os RPS Planning 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI

7 approximately 5-6 knots while traversing the estuary from the harbour to the dump site. The anticipated noise levels associated with such a barge are deemed to be of such a low level, below all background noise levels produced by shipping in the estuary on a regular and daily basis and of such a nature as not to cause any effects on the resident group of bottlenose dolphins in the estuary. Risk of interaction The potential probability of an encounter with the barge can be calculated based on the extensive research of the site and knowledge of how it is utilized by bottlenose dolphins. Acoustic monitoring has shown bottlenose dolphins occur at the site for around 40-50% of days (less in the winter, higher in the spring) and for a duration per encounter of 1-24 minutes. There may be up to four encounters per day but on some days there was only one encounter. Thus, on any given day they are at the site for only very short periods. Given that the barge will be dumping spoil >10 times per day with the total time the barge is on site <20 minutes, and actually dumping spoil <I minute per operation, the probability of dolphins and dredger interacting with each other is very low. Clearly the probability of encounters between dumping operations and dolphins is extremely low. Figure 1.0 Location of dumping site and track of dredger during operations in February 2008 (from O Brien and Berrow 2008) Dumping of dredge spoil is carried out while underway by the dredger. There is no change in direction or velocity during release of the dredged material and the dredger is emptied in less than 1 minute before turning and returning to Foynes Harbour. Thus the time period for interactions with dolphins is extremely small. The risk of any negative interactions can be further reduced during the day through provision of an MMO carrying out visual monitoring and during the night through the use of real-time acoustic monitoring. Daylight monitoring by an MMO can also validate the results from passive acoustic monitoring through documenting the presence of dolphins. The risk of collision The collision risk is considered extremely low as marine mammals in the area are exposed to large vessels on a daily basis and would be aware of their presence. Acoustic monitoring adjacent to the site suggests that while dolphins are present between 40-50% of days they are only present for short periods and are thought to be transiting the site, thus the risk of collision is extremely low. The sound of the vessels engines will alert the dolphins to its presence thus minimising any risk of collision. The Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8. Environment Registered in Norlhern Ireland No. NI

8 dumping vessel or barge are slow moving (5-6 knots) and not able to turn quickly thus any animals in the area would have sufficient time to avoid any potential collisions. There are no records of ship collisions with bottlenose dolphins in the estuary, despite it being a very busy wateway with daily ship traffic. Indeed bottlenose dolphins frequently bow-ride large vessels in the estuary, demonstrating their ability to move around active vessels without fear of injury and at significant speed. Dolphins in the Shannon Estuary are exposed to motorized vessels of all size but including large vessels on a daily basis and would be aware of their presence. The dumping vessel or barge are slow moving (5-6 knots) and not able to turn quickly thus any animals in the area would have sufficient time to avoid any injury. Sini et al. (2005) showed bottlenose dolphins resident in the Moray Firth, Scotland generally exhibited a positive reaction to medium (16-30m) and large vessels (>30m) and showed some evidence of habituation. The risk of collision is considered zero. Dredge material has been removed from Foynes Harbour in the past and disposed of in the main channel of the estuary to the east of the entrance to Foynes Harbour. Thus this would not be a new activity and bottlenose dolphins are use to the activities of dredgers. The potential disturbance or injury from motorized vessel of dolphins within Foynes Harbour is considered extremely low as dolphins are very infrequently in Foynes Harbour. The use of an MMO will further reduce the potential for collision during the day by ensuring all marine mammals are absent from an agreed buffer zone prior to vessel movement. Dolphins also occur at night when visual monitoring is ineffective, but the vessel noise will still alert dolphins to its presence and the slow, limited manoeuvrability of the vessel will also mitigate against any risk of collision. In the unlikely event of dolphins being present in large numbers or for extended periods at the dump site adaptive management will provide feedback to the dredge operator regarding permission to dump. Potential disruption of critical periods in the life cycle The risk of disrupting the life cycle of marine mammals in the area is considered extremely low. This is not considered a feeding area (O Brien et al. 2012) and there is no evidence that calves are born in this area during the summer months. Bottlenose dolphins are primarily transiting the area and even if the proposed activity could cause temporary displacement from the immediate area, which is not considered extremely unlikely, this effect would be very be short-term (<30-60 minutes). Secondary impacts due to localised disruption of normal ecological activity Secondary impacts due to localized disruption of normal ecological activity are considered extremely unlikely due to the infrequent and transient nature of dolphins in the immediate area of the Foynes Harbour and transient nature in adjacent waters. Identification of potential measures which may be implemented to further mitigate any low level potential effect Comprehensive mitigation measures to reduce the impact of the proposed land reclamation are outlined in the EIA. This requires the presence of a suitably qualified Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) to ensure no bottlenose dolphins are within an agreed buffer zone during disposal of dredged material and to carry out a 30 minute watch prior to commencement of dredging operations. The proposed land reclamation at Foynes Harbour does have the limited potential to disturb bottlenose dolphins during construction as dolphins are known to use the site but only very infrequently. Any disturbance however is likely to be of very short duration and very low intensity. However in order to ensure this disturbance does not displace dolphins or degrade this habitat for dolphins an agreed buffer zone between the reclamation works and the dolphins should be enforced and operations ceased if dolphins enter this zone. Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI

9 The SDWF considers it unnecessary to undertake further acoustic monitoring at night due to extremely low probability of interaction between dredging vessels and dolphins and the low risk of an effect even if there are dolphins present during dredging or dumping operations. The Shannon Estuary has been studied extensively since 1993 with good data available on the use of the site by dolphins, largely through the provision of static acoustic monitoring devices off Foynes jetty. Although there is always uncertainty in assessing environmental impact the uncertainty with respect to this proposal is very. The potential for interactions between dolphins and dredge/dumping operations is extremely low and the possible effects on dolphins if interactions do occur are minimal if they occur at all. Summarv During a total of 45 days of observations associated with dumping at sea campaigns, dolphins were observed on onlv two davs. The results of the various acoustic monitoring studies undertaken in particular surrounding Foynes Port and Foynes Island are very consistent suggesting the presence of dolphins is consistent throughout the year but they tend to be passing through the site rather than spending extended periods, such as that associated with an important foraging area (see O Brien et al. 2012). While dumping from the barge is taking place, the submersible pump and associated crane machinery will move along the jetty to get into position for the return of the barge this will ensure no break in works as per the DAHG guidance. Therefore, there will be no requirement for additional soft starts by night once dredging has commenced as the low level noise produced by the dredge operation will continue while dumping takes place. The broadband sound generated by DOP Pump Dredging equipment which will be used for the East Jetty Reclamation Project are at the lower end of the spectrum detectible by bottlenose dolphins thus disturbance from the noise generated will be minimal. Noise generated during dumping is considered minimal. The sediment being dumped is 100% silt and thus will not create elevated noise from hitting the seabed during dumping. Indeed the strong current at the dump site will see the silt dispersed before it reaches the seabed. Thus the proposed noise generated during dumping is considered minimal and most likely below ambient noise levels, especially during strong tides when ambient noise levels increase. During the course of dumping of dredge spoil from Foynes Port to the approved dump site a barge will be used to convey the dredge spoil to the dump site. This barge will move at approximately 5-6 knots while traversing the estuary from the port to the dump site. The anticipated noise levels associated with such a barge are deemed to be of such a low level, below all background noise levels produced by large shipping in the estuary which takes place on a regular and daily basis and of such a nature as not to cause any effects on the resident group of bottlenose dolphins in the estuary nor will it lead to any potential risk of collision given its slow movement. The overall probability of a dolphin being present at or in the vicinity of the dump site at the same time as the barge is extremely low given the results of previous acoustic monitoring. The SDWF considers it unnecessary to undertake further acoustic monitoring at night due to extremely low probability of interaction between dredging vessels and dolphins and the low risk of an effect even if there are dolphins present during dredging or dumping Operations. The Shannon Estuary has been studied extensively since 1993 with good data available on the use of the site by dolphins, largely through the provision of static acoustic monitoring devices off Foynes jetty. Although there is always uncertainty in assessing environmental impact the uncertainty with respect to this proposal is very. The potential for interactions between dolphins and dredge/dumping- operations is extremely low and the possible effects on dolphins if interactions do occur are minimal if they occur at all. Given the scientifically supported consideration of potential impacts undertaken above from the proposed operations it is concluded that the risk to cetaceans is extremely low to negligible and subsequent to the application of the proposed mitigations measures outlined within our planning application and associated dumping at sea application will not lead to significant effects. We trust that this further analysis serves to alleviate any concerns which may exist in relation to the potential for Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8 Environment Regislered in Nocthern Ireland No. NI

10 impacts associated with noise and collision risks in particular associated with the East Jetty Reclamation Project and the associated Dumping at Sea Operations. Kind Regards, La Sheila Downes, RPS Senior Scientist On behalf of Shannon Foynes Port Company Enc Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI

11 References Andre, M., Schaar, M. van der, Zaugg, S., Houegnigan, L., Sanchez, a.m. and Castell, J.V. (2011) Listening to the Deep: Live monitoring of ocean noise and cetacean acoustic signals. Marine Pollution Bulletin 63, Beck, S., O Brien, J., O Connor, I. and Berrow, S. (2013) Assessment and Monitoring of Ocean Noise in Irish Waters. STRIVE Report W-MS-6. EPA STRIVE Programme O Brien, J. and Berrow, S. (2008) Shannon Foynes Port Company Dredge Report. Unpublished report to SFPC by the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation. February O Brien, J., Beck, S., Wall, D. and Pierini, A. (201 2) Developing Acoustic Monitoring Techniques. In (Eds. Berrow, S.D., O Brien, J., O Connor, I., McGrath, D. and Wall, D.) Marine Mammals and Megafauna in lrish waters - Behaviour Distribution and Habitat Use. Final Report to Marine Institute and the National Parks and Wildlife Service under the Seachange Initiative. 81 pp. O Brien, J. and Berrow, S. (2012) The use of deep-water shipping berths by bottlenose dolphins in the Shannon Estuary. Unpublished report to RPS as part of the Strategic Infastructure Framework Plan for the Shannon Estuary. November 2012 Ryan, S and Berrow, S. (2013) An Extension to the Known Home Range of Shannon Estuary Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu 1821)). Irish Naturalists Journal 32(1), Dublin I Belfast I Cork I Galway I Limerick I Letterkenny RPS Ireland Limited trading as RPS Planning 8 Environment Registered in Northern Ireland No. NI

12 Appendix 1 Marine lnvesitgations Final Report

13 I Shannon Foynes Port Company- Land Reclamation Environmental Impact Statement Marine Mammals 5.0 CETACEANS 5.1 INTRODUCTION This chapter presents the findings of the Cetacean survey. The Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation (SDWF) carried out inter-tidal and sub-tidal flora and fauna surveys, marine and terrestrial mammal surveys and explored the commercial and recreational fisheries at the site. The site is part of the Lower River Shannon candidate Special Area of Conservation (csac) (Site code 01265) which is designated for six species (including otter, bottlenose dolphin, salmon and three species of lamprey) and fourteen habitats (including mudflats and sandflats and shingle beach), including one priority habitat (lagoon). The Shannon and Fergus Special Protection Area (Site Code 4077) is adjacent to the site but the site is not within its boundary. The results of these investigations are presented in Chapter 5 - Cetaceans and Chapter 6 - Terrestrial Mammals, Inter-tidal and Sub-Tidal Flora and Fauna. 5.2 MARINE MAMMAL SURVEY The main marine mammal of interest is the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops fruncafus), which is resident in the Shannon Estuary. The Lower River Shannon is a candidate Special Area of Conservation for this species and thus any activity which may disturb the dolphins or degrade their habitat must be fully assessed. In order to provide high quality data on the presence of bottlenose dolphins in the vicinity of Foynes, Static Acoustic Monitoring (SAM) was used to monitor the site acoustically. Static acoustic monitoring (SAM) can be achieved with the use of devices called C-PODS. C- PODS are self contained click detectors which log the echolocation clicks of porpoises and dolphins. Once deployed at sea, the C-POD operates in a passive mode and is constantly listening for tonal clicks within a frequency range of 20kHz to 16OkHz. When a tonal click is detected, the C-POD records the time of occurrence, centre frequency, intensity, duration, bandwidth and frequency of the click. Internally, the C-POD is equipped with a Secure Digital (SD) flash card, and all data are stored on this card. Dedicated software, CPOD.exe, provided by the manufacturer, is used to process the data from the SD card when connected to a PC via a card-reader. This allows for the extraction of data files under pre-determined parameters as set by the user. Additionally, the C-POD also records temperature over its deployment duration. It must be noted that the C-POD does not record actual sound files, only information about the tonal clicks it detects. SAM can be carried out independent of weather conditions once deployed and thus ensures high quality data is collected but only at a small spatial scale (typically around 800m radius for dolphins). A detection range of up to 1250m for bottlenose dolphins was estimated in the Shannon Estuary by Philpott et al. (2007) using Version 3 T-PODS (the C-PODS predecessor), but the majority of detections occurred within 500m. T-POD detection distances of 200m for the /EISOl/September Group

14 Shannon Foynes Port Company- Land Reclamation Environmental Impact Statement Marine Mammals harbour porpoise were estimated by Tougaard et a/. (2006) and 300m to 500m by Villadsgaard et a/. (2007). As C-PODS are only available since September 2008, there is no published material yet available on the detection range of these devices. Trials were carried out in 2009 in the Shannon Estuary to estimate a detection distance of C-PODS for dolphins. Preliminary results suggest a detection range of between 500 and 800m for bottlenose dolphins (O Brien et al. in prep). Trials carried out in Cardigan Bay suggest a detection distance of over 500m for bottlenose dolphins (Peter Evans pers. comms). Further theoretical testing of C-PODS in control tanks has been carried out by Line Kyhn and colleagues at the National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark and they suggest C- PODS should have a detection distance of about 250m for harbour porpoises in the field, while field trials carried out by O Brien et a/. (in prep) reported similar detection distances. Two individual C-POD units were deployed singularly at one location between 23 February and 25 October Calibration of equipment was essential in order to compare results between units. Chelonia Ltd, the manufacturers of C-PODS, calibrate all units in the lab under controlled conditions to a standard prior to dispatch but Chelonia highly recommend that further calibrations are carried out in the field if used in monitoring programmes (Nick Tregenza pers comms). Field calibrations aim to assess differences in sensitivity between units (O Brien 2009), and also facilitate comparisons between datasets collected in different areas using multiple loggers (Dahne et a/. 2006). This is especially important where projects employ several units aimed at comparing detections across a number of sites. If units of differing sensitivities are used, then these data do not truly reflect the activity at a site. For example, a low detection rate may be attributed to a less sensitive POD, with a lower detection threshold, which in turn leads to a lower detection range, while the opposite holds for a very sensitive unit. It is fundamental that differences between units are determined prior to their deployment as part of any project, to allow for the generation of correction factors which can be applied to the resulting data. Field trials are carried out in high density areas in order to determine the detection function (O Brien et a/. in prep). The field calibration of new units should be carried out in conjunction with a reference C-POD, where a single unit is used solely for calibrations and is deemed a reference. This allows for the incidence where new units are acquired over the course of a project to be calibrated with the reference. The mooring line consisted of a single rope suspended from the quay wall, with a line running to a free hanging weight (20kg). At approximately mid-water a loop was etched in the line and the C-POD units were shackled secure. The units are positively buoyant, but salmon float are attached to them to ensure they stay upright even in heavy seas and strong currents /EISOl/September

15 Shannon Foynes Port Company- Land Reclamation Environmental Impact Statement Marine Mammals C-POD unit Figure 5.1 Mooring system used to deploy C-PODS of the Quay Wall at Foynes Port. C-POD.exe, the dedicated software VI.054 (latest version, May 2010) provided by the manufacturer was used to process all C-POD data files (cp.1files processed to output cp.3 files). Only dolphin click trains in the train filters High and Mod were used for analyses. These options included a combination of clicks classed as being of high probability cetacean origin and clicks classed of lower probability cetacean origin. Dolphin detections were extracted as detection positive minutes per day and per hour. Although some dolphin clicks could be detected in the porpoise channels, the setting of the click bandwidth used should have greatly reduced this incidence. The term DPM represents the number of minutes in a day or an hour that dolphins were acoustically detected. 5.3 RESULTS A total of two calibration trials were carried out in the Shannon Estuary over the duration of this study. This was due to the acquisition of new equipment over the duration. Firstly, two units were calibrated in the Shannon Estuary prior to their deployment in February This calibration trial was carried out in June 2009 for 24 days. Results from this trial showed that the application of a correction factor was not necessary for these two units as their total Detection Positive Minutes per day (DPM) and mean DPM1hr-l were so similar, showing there was little variation in sensitivities between units (Figure 5.2, Table 5.1). A second trial on C488 was carried out in March 2010, against C172. Again results were found to be very similar and hence removed the necessity to apply a correction factor to the resulting data (Table 5.2) /EIS01/September

16 Shannon Foynes Port Company- Land Reclamation Environmental Impact Statement Marine Mammals Table 5.1 Results of calibration trials for C-PODS C172 and C167 C-POD Number 167 I 172* *reference unit Total deployment Total DPM Mean No. of DPM/hi days I I Table 5.2 Results of calibration trials for C-PODS C172 and C488 I I I I I C-POD Number Total deployment Total DPM Mean No. of DPM/hi days * I *reference unit) Calibration results DPM per day from Shannon Estuary trials... ww0wr.r.r.r.r.r.r.r I m m m m m m m m m m m m ~ ~ ~ N N N N N N N N N r n m r. m - ~ m m r. m ~ r n m N N N N *. I lo8 I Calibration results DPM perday from Shannon Estuary trials A... - Cl72 -C N N N N N N N N N N N N N N m m m m m m m m m m m u u u ~ m m r. r n d m m ~ m ~ ~ u o - ~. - ~ ~ ~ N N N N N ~ O O O Figure 5.2 Calibration results DPM per day from Shannon Estuary trials A total of 176 days were monitored at Foynes Port Jetty for bottlenose dolphins during three periods of monitoring using two different CPODs. COD 167 was deployed from 23 February to 9 April (45 days), CPOD 488from 9 April to 3 June (55 days) and CPOD 167 again from 10 August to 25 October (76 days). The CPOD failed to log between 3 June to 10 August (67 days). Over the monitoring period dolphins were detected on from 27 to 47% of days (mean = 34% of days). A total of 162 DPM were recorded with a mean on 0.87 DPM per day (Table 3). When recorded, there was only one encounter per day and the duration of encounters were short with only 6 (3.4%) greater than 4 minutes (Figure 5.3) /EISOl/September Group

17 Shannon Foynes Port Company- Land Reclamation Environmental Impact Statement Marine Mammals Table 5.3 Summary of results from acoustic monitoring using CPODS. POD No. CF Deployment No. of % of days Detection Positive Mean DPM/day No. Monitoring days with Minutes (DPM) detections I N/A I 1 I 45 I 29 I 42 I 0.94 I 488 I N/A I 2 I 55 I 27 I 31 I 0.55 I 167 I I 76 I 47 I NA - Not Applicable 89 I I Detection positiveininrites per clay over the srirvqdurntioii (n=176clays) Figure 5.3 Number of DPMs per day from February to October 2010 from Foynes Jetty 5.4 DIEL ACTIVITY C-POD data files in the format of Detection Positive Minutes per hour (DPM/h-') were divided into day and night-time using local times of sunrise and sunset times, obtained from the U.S. Naval Observatory ( Results showed that of the 176 DPM recorded, 135 DPM (76%) were detected at night, with only 41 DPM (24%) of the detections during daylight hours, suggesting that dolphins are using this upriver site more frequently at night, maybe as there is less human activity and thus are rarely observed. Bottlenose dolphins were frequently recorded acoustically in the vicinity of Foynes. Recent trials in the Shannon Estuary suggest a detection distance of around 800m for bottlenose dolphin so we should detect any dolphins entering the harbour or occurring at the harbour entrances. With this range, dolphins may have been in the area to the east or west of the harbour and would still have been detected /ElSOl/September Group

18 Shannon Foynes Port Company- Land Reclamation Environmental ImDact Statement Marine Mammals 5.5 SUMMARY In summary, the site of the proposed land reclamation is of no significant ecological value. The site largely comprises inter-tidal mud and is greatly disturbed by human activity and ship berthing. While bottlenose dolphins were frequently detected acoustically in general bottlenose dolphins are very rarely recorded in Foynes harbour. With an estimated detection distance of around m, dolphins may be detected in the approaches to the harbour in either the west or east channels without dolphins actually entering the harbour area. Loss of inter or sub-tidal habitat is not thought to have any effect on the dolphins. However as dolphins were recorded frequently during the survey period they should be taken into account during construction. 5.6 MITIGATION In order to ensure no dolphins are affected by the proposed land reclamation a Marine Mammal Observer (MMO) should be used during activities which might disturb dolphins. This includes dredging and dumping of spoil or activities such as pile driving which may create sound pressure waves. Bottlenose dolphins have been shown to be capable of detecting noise from this activity up to 10-15km away (David, 2006). The buffer zone to be monitored should be agreed with NPWS but we recommend m. This is in line with current NPWS guidance Code of Practice for the Protection of Marine Mammals during Acoustic Seafloor Surveys in lrish Waters. The surveys should be carried out by a suitably qualified Marine Mammal Observer and Marine Mammal Recording Forms should be returned to NPWS following the completion of works /EISOl/September