We’ve been working hard over the last summer and are excited to announce we are now offering more services in Aquatic Ecology including:
- Water Framework Directive Assessments;
- River Habitat Surveys;
- River Condition Assessments, linking with Biodiversity Net Gain; and
- Electro Fishing.
Director Anthony Mellor has spearheaded the growth in this part of our business and along with colleagues within the RammSanderson team has undertaken a suite of external training to add to our competencies and added: “this is an area of Ecology that has always really interested me and I’m really excited and proud to be adding to our strengths with these services which sit so well alongside our current capabilities”.
River Condition Assessments
Staff have recently qualified to conduct a River Condition Assessment utilising the combination of the Modular River Survey (or MoRPh) field survey and River Type desk-based survey techniques. Based on a variety of indicators, from sediment composition and river bank structure, this assessment enables our staff to assess the condition of watercourses potentially impacted by development, and input this into DEFRA’s Biodiversity Impact Assessment baseline assessment.
Following this baseline assessment, our staff are also able to model potential enhancement strategies to work towards achieving a biodiversity net gain within the Rivers section of the Biodiversity Impact Assessment.
River Habitat Surveys
We have also recently completed further training on River Habitat Survey with the River Restoration Centre (RRC). The River Habitat Survey is a tool for monitoring river habitat; assessing impacts of development using a number of indexes following a standard methodology for assessing hydromorphology as part of the Water Framework Directive.
Electro Fishing
Staff have also recently attended the Institute of Fisheries Management (IFM) Electric fishing certification course in the safe use and practice of electric fishing. Fish surveys are completed when considering the condition of watercourses and is a key index when assessing WFD status and habitat quality. Surveys can be completed to determine the presence or likely absence and population assessment. In certain circumstances projects involve working within or the crossing of watercourses with direct impacts during construction. Electric fishing can be used to safely rescue and move fish prior to works commencing.