Abstract
Anthropogenic pressures on the marine environment have escalated and shellfish habitats have declined substantially around the world. Recently, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have rapidly increased in number, but management baselines rarely account for historical conditions. Marine examples of habitat restoration are therefore unusual.An interdisciplinary review of management baselines was undertaken for the Dornoch Firth protected area (NE Scotland) as well as three adjacent inlets and 50 km of open coastline. The protected area has low levels of industrial development, is sparsely populated, and previously achieved management objectives.Here we systematically searched for historical evidence of native oyster (Ostrea edulis) beds, a habitat now rare and of conservation importance throughout Atlantic Europe. Archaeological records, navigational charts, historical maps, museum collections, land-use records, fisheries records, public online databases and naturalists' records were searched. We conducted intertidal and subtidal surveys and sample oyster shells were radiocarbon dated.The combined interdisciplinary sources showed that O. edulis occurred in the inlets and open coast areas of NE Scotland, and specifically in the protected area: Probably since the end of the last glaciation to the late 1800s when they were likely over-fished. Present environmental conditions are also suitable for oyster restoration.Habitat restoration in protected areas is an emerging global theme. However, European oyster restoration effort is currently confined to remnant populations with a clear history of exploitation or dwindling associated fisheries. An interdisciplinary review of baselines will probably show scope for the restoration of O. edulis, for nature conservation, in many other European MPAs.
Highlights
The decline in the condition of the marine environment has been linked to the historical dependence of human societies on the sea as a source of food, natural resources and transport (Jackson et al, 2001; UNEP, 2006)
Archaeological records indicate that the first known human inhabitants of the Dornoch Firth area can be traced to the Mesolithic Period after the last glaciations, when the shoreline had retreated to approximately its present position (Doody et al, 1996; Fletcher, 1998)
The Glasgow Museum has a collection of Mesolithic and Neolithic remains from the Meikle Ferry midden
Summary
The decline in the condition of the marine environment has been linked to the historical dependence of human societies on the sea as a source of food, natural resources and transport (Jackson et al, 2001; UNEP, 2006). As human populations have grown, so too have the pressures on coastal areas where people have preferred to settle (Ray and McCormick-Ray, 2004).These pressures include overfishing, physical damage to benthic habitats, pollution and eutrophication but overall, they are evident globally and are intense in Atlantic Europe (Halpern et al, 2008). In Europe the environmental legislation that facilitates the creation of MPAs includes the Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD: 2008/56/EC) and related domestic legislation within member states (see Frost et al, 2016). In the UK, MPAs account for 16% of the sea area and, in keeping with other Atlantic European countries, just under half of these are Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) designated under the EU Habitats
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