Brief Company Portfolio September 2007

Company profile

Aquatic Survey and Monitoring Ltd is a co-operative consortium and a company limited by guarantee, which was formed in 2001 by the amalgamation of the sublittoral diving services sectors of three independent businesses, Aquatic Environments, Christine Howson and MarineSeen. More recently Jon Moore of CALM has joined the co-operative. These businesses have worked closely together over the past 10 years on many contracts for both UK Nature Conservation Agencies and private industry. The group members have a huge breadth of experience in marine ecological surveys gained through involvement in projects located throughout the British Isles. This work has included Phase 1 and Phase II survey work, trials for monitoring marine habitats throughout Great Britain, environmental impact assessments, offshore surveys, marine algal and faunal taxonomy and analytical quality control, data analysis, literature searches and report writing. ASML is a registered HSE diving contractor and is currently involved in a number of projects around the United Kingdom.

Personnel and Expertise

Each of the key staff for Aquatic Survey and Monitoring Ltd has over 20 years sublittoral ecological diving and intertidal survey experience. Specific areas of expertise are recognised in the following general areas:

nature conservation Phase I and II surveys;

laboratory and in situ invertebrate and algal identification;

long-term biological monitoring studies;

trials for monitoring studies;

underwater stills photography;

underwater video filming and production;

use of drop-down video and ROV;

biological data collation, statistical analysis and interpretation;

report writing and production;

provision of formal and informal advice towards the development of littoral and sublittoral monitoring techniques.

All four principal consultants have frequently been contracted by the UK nature conservation agencies and commercial companies to organise and assist with sublittoral and littoral survey work and report writing. Members of the team have also worked with quality management systems such as BS5750 (ISO 9000) and NAMAS within the scientific Civil Service in the past and bring this experience to the company.

1 Project management expertise

Each of the members of the team has considerable experience of running projects, from initial budgeting and planning to implementation and reporting. Projects normally involve close co-operation between two or more of the team and use and co-ordination of sub-contractors with expertese in disciplines such as laboratory identification, chemical and sediment analyses, GIS and data manipulation.

2 Participation in marine surveys

The group members have a huge breadth of experience in shore; diving and remote sampling surveys gained through involvement in projects located throughout the British Isles. This work has included both Phase 1 and Phase II survey work as well as offshore and inshore boat work for remote sampling. More recently, each of the consultants was involved in the early trials for monitoring marine protected areas (SACs) throughout Great Britain and the subsequent establishment of monitoring programmes in both the intertidal and subtidal environments. An indication of the breadth of this experience is shown below:

Subtidal monitoring trials in Sound of Arisaig (SNH), Loch Maddy (SNH), Wales (CCW); Berwickshire and North Northumberland (EN); Plymouth Sound (EN); 1999, 2000: CCW Sea Caves Survey of Wales 2000 to 2002. 2000: Author of JNCC guidelines on shore mapping in the Marine Monitoring Handbook. Joint leader of team to establish subtidal monitoring programmes in English marine SACs (EN), 2005 to present: Long term study on the impacts of industrial developments on maerl in Milford Haven, studies of offshore windfarms (Rhyll, North Wales),environmental assessment of the placement of the Wave Dragon wave generator (Pembrokeshire), CCW intertidal monitoring (2007 to 2009), Sponge monitoring in Skomer MNR, Phase 1 shore surveys in Lewis and Little Loch Broom for assessment of cable landfall sites for Briggs / Scottish & Southern Energy.

1987, 1988: Scientific diver with MNCR and OPRU with involvement in diving surveys in south west Britain, Shetland Islands, Farne Islands; 1990s: diving surveys in north east England for MNCR and commercial clients; 1999: Sanday (SNH); 1997, 1999: diving in caves in Berwickshire and North Northumberland cSAC for EN and SNH; 1998, 1999: diving monitoring trials in Loch Maddy (SNH), North Wales (CCW); Berwickshire and North Northumberland (EN). 2001 – present: Joint leader of team to establish subtidal diving and dropdown video monitoring programmes in English marine SACs (EN); 1986-2006 participant in remote grab/core sampling surveys in offshore, inshore and estuarine environments (OPRU, NRA, DoENI, Aquatic Environments, Cordah, ERT, DTI, Haskoning); 1989-2006 macrobenthic taxonomic analyses and interpretation.

3 Identification skills

All of the team members have extensive recognised experience of the identification of marine algae and invertebrates in the field, gained through involvement in surveys throughout the British Isles. All also have office based experience with facilities including microscopes and literature for the laboratory identification of preserved specimens.

Aquatic Environments has specialist expertise in the identification and analysis of infaunal invertebrates and frequently works in close association with Identichaet (Dr. Peter Garwood). Both of whom have participated in the NMBAQC scheme, for which Aquatic Environments was the preferred contractor for the Department of Agriculture (NI) and Dr Garwood for several regions of the Environment Agency. Recently with all the lead personnel Tom has taught courses on the identification of marine intertidal biotopes and drop-down video survey and analysis.

Christine Howson has close links with the marine invertebrate section of the National Museums of Scotland (NMS) and frequently works there as a Professional Assistant involved in the identification and curation of invertebrate specimens. In 1998, much of the Marine Nature Conservation Review’s (MNCR) specimen collection was lodged with the museum and Christine Howson was responsible for identifying or confirming the identity of many of the specimens and incorporating these into the collections. Any animal specimens collected by the team during survey work are lodged with the NMS and algal specimens are lodged at the Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh which already holds many of the MNCR samples.

Francis Bunker is presently working with Dr Christine Maggs (Queens University, Belfast) on a photographic guide to the identification of marine algae sponsored by CCW, MarLin and JNCC to aid in the programme of monitoring marine SACs. Both with the Field Studies Council and MarineSeen, he has organised and taught courses in marine identification to the general public and the Countryside Council for Wales, most recently organising courses on the identification of marine algae and intertidal biotopes.

4 Data analysis and reporting

All of the team have experience of interpreting data and producing a wide variety of reports in formats required by the conservation agencies and commercial clients. These include the professional presentation of the results of the following types of work:-

Quantitative subtidal and intertidal monitoring studies which have included extensive statistical analyses;

Analysis and presentation of data from transect surveys;

Phase II surveys;

Phase I mapping surveys including mapped output from GIS;

Benthic infaunal surveys including the statistical analysis of infaunal data;

Environmental statements and impact assessments;

Monitoring trials;

The collation of pre-existing data in literature reviews;

Review of video tapes from ROV and drop-down video;

Use of the Marine Biotope manual (Versions 97.06, 04.05 and the conversion of the former to the latter).

All of the team have experience of statistical analyses, using a range of univariate and multivariate techniques, and they have statistical packages including Primer and MVSP. They have also used the services of and taken advice from other organisations. Aquatic Environments frequently uses the independent contractor Dr Rob Rolf for this type of work and Christine Howson has consulted Dr. Colin Moore of Heriot-Watt University for advice on the techniques available for the analysis of monitoring data. Francis Bunker has taught the use of statistics in fieldwork whilst with the Field Studies Council and has obtained advice from experts within the Field Studies Council on analytical techniques. Jon Moore has experience of the use of Primer and has collaborated with Plymouth Marine Laboratory with the statistical analysis of data from Plymouth Sound during the monitoring trials in that area.

Reports produced for the English Nature sublittoral monitoring contract have been structured around the Site Attributes and Targets that are being assessed for the site condition monitoring. Several of the reports have now been used successfully to inform the assessment of site condition and EN staff have reported that they have found the reports extremely useful in these exercises.

5 Practical skills and qualifications

All of the team are highly experienced scientific divers and have the following qualifications:

HSE Part IV professional diver

BSAC Advanced Nitrox Diver

HSE First Aid at Work

HSE medical

RYA VHF Radio certificate

· Various RYA approved powerboat handling qualifications (including commercially endorsed)

BSAC oxygen administration

Francis Bunker has an Advance Powerboat certificate (comercially endorsed). If the BSAC certificates are not regarded as sufficient, at least one more dive team member will take the RYA qualification before the proposed survey.

The team members have considerable experience in the use of underwater video and have two housed digital video systems available for hire. A sample of videos of transects produced for the English Nature contract is appended to this tender. They are also skilled underwater photographers and have two housed digital and an SLR camera system available for hire. Underwater photographs taken by team members have been used in SNH publications (sample of leaflet appended).

6 Use of external expertise

Each of the team members of ASML has run often complex, multi-disciplinary projects as an independent contractor as well as for ASML. In order to run such projects successfully as an individual it is essential that the skills required for a particular project and the potential volume of work are identified at an early stage and suitable external expertise is sought. The group therefore has a wide network of professional contacts who are able to contribute skills ranging from clerical assistance such as data entry and slide labelling to more specialist expertise such as laboratory analysis of sediment samples and the production of GIS projects. We prefer to use individuals whom we know personally and have a proven track record in the particular skill that we require. The group members have contracted each other on a regular basis to assist with commercial projects. Since the establishment of ASML, the group has worked very effectively as a team to undertake a series of successful surveys and produce the resultant reports.

Quality control

Quality control guidelines have been established to assure a consistent approach to fieldwork and reporting in accordance with the requirements of the contracting organisations. These include the following procedures:

All reports are subject to peer review by one or more directors of ASML. Final submissions will be subject to external review if required. Once reviewed, the report will be signed and dated prior to submission.

· QA procedures are built into field work where appropriate. We now have well established procedures for this which is outlined later in this submission.

· Methods adopted in the field for underwater recording and subsequent transcription of data onto recording forms are consistent across similar contracts whilst taking into account the differing requirements of each survey.

· Training sessions take place prior to undertaking monitoring studies to ensure consistency of data collection between individual field workers.

· Voucher specimens/photographs of plants and animals will be kept for verification where appropriate.

· Each project is reviewed by another member of ASML at each critical stage. This ensures that each project runs to schedule and to the required standard.

· One member of ASML will be the overall project leader, whilst another is nominated as second–in–command. This means that there are always two people who know what stage each project is at and can answer questions from the client.