Diving Services Framework 2022

The management of Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) should aim to achieve the ‘favourable conservation status’ (FCS) of habitat and species features. Features can be: an entire habitat; a range of plant/animal communities; an individual plant/animal community; or individual species. In the case of SACs, the features are the habitats and/or species listed in Annex I and Annex II of the Habitats Directive for which the individual MPAs were designated. To inform management and enable reporting on the FCS of the subtidal aspects of the SACs, NRW undertakes diving monitoring work. A monitoring work programme has been established for each statutory site by NRW. The programme, or parts thereof, will be implemented by the contractor working as part of a team alongside NRW specialist staff. NRW in conjunction with specialist diving biologist contractors completed multiple field seasons of diving monitoring work across Wales. Techniques include well-established Marine Nature Conservation Review methodology (Phase 2 level survey, Hiscock 1996) as well as developing and adapting techniques such as fixed-point quadrat sampling and video and digital stills photography to assess the various attributes of reefs in the Welsh SACs.