BEAULY SYSTEM FISH AND FISHERY ACTION PLAN ... - RAFTS

12 th January 2009RAFTSCapital Business Centre24 Canning StreetEdinburghEH3 8EGAttn: Callum Sinclair, DirectorSCOTTISH WATERCastle House6 Castle DriveCarnegie CampusDunfermlineKY11 8GGT: 0845 601 8855F: 01383 848323W: www.scottishwater.co.ukDear CallumResponding to the draft Fisheries Management PlansWe are aware that the Fisheries Trusts in Scotland have recently produced draftfishery management plans for consultation. Some of these plans have come toScottish Water for comment. We would like to take this opportunity to make thesame information provided in response to these plans, available to each of theFisheries Trusts through RAFTS and explain the process by which Scottish Waterbecomes involved in fishery matters, as this may be of use in your future work.Scottish Water welcomes the development of fisheries management plans, as theyhave the potential to be a valuable source of information about the environment. Welook forward to seeing the documents in their final form.As background information please note that Scottish Water is funded, via customercharges and government borrowing, to deliver projects defined by MinisterialObjectives and this work is conducted through the Quality and Standards process.SEPA, as our environmental regulator, sets priorities for both sites to study andlocations where improvements in our assets are required, both for water resources andfor waste water. Scottish Water favours an approach that allows us to study aproblem e.g. fish passage at a site or removal of an abandoned structure, in oneinvestment period, with any construction or mitigation works following in asubsequent period. Scottish Water is not in a position to finance projects or work on adiscretionary basis, as all investment is conducted through the Quality and Standardsprocess.Scottish Water also has duties as a responsible authority under the Water Environmentand Water Services Act (WEWS). This means that we take part in the Area AdvisoryGroups (AAG) for River Basin Planning. Therefore, if the Fisheries Trusts are awareof any sites where Scottish Water assets (either water resources or wastewater assets)are potentially causing a problem for fish, it is appropriate to draw these to theattention of SEPA and the local Area Advisory Group and include Scottish Water inany correspondence or discussions. We encourage Fisheries Trusts to take this48