Define the Coastal Zone System to be studied by ascertaining that all primary functionality is within the boundaries of the specified ‘virtual system’.

Subtask Description:
Define the Coastal Zone System to be studied by ascertaining that all primary functionality is within the boundaries of the specified ‘virtual system’.

Action points of the implementation:

Draw a geographic map showing the main features of the CZ to be included in the ‘virtual’ System; include the ‘real’ boundaries if known, and the ‘virtual’ System boundaries.
Identify vertical structure that is important to the ecosystem’s functioning, and include in the ’virtual’ System.
List the main ecosystem components, and their main internal transformations, to be included in the ‘virtual’ System.

Area:
Firth of Clyde, Loch Fyne, Scotland

Policy Issue:
Implications of increased leisure and tourist use of the Firth of Clyde

Human Activities:
Tourism, aquaculture, fisheries, maritime transport

General Information:
As the Scottish Government aims to keep pace with global tourism trends and achieve 50% revenue growth, with social, economic and environmental stability, a study was made to examine the potential for future development of the sailing industry in the Firth of Clyde. The study suggested that the Clyde estuary could double its berthing capacity for recreational boating by 2015, but this created several stakeholder concerns relatively to the impacts of increased leisure boating to other resource users, particularly mussel aquaculture and navigation, especially in relation to competition for space and water quality.

Example of Implementation:
The Clyde Sea is fjordic, relatively enclosed with basins of maximum depth exceeding 180 m and a sill of depth about 50 m at the southern end. Weak tidal currents and continuous river input lead to almost permanent stratification. A long residence time for the bottom waters also attaches interest to their nutrient regeneration and benthic uptake of oxygen

The recreational boating industry, tourism and shellfish aquaculture are significant sectors in the socio-economics of the Firth of Clyde. An increase in recreational boating activity is expected to result in development of additional mooring and step-ashore facilities around the region, resulting in localised direct impacts to the ecosystem. The increased number of boats is also expected to have a negative impact on water quality, particularly through increased nitrogenous waste and leaching of antifouling paints. Changes in water quality are likely to have a concomitant impact on the local ecosystem, particularly in regard to phytoplankton and shellfish production, and potentially on the recreational value of the area.

It is anticipated that the policy issue will be investigated using different approaches at different scales. More specifically we hope to undertake an observational study at the marina scale to look at the impact of a marina / mooring site on the benthos; we aim to construct a numerical model to investigate the leeching of antifoulings at zone B (water body) scale, focusing on Loch Fyne and to construct an economic model at a regional scale.

Table 1 : The main ecosystem components, and internal interactions and transformations, to be included in the 'virtual' System of the Loch Fyne.

Impacts	State Components (amounts)	Input, loss, transformation (rates)	Mappable
Reduced water quality in the Clyde system	Bathing water – total coliforms faecal coliforms faecal streptococci WFD – quality status of monitored sites	wastewater discharge sites industrial discharge points nutrient discharge sites Waste water discharges from marinas and boasts (estimates) Primary production?	Designated bathing waters WFD monitoring sites
Competition and conflict for space and resources e.g. moorings, infrastructure	Numbers of marinas / moorings and leisure infrastructure by size Land tenure / zoning	Number of proposed developments by sector e.g. leisure / aquaculture / infrastructure Investment in new leisure facilities Leisure visitors per annum for sailing and wildlife watching	Zoning and tenure
Disturbance to marine wildlife & ecosystems from leisure operations e.g. wildlife watching, strikes, anchors etc.	Records of wildlife strikes and interactions or infringements Status of species and habitats in region (e.g. MCS database)	Leisure visitors per annum for sailing and wildlife watching Number of proposed developments by sector e.g. leisure / aquaculture / infrastructure	Not generally
Habitat loss from infrastructure development e.g. marina's etc	Status of coastal areas under legislation Presence of special sites e.g., SSSIs etc	New marina and infrastructure developments and expansions Investment Land tenure changes	Sites of conservation significance
Socio-economic development in rural communities	Employment by sector Unemployment Education and skill levels Value of marine leisure industry Income distribution / socio-economic index	New business start ups in region Value of leisure industries to the economy Investment and development applications Tourism visits by season Local and regional GDP by quarter Income over time	no
Safety incidents and severity	Number and severity of accidents Number of RNLI boat/tourism/leisure related call-outs	Rate / numbers of visitors, boat trips. Leisure trips by craft?	no

Contact:
C. Whyte, C.Whyte@napier.ac.uk