2.7. Seabird Compensation Monitoring Protocol

85. It should be noted that the approach to Seabird Monitoring would be the same regardless of whether Option 1 and Option 2 was progressed.
86. The final approach to seabird monitoring would be detailed within the Seabird Compensation Monitoring Protocol. This would be developed by the Applicant (to be consulted upon with NatureScot and RSPB and approved by the Scottish Ministers) as part of the Shadow SA4 SMP or Closure Mechanisms Plan.
87. An indicative outline approach to monitoring seabirds is included here for information.
88. A tiered approach to seabird monitoring is proposed. The primary monitoring would need to include the primary data sources used to measure seabird demographic rates, as considered in the FCM Evidence Report.
89. Secondary monitoring of seabird colonies predicted to be impacted by the Proposed Development would also be needed. This would include monitoring of seabird population size on a regular basis, and the continued ongoing monitoring of productivity of key colonies within those SPAs.
90. Finally, tertiary monitoring of SPAs within SA4 predicted not to be impacted, but where qualifying features likely forage within SA4 would be needed. It is proposed that this would be more limited, to plot counts within, or close to, the SPA, rather than total SPA counts.
91. This tiered approach to seabird monitoring presents an opportunity for collaboration with other developments in the Forth and Tay region to contribute to funding seabird monitoring on a strategic basis due to a common interest in monitoring seabirds in the area providing a potential route to facilitate compensation for other offshore wind farms (as set out in paragraph 45 above), if required.

Primary Seabird Monitoring

92. Primary monitoring of seabirds would address the following key elements of the compensatory measures assessment:

• Seabird return rates;
• Seabird productivity;
• Seabird population size;
• Seabird foraging behaviour; and
• Seabird diet/chick provisioning.

93. For marked birds to be observed, the marking of birds would be continued throughout the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development. Return rates are the most basic of information gathered from re-sightings of marked birds, with further analyses required to estimate the apparent survival of birds. These analyses take account of re-sighting probability to estimate annual adult survival. In future, these analyses would also be more useful in assessing whether changes occur due to changes in sandeel stock biomass.
94. Seabird foraging information would be gathered to measure the effects that sandeel stock biomass has on the foraging behaviour of birds. It is likely that tracking of individual birds using suitable tags on a sample of birds will be important. It is likely that this can only be applied to kittiwake, guillemot and razorbill. At present, tag effects on puffins are too great to reliably inform their foraging behaviour and there may be negative effects on the productivity of marked birds. If this situation should change, future tagging of puffins may be considered. There are likely to be several key outcomes from tagging studies including: changes in foraging range due to changes in sandeel stock biomass and/or changes in sandeel spatial distributions relative to breeding colonies, and changes in trip duration due to changes in sandeel stock biomass and/or spatial distribution.
95. Deployment of breeding adult guillemots and razorbills of GLS tags (‘geolocators’) to monitor nonbreeding season distribution and Time-Depth-Recorders (TDR tags) to monitor diving activity would provide highly informative data on the energy budgets of these birds as influenced by sandeel stock biomass. This could give insights into the causal mechanisms underpinning higher survival of these seabirds in years with higher abundance of sandeel and help to define more clearly the threshold abundance of sandeel needed to sustain these populations. Such deployments would not be possible with puffins as the available TDR tags are currently too large for that species. As a surface-feeding seabird, TDR tags would not be appropriate to deploy on kittiwakes, but GLS tags could be deployed to monitor winter distributions of kittiwakes. Previous GLS deployments on Scottish kittiwakes show that these birds disperse across the North Atlantic after the breeding season.
96. One of the key outcomes from the proposed sandeel fisheries compensatory measure is greater availability of sandeel to the key species assessed above. This element could be monitored through study of the diet of seabirds breeding at relevant SPAs. This work would be discussed with UKCEH, NatureScot, Natural England and RSPB  as part of the preparation of the Seabird Monitoring Programme.

Secondary Seabird Monitoring

97. Secondary seabird monitoring would focus on the effects of the proposed compensatory measures on SPAs predicted to be impacted by the Proposed Development. Within these SPAs there have been regular counts of the key species and ongoing productivity plots. For each of these sites it would be important that monitoring annual monitoring is continued.

Tertiary Seabird Monitoring

98. Finally, monitoring of colony size and productivity changes at SPAs within SA4 that are not predicted to require compensation would be needed, but on a less frequent basis (e.g. every three years, or every five years). No tracking or diet studies from tertiary colonies is recommended, as these sites lack previous long-term monitoring for making valid comparisons of any changes that may occur as a result of the proposed compensatory measures.

2.8. Programme for Implementation and Delivery

99. Programmes 4 and 5 below present the indicative programmes for the implementation and delivery of Option 1 and Option 2 compensatory measures. These programmes provide a timetable for implementation and delivery of both options to deliver the compensatory measure, as well as a monitoring and reporting schedule. It should be noted that both options would continue throughout the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development however for the purposes of the programme only five years of monitoring and reporting are shown.

2.9. Adaptive Management

100. It is recognised that the issues facing sandeel in SA4 and the seabirds which feed on them may change over the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development and the Applicant is committed to take appropriate action in the event that seabird monitoring shows the compensatory measure are is not offsetting the effects of the Proposed Development.
101. The concept of adaptive management is central to the design and evolution of ecosystem-based fisheries management as the control measures are considered and re-assessed on an annual basis as a result of changes in the whole ecosystem which are known through an annual monitoring programme (as shown in Figure 2).
102. The main drivers of adaptions within Option 2 are the outputs from the seabird and sandeel monitoring. The sandeel monitoring will enable TSB to be calculated on an annual basis and identify areas and sub-areas where stock may be increasing or decreasing. Management of these sub areas will take different approaches with various control measures implemented to ensure overall SA4 stock is recovering whilst allowing fisheries to open and be managed in a sustainable manner. The results of the seabird monitoring acting as an ecosystem trigger also adds another layer of adaption to the SA4 SMP ensuring overall coherence of the marine ecosystem.
103. This ecosystem-based approach provides a unique opportunity for collaboration with other developments in the Forth and Tay region which could contribute to monitoring and sandeel management. This provides a potential route to facilitate compensation for other offshore wind farms (as set out in paragraph 45 above), if required. Increased sandeel monitoring at a finer scale will provide more data and contribute to the management of SA4 and setting of TAC to allow sustainable use of the fisheries. In addition, further contribution to, or involvement in, seabird monitoring can expand the programme providing more data and information on the effects of offshore wind farms on seabirds as well as effects of impacts on the sandeel population on seabirds.
104. The overall adaptive approach to managing SA4 and the pressures it experiences will also mean that other external factors which may affect sandeel, such as climate change, or factors facing seabirds, such as avian flu, will be considered within this ecosystem approach. Given the uncertainty in the effects of climate change on plankton affecting sandeel, and hence seabird populations, the monitoring of sandeel stock in SA4, and the subsequent control measures which can be adapted and managed on an annual basis, will take account of potential changes in climate.
105. Beyond option 1 and option 2, further adaptive management actions could be put in place to implement additional actions on scallop dredging or other fisheries (e.g. sprats) which seabirds feed on.
106. There could be further opportunity to explore cessation/reduction in scallop dredging in the Firth of Forth Bank Marine Protected Area (MPA) and overlapping Outer Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay Complex SPA to reduce harm to sandeel in their spawning zones. There is considerable uncertainty in the efficacy of restricting scallop dredging in order to benefit sandeel and it has not yet been possible to quantitatively predict the benefits of such a measure to the qualifying features of SPAs. However, this may be developed as part of the adaptive management plan, allowing gathering of the relevant information to predict the benefits to SPA seabirds should the proposed measures not be sufficient.
107. In addition to this, the Applicant has also taken a tiered approach to adaptive management measures considering the package of compensatory measures proposed within this document. Consideration of tiered approach to adaptive management is presented in section 5.

3. Rat Eradication: Handa

3.1. Introduction

108. This compensatory measure proposes to eradicate the brown rat Rattus norvegicus from Handa, an island off the northwest coast of Scotland. Following eradication the Applicant will implement biosecurity measures, implement appropriate seabird habitat management, undertake monitoring and address any re-incursions.
109. The objective of this measure is to increase black-legged kittiwake, common guillemot, Atlantic puffin, and razorbill populations on the island through the removal of predation pressure from brown rats.
110. The Colony Compensatory Measures (CCM) Report submitted as part of the Derogation Case assesses the benefits expected from this measure and finds that island populations would increase following a successful eradication campaign based on analyses from raw colony count data has been obtained. Kittiwake, guillemot, puffin and razorbill are the key conservation targets of this measure, but several other species (non-target species) that currently breed on the island, or have done in the past, may also benefit. The conservation target of this compensatory measure is to increase kittiwake, guillemot, puffin, and razorbill populations on Handa to 11,838, 84,354, 1,784 and 10,647  adult birds respectively throughout the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development. The explanation and justification of these conservation targets are provided within the CCM Evidence Report.
111. Further information regarding this compensatory measure is provided in section 2 of the Colony Compensatory Measures (CCM) Evidence Report
112. This compensatory measure will follow on from a previous eradication attempt on Handa, as well as trials to assess the efficacy of self-re-setting traps (A24 traps) in a control context around seabird colonies (“the Handa Biosecurity for LIFE project”), which is due for completion in 2023.

3.2. Securing and Implementing the Compensatory Measure

113. As part of the Section 36 consent for the Proposed Development, licences will be issued by Scottish Ministers which will detail conditions which the Applicant must adhere to, or discharge. It is anticipated that a condition will be included by the Scottish Ministers with regards to securing compensatory measures. A draft condition has been provided by the Applicant in section 6.5.
114. This compensatory measure involves various stages comprising pre-eradication monitoring, eradication, implementing biosecurity, post-eradication monitoring (both in the immediate term and long term), seabird monitoring, seabird habitat management and implementing an incursion response plan in case of re-incursion. As such there are different approaches required to secure and implement the various stages. It should be noted that the Applicant will fund this compensatory measure, including continued management of biosecurity, and any eradication associated with re-incursion events during the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development.
115. Handa Island is managed by Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and is part of the Scourie Estate. It should be noted that Scourie Estate is supportive of the proposed compensatory measures and owns a large amount of the adjacent mainland that could be maintained as a rat free buffer. The Applicant is in the final stages of negotiating Heads of Terms with SWT and Scourie Estate to allow this measure to be implemented and monitored for the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development, as outlined above.

3.3. Implementation Mechanisms

116. Rat eradication at Handa will be implemented in four stages. Each stage is comprised of several sub-tasks, as outlined below. It should be noted that all stages will be designed to be compatible with the Biosecurity for LIFE guidance[2] and will build on the work undertaken as part of the Handa Biosecurity for LIFE project. The Applicant will develop, manage and implement each of these stages with input from specialist eradication experts and SWT as required.

• Pre-eradication

–      Condensed Assessment and Feasibility Study

–      Communications and Engagement Strategy

–      Operational Plan

• Health and Safety Plan
• Non Target Species Management Plan
• Waste Management Procedures

–      Pre-eradication Field Studies

• Eradication Preparation
• Seabird Census
• Vegetation Assessment
• Predation Monitoring

–      Establish Biosecurity Plan

• Eradication and intensive monitoring

–      Establishment of rodenticide grid

–      Rodenticide baiting

• Improvements to seabird nesting habitat (where required)
• Monitoring, reporting and adaptive management

–      Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Pre-Eradication

Condensed Assessment and Feasibility Study

117. The presence of brown rats on Handa is well evidenced, most recently through the Handa Biosecurity for LIFE trail, as discussed in the CCM Evidence Report. Using information from this trial a Condensed Assessment and Feasibility Study will be undertaken considering UK Rodent Eradication Best Practice Toolkit (Thomas, Varnham, and Havery, 2017). This study will assess the abundance and distribution of rats on the island, its islets and the mainland foreshore. This study will also include collation and assessment of seabird census data to report on the trends in the numbers of the target seabirds. An assessment of nesting habitat available to key species, supported by information from seabird colony assessments, will also be undertaken. Observations on the availability of unoccupied habitat that could support an increased number of target seabirds will also be included. A key part of this Condensed Assessment and Feasibility Study will also be to will also be to assess and extract relevant learning from the previous eradication measures on Handa that led to the incursion.
118. The available information from previous studies confirms that eradication of brown rats is a feasible option to increase seabird numbers on Handa and therefore this Condensed Assessment and Feasibility Study will inform the preparation of an Operational Plan to deliver and implement the eradication programme, and the associated monitoring, reporting and adaptive management required both for the eradication programme and seabird habitat enhancement.

Communication and Engagement Strategy

119. Once plans and further studies are undertaken, as described below, key stakeholders will have the opportunity to comment on the planning and requirements of the eradication and ongoing biosecurity and be engaged throughout the operation of the compensatory measure.
120. Stakeholders will be informed about all aspects and stages of the compensatory measure and engaged throughout the implementation, and monitoring stages of the project. To facilitate this a Communication and Engagement Strategy will be prepared to ensure stakeholders are kept engaged and informed.
121. This strategy will outline the approach to communicating and engaging with stakeholders, members of the public and the media. Some examples of information that this may include are:

• Using key applicable information from the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use (CRRU). CRRU has developed a good practice leaflet on the use of rat poison and the threats to wildlife (CRRU 2021). This leaflet outlines methods to prevent rodent infestations, methods to control rats, information on trapping, rodenticides and resistance and the dangers to wildlife (particularly raptors and other birds of prey) for the general public.
• Strategy to engage with visitor boat operators regarding the purpose of eradication and the implementation of biosecurity measures
• The erection of information boards and notices on Handa to notify people of the programme and provide warnings and risk information regarding the bait stations and the presence of rodenticides.
• Clear warning signs (detailing the eradication, bait station design and danger from bait) would be placed on Handa at all suitable landing beaches. Warning labels will be placed on all bait stations advising visitors not to touch the stations or bait.

122. Whilst the Communication and Engagement Strategy will be developed at the outset of the project, it will be updated and adapted during the lifetime of the measure, depending on outcomes of the eradication programme and the implementation of biosecurity measures.

Operational Plan

123. In advance of commencing an eradication programme an Operational Plan will be developed. The Operational Plan will be informed by all other eradication campaigns previously undertaken on Handa. This will include a full review of the planning documents from the Handa Biosecurity for LIFE Project. The Operational Plan will define the following:

• Scope and method statements
• Approach to permitting
• Organisational arrangements
• Health and Safety Plan

–      A detailed information sheet outlining the hazards associated with the proposed rodenticide will be prepared for the eradication team as part of the Health and Safety plan prior to operation. This will include:

• Requirements of Control of Pesticides Regulations 1986
• Safe working procedures
• Emergency preparedness
• Waste management (It is important that alternative food is not available to rats on Handa during the eradication. Waste will be collected by the team and transported back to the mainland for disposal. Waste bait, rat carcasses and used monitoring tools will be disposed of at a registered landfill or incineration facility)

• Specialist subcontractor engagement (rope access and horticultural services),
• Mitigation planning
• Non-target species management plan
• Approach to adhering to Communication and Engagement Strategy
• Long term monitoring and biosecurity planning.

124. A number of Health, Safety and Environmental requirements will need to be met prior to the operational phase of the proposed eradication. These include, but are not limited to, Animal Ethics approval to undertake key species research and monitoring and training of operational staff in rodent control (as required).. The Applicant will ensure these requirements are adhered to in advance of commencing eradication and does not consider there would be any impediment to obtaining these approvals due to the following a similar approach to other eradication campaigns previously undertaken on Hanna.
125. The proposed rat eradication operation on Handa will be assessed using the internationally recognised ethical principles of Humane Vertebrate Pest Control developed by RSPCA Australia (Humane Vertebrate Pest Control Working Group, 2004). The proposed eradication operation satisfies all the criteria of the Humane Vertebrate Pest Control principles.
126. The subsections below provide more detailed information on some of the above aspects which are likely to be included within the Operational Plan.

Pre-eradication Field Studies

127. Key species monitoring and field studies will be undertaken prior to, during and after the proposed eradication.
128. Monitoring projects on Handa will be established as part of the proposed eradication project. Monitoring will commence in the spring and summer ahead of a winter eradication to enable baseline information to be collected, this is outlined in section 3.5. This monitoring will continue for two years after the eradication phase. A detailed Evaluation and Monitoring Plan will be prepared to ensure relevant, robust, and accurate data collection procedures, data storage and analysis. Further information on the approach to monitoring and reporting is discussed in section 3.4.
129. Seabird habitat field measurements (ledge dimensions, soils structures etc), testing for positioning of anchor stations for any rope access, and a seabird census will be undertaken with a full colony baseline count using recognised methods as detailed in Walsh et al 1995, including photographic records and digital mapping.
130. It is also important to assess the level of native predators (i.e. raptors and gulls) on Handa to determine what effect these species may have on the recovery and spread of seabirds on the island.

Biosecurity Plan

131. Once rats have been successfully eradicated from Handa, the priority is to ensure that they do not become re-established on the island. As such, an effective Biosecurity Plan will be developed and fully implemented prior to the eradication phase of the programme.
132. Biosecurity measures need to be put in place to ensure the rat-free status is maintained. Biosecurity planning involves the identification of risk species and potential ‘pathways’, such as boats, helicopters, visitors, lighthouse boards and construction work. Prevention measures are required to ensure that invasive species are not transported via these potential pathways. The Biosecurity Plan will be developed together with input from SWT who manage Handa as well as vessel operators.
133. The Biosecurity Plan will be based on approach and measures set out by Biodiversity for LIFE and will provide details to minimise the risk of accidental liberation of rats, and what measures should be taken if a rodent is sighted on the island. If rats are detected on Handa within two years, it is important to be able to distinguish between the failure of the eradication and a biosecurity failure. DNA samples of brown rats from Handa and other locations across the UK, and brown rats from nearby islands and the mainland will be collected and stored in advance of eradication. Trapping of rats and the use of trail cameras will be important to determine species to confirm eradication failure or incursion.
134. The greatest risk of reinvasion is from the mainland. Rodents can be accidentally transported by a number of means, such as local charter boat movements, visiting tourists, visiting researchers and private yachts visiting Handa. The Biosecurity Plan will ensure these visiting vessels will be advised of the rat-free status of Handa, through the Communication and Engagement Strategy, and asked to maintain vigilance. Quarantine practices from other islands (such as St Kilda, Lundy Island, Isle of Canna, St Agnes and Gugh, Shiants), for example may be able to be adapted for use on Handa.
135. As Handa is within swimming range of brown rats, biosecurity needs to be maintained for the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development. It will be important to educate local SWT staff or any other relevant agencies and stakeholders as well as the landowner to ensure that the biosecurity can continue to be implemented by these groups in the long-term. Data collection and management is important (particularly if incursions are detected and subsequently eradicated); all sightings and other rodent-related observations should be recorded and investigated.  
136. As part of the Biosecurity Plan an Incursion Response Plan will be prepared which comes into force should the reoccurrence of rats be detected. The quicker the response, the easier it is likely to be to initiate further removal and for this to be successful as only a few animals may be involved (Thomas & Varnham 2016).
137. It should be noted the Applicant will fund the preparation of the biosecurity plan and incursion response plan, as well as the continued implementation of associated biosecurity and incursion response measures.

Eradication and Intensive Monitoring

138. The proposals within this section provide an outline of the currently proposed approaches to eradication and monitoring. These approaches will be confirmed and agreed with stakeholders when preparing the operational plan.
139. The eradication programme on Handa will be a ground-based operation using bait stations. The use of anticoagulant rodenticides is currently the most widely recognised effective method of eradicating rodents from islands (DIISE, 2018), therefore anticoagulant rodenticide (or an alternative) will be positioned in a bait station spread in a 25 metre x 25 metre grid across the island (approximately 1300 bait stations).
140. Each bait station will have an individual number, plotted using GPS and all data put into a GIS-linked database. Once all the bait stations are in position on Handa, they will be left for one week or more (without toxin in them) so the rats become accustomed to them and accept them as part of the terrain. Following this the rodenticide will be added to the bait stations.
141. Bait stations will be checked a minimum of every two days, replacing bait as rats consume it. Partially eaten bait will be replaced with a new block. Old or partially eaten bait will be disposed of at a registered landfill or incineration facility as recommended by the safety data sheets. Checking bait stations enables constant monitoring of bait take and the resulting die-off of rats. The success of the eradication and any problems, which need to be overcome during the programme, require the detail of accurate recording.
142. Bait take will be recorded into GIS-linked database apps in the field for ongoing analysis.  Refinements to the eradication phase can be made from this real time data. Hot spots can be identified quickly and targeted throughout the programme allowing for real time adaptive management.
143. The eradication phase will be carried out in the winter when rodent numbers are naturally at their lowest, and when natural food supplies are low. This means that there are fewer rodents to catch, and those that do remain are more likely to take the bait in the absence of other food sources.
144. Baiting will begin in November and continue through to March (overlapping with the early intensive monitoring phase of the programme, as outlined in section 3.5). Any surviving rats or problem areas would be apparent by the end of December and could be treated with an alternative poison or techniques.

Improvements to Seabird Nesting Habitat

145. In addition to eradication, adaptions, improvements, or enhancements to nesting habitat for target seabird species will be implemented. This will be outlined in the Monitoring and Evaluation Plan produced as a result of the pre-eradication field studies. This will include options to accelerate occupancy of habitat by target seabird species.

Monitoring, Reporting and Adaptive Management

146. A Monitoring and Evaluation Plan will be developed by the Applicant in consultation with NatureScot, SWT and RSPB. Not only will this include details to monitor the success of the eradication programme but also will include seabird monitoring which will be required to establish whether the conservation targets are achieved. Further information on this is detailed in section 3.4 and considerations of adaptive management approaches are discussed in section 3.6.

3.4. Monitoring and Reporting

Approach to Monitoring

147. Successful implementation of the eradication will contribute to improving both the number of seabirds nesting on Handa and their breeding success.
148. As stated above, a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan will be developed, pre-eradication, which will outline the various stages of monitoring as well as including progress indicators to allow the Applicant to determine the success of the compensatory measure. The monitoring will be reported against the progress towards the conservation targets for each species throughout the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development. The stages of monitoring will include immediate monitoring, long term monitoring and seabird monitoring. These are outlined in turn below.

Immediate Monitoring

149. Once the baits have been set, early monitoring and surveillance is required to assess the success of the baits. This will involve maintaining bait stations, searching, recovering and disposing of rat carcasses, installing and maintaining a monitoring network and implementing local biosecurity measures (as discussed above). The Applicant will ensure there is sufficient resource and funding to identify any incursion and seek to intercept any rat before it can breed and re-establish a population, for example a biosecurity warden to lead on this with support from SWT staff as appropriate.
150. The coverage of the monitoring grid will extend beyond that of the bait stations; one monitoring point at the station and one in-between two stations. Each monitoring site will be checked every two days to detect rat sign (for example teeth marks or footprints or footage on camera). If any rat sign is detected, an intensive targeting programme would be started until rat sign in the area ceases.
151. All intensive monitoring points will be recorded on GPS, entered into the GIS-linked database, and mapped to ensure coverage of the island.
152. After about six weeks, bait take should be reduced to nil, with all the rats on Handa having been eradicated. During the following three months it is vital to establish an intensive monitoring programme to detect any rats which may have escaped eradication. A grid of rat-attractive food items as well as chew cards would be pegged out as monitoring tools. Tracking tunnels and trail cameras would also be used. Beach surveys for footprints in the sand would also occur.
153. It is expected that the monitoring phase of the programme would begin from mid-December following the eradication campaign. The bait station grid can be removed once the intensive monitoring phase has been completed and rat sign is absent. If rats are detected at the end of winter (i.e., February and/or March) a second baiting (i.e. during the following winter) and continued monitoring operation would be completed to finish the eradication.

Long-Term Monitoring

154. Following international best practice, long-term monitoring for surviving (or reinvading) rats will continue for two years between the end of the eradication phase before declaring the island rat-free. This is based on the average life expectancy of a wild adult rat (which is approximately 18 months).
155. The two-year long-term monitoring programme should be continued for at least every four weeks throughout the year to confirm the success of the eradication phase (i.e., to detect any surviving (or possible invasion) of rats). Permanent monitoring stations will be placed around the island (i.e., within known seabird areas, optimum rat habitat and in high-risk areas) to aid with detecting any surviving rats or intercepting invading rats.
156. Once the two-year monitoring phase has been completed and no rats have been detected, one further intensive island-wide monitoring check is completed. This involves putting a range of monitoring devices over the entire island and checking every two days for six weeks. Once this check is completed and no rats have been detected the island can be declared rat-free.
157. All long-term monitoring points should be recorded on GPS, entered into the GIS-linked database, and mapped to ensure coverage of the islands. Any sign or indication of rodents should be photographed and if possible, collected or sampled for expert opinions on identification.
158. This long-term monitoring for the presence of rodents after an eradication operation is done as part of the biosecurity programme and will be undertaken by qualified eradication specialists with support from SWT staff on the island. It is important to monitor using a range of detection devices (such as flavoured and plain wax, chew cards, traps, rodent motels, trail cameras and indicator dogs) and have a regular search effort. Low numbers of rats may take longer to detect than realised. It may also be possible to use the recovery of vulnerable species (such as puffin) or establishment of prospecting species (e.g. Arctic tern) to indicate that rats have been successfully eradicated.
159. It is important to use a variety of lures and monitoring techniques regularly throughout the biosecurity and long-term monitoring for rodent incursions. Periodic audits and on-going monitoring of these biosecurity measures will be completed to ensure compliance and support. It is important that all involved realise that biosecurity is a long-term ongoing commitment.
160. Protocols will be established, and outlined with the Communication and Engagement Strategy, during the eradication and training given to local SWT staff and the landowner to ensure that biosecurity measures are implemented alongside the long term monitoring, as funded by the Applicant.

Seabird Monitoring

161. Once the island is declared rat free, seabird monitoring would be undertaken. This will complement the existing monitoring currently undertaken as well as the monitoring undertaken by the SWT ranger and volunteer team (bird counts and productivity monitoring). the Monitoring Plan will be developed and agreed in consultation with SWT.
162. Monitoring may involve taking colony counts and recording data on productivity (i.e. number of chicks fledged per breeding pair). Colony counts would need to be undertaken using the published methodologies, which differ for each of the target species. To effectively monitor productivity, two to five visits may be required for Kittiwake, two to six visits for Razorbill, and two to four visits for Puffin. Monitoring Guillemot productivity is extremely difficult and would require three visits during late incubation/early hatching and visits every one to two days once most chicks are hatched (Gilbert et al. 1999).

Approach to Reporting

163. The monitoring outlined above should be considered as progress indictors to be used to measure the success of eradication (i.e. the island being declared rat free against the outcomes of seabird monitoring and the progress towards the conservation targets for each species throughout the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development. This will be detailed in annual monitoring reports. Although recovery is unlikely to occur in a linear fashion, as seabird counts always fluctuate, the conservation benefit (as outlined in section 3.1) is framed in annual terms to allow comparison with potential mortality estimates for the Proposed Development.
164. At the end of each year once the eradication programme has commenced an annual report will be produced. The annual monitoring report is likely to follow this structure:

• Overview of evidence of rat re-incursion (if any)
• Overview of implementation of biosecurity measures
• Overview of the results from seabird monitoring (section only included once island is declared rat free)

–      Colony counts

–      Mapping nest locations

–      Productivity monitoring

• Actions delivered

–      Actions to manage biosecurity

–      Actions to improve seabird habitat

• Identification of emerging issues
• Approach to biosecurity measures for the following year
• Approach to monitoring for the following year 

165. The annual monitoring reports and data collected would be shared with key stakeholders including SWT, NatureScot and RSPB and all data collected made publicly available where appropriate. The results of the monitoring report would be used to update the Biosecurity Plan and subsequent implementation of measures to improve seabird habitat.
166. If any re-incursions did occur and the Incursion Response Plan was implemented a report summarising the likely cause of the incursion, the approach taken for further eradication and adaptive management measures to be implemented would be prepared.

3.5. Programme for Implementation and Delivery

167. Programme 2 below presents the indicative programme for the implementation and delivery of this measure on Handa. This programme provides a timetable for implementation and delivery of the compensatory measures, as well as a monitoring and reporting schedule. I
168. The objective of this measure is to increase kittiwake, guillemot, Atlantic puffin and razorbill populations on the Handa through the eradication of rats. The Applicant is committed to keeping Handa rat free for the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development, however, the programme below only provides an outline of the monitoring and reporting schedule for five years post declaration of a rat free island, for illustrative purposes. Nonetheless, the Applicant will be undertaking annual monitoring and reporting for the duration of the operational lifespan of the Proposed Development and implementing incursion responses plans if re-incursion of rats ever were to occur. 

3.6. Adaptive Management

169. The approach to adaptive management for this compensatory measure is considered in two parts. Firstly, adaption in response to re-incursion or biosecurity failure, and secondly, adaption in the form of habitat management.
170. As outlined in section 3.1, maintaining the island rat free is key to achieving the objectives of the compensatory measures at Handa. Should the reoccurrence of rodents be detected the Incursion Response Plan will be implemented and followed. If re-incursion is a result of a failure of eradication, adaptive solutions may include different locations of bait stations, different bait, alternative rodenticide to be used or trapping for example. If re-incursion was a result of a failure in biosecurity measures the Applicant would seek to work with SWT, the qualified contractor, vessel operators and other visitors/users of the islands to understand why the biosecurity measure failed and implement alternative measures to ensure biosecurity was maintained. The Communication and Engagement Strategy would also be re-visited and adapted as appropriate. 
171. It is recognised that the issues facing seabirds on Handa may change over the operational lifetime of the Proposed Development and the Applicant is committed to take appropriate action should measures fail to work as expected. In the event that monitoring shows that the compensatory measures are not progressing towards their conservation targets (as defined in section 3.1), new measures would be developed or adaptions made to managing seabird habitat. Key to the success of this approach is for the annual monitoring reports to identify emerging issues, and where necessary gather data and develop adaptive management solutions and corrective measures. These adaptive management measures could include:

• Artificial ground cover could be considered as an adaptive measure following rat eradication, to further increase breeding performance at potential cliff-top breeding sites as well as artificial nesting boxes.
• Social attraction methods, such as playbacks and decoys, could be used to increase the likelihood of recruitment.
• Vegetation management, comprising reduction in height and density of grasses and shrubs and loosening of soils on tops of steep slopes may be adopted prior to the start of the nesting season to optimise conditions and create space and access for target seabird species, notably burrow nesting puffin.
• White paint could be used to simulate guano at potential breeding sites This could be used for the auks, potentially alongside the use of vegetation management, decoys and playbacks, with the aim of increasing colonisation rates following rat eradication.

172. This iterative and adaptive approach to implementation and monitoring is key to achieving the objectives of the compensatory measures at Handa.

In addition to adaptive management measures which are specific to rat eradication and seabird habitat management at Handa, the Applicant has also taken a tiered approach to adaptive management measures considering the package of compensatory measures proposed within this document. Consideration of tiered approach to adaptive management is presented in section 5.