The Moray Coastline encompasses 45 miles of sweeping sands, estuaries, cliffs, coves and fishertowns. It includes areas of great natural beauty and valuable wildlife resources. The most notable are internationally significant populations of wildfowl, waders and other bird species which over the winter, breed or pass along the coastline. The Moray coast incorporates many maritime plants and animals of regional or national importance, identified in the North East Scotland Local Biodiversity Audit. Within the Scottish Office National Planning Policy Guidelines on Coastal Planning (NPPG13), the Moray Coast constitutes ‘developed coast’ due to the coastal communities of Findhorn, Burghead, Hopeman, Lossiemouth, the Buckie conurbation, Findochty, Portknockie and Cullen. All the rest of the coast can be classified as ‘undeveloped coast’. There is no truly ‘isolated’ coast in Moray under the definition of NPPG13.

Nevertheless, the coast includes a great variety of wildlife once characteristic of the wider countryside, but now scarce due to changing land management practices. The principal habitats comprise: sand dunes, shingle heath, salt marsh and intertidal flats, sandy beaches and cliffs.

• Recreation
• Pollution
• Military use
• Planning problems
• Local industries
• Rubbish dumping
• Coastal erosion and rising sea levels

• Resolving conflicts of competing interests along the coast such as in Findhorn Bay Local Nature Reserve.
• Providing clearly waymarked paths for recreation in line with the Moray Council Access Strategy and SNH funded Moray Firth Community Access Initiative.
• Assessing the threat posed to wildlife by different interest groups and monitoring the effect of both wildfowling and speedboats.
• Designing community action projects from rubbish clearance to promoting diversity of wildlife habitats in damaged or derelict land.
• Maintaining the programme of recording and monitoring wildlife in co-ordination with RSPB, SNH researchers and Moray Bird Club.
• Work with Moray Firth Partnership in development of policies for recreation, interpretation and environmental education.
• The Moray Coast Ranger will continue to develop an active Voluntary Ranger Service of individuals from local communities to promote public enjoyment, implement practical projects and raise the profile of the coastal environment.

The Moray Coastline encompasses 45 miles of sweeping sands, estuaries, cliffs, coves and fishertowns. It includes areas of great natural beauty and valuable wildlife resources. Most notable are internationally significant populations of wildfowl, waders and other bird species, which over-winter, breed or pass along the coastline. It also is a place where people live and work. Coastal trade may have declined in recent years and the fishing fleets do not compare with those of the past, but Buckie combines fishing with fresh fish markets and boat building. There are commercial harbours in Burghead and Findochty. Other towns, like Findhorn and Lossiemouth, are largely given over to leisure craft.

The Moray Coast is a dynamic, constantly evolving and changing environment, the product of winds, waves and currents that rework the sand and shingle shorelines of the Firth. Erosion of the coast, accelerated by rising sea levels, is exerting considerable influence on the area. The area includes nationally, internationally and regionally recognised sites of great value for nature conservation. This together with the natural character of the coast influences any development policies considered in the Council’s Local and Structure Plans, including the future consideration of managed retreat in particularly vulnerable areas and coastal protection works, where this is both socially and commercially desirable and affordable.

Findhorn Bay and its surrounding shingle heath, backshore dunes and salt marsh has been designated as a Local Nature Reserve (LNR) by the Moray Council. Development is guided by a LNR Management Committee composed of local people, businesses dependent on the recreational use of the Bay and other interested bodies such as the RSPB.

The coast is an increasingly important tourist destination for informal recreation and watersports. Wildfowling is also becoming popular in Findhorn Bay, attracting visitors from as far afield as the Home Counties, complementing local groups and individuals with an interest in this activity.

Commercial forestry and golf courses also take up large sections of coastal land. A coastal footpath network is being developed and the coastal zone is covered by an SNH funded Moray Firth Coastal Access Strategy (MOFCAS). The Moray Coast Ranger Service helps to implement this at the local level. The Ranger Service is a partnership between the Moray Council and Scottish Natural Heritage. It aims to promote public enjoyment, conserve wildlife and engender an appreciation and caring attitude towards the natural world of the coast.

Moray Stone Cutters, the owners of Clashach Quarry, are an active concern who work the Permo Trias sandstone hills behind the coast 1 mile east of Hopeman. Quarrying has exposed internationally important "fossil" trackways of dicynodont reptiles, some of which have been conserved in the Quarry for public interest. Expansion of the site is leading to the despoiling of a wide section of unspoilt cliff, cove and neighbouring seabed as waste material is tipped in a broad apron from the quarry entrance.

The Moray Firth Partnership incorporates the whole coastal zone in Moray. The aim of the Moray Firth Partnership is to promote the integrated management of the natural, economic, recreational, and cultural resources of the Moray Firth in order to retain and enhance a high quality of life for its residents and visitors. It will clearly have a vital and controlling influence on the development of Local Biodiversity Action Plan policies for the Moray Coast. Indeed, the Moray Firth Partnership’s own Management Guidelines and Action Programme will be reflected in the implementation and selection of projects.

The Moray coastline incorporates nine Sites of Special Scientific Interest, locally recognised Sites of Importance for Natural Science, and other internationally recognised areas and designations including; Special Protection Areas under the EC’s Birds Directive for Spey Bay and Findhorn Bay and the additional designation of Findhorn Bay under the Ramsar Convention. Many maritime plants and animals of regional or national importance occur along the coast. The coast also includes a great variety of plants and associated wildlife once characteristic of the wider countryside.

Sand dunes are found at Findhorn, Burghead Bay, Hopeman and the east and west beach of Lossiemouth. The Findhorn dunes form an eastward extension of the Culbin Forest dune system. Together they form the largest and most impressive area of dunes in Scotland. The Culbin dunes buried the Kinaird Estate farmland in violent 17^th Century storms that also diverted the course of the Findhorn River. Since the 1920’s the Culbin dunes have been planted with coniferous woodlands of Scots, lodgepole and Corsican pine. There are several ponds and a rich diversity of lichens, including saxicolous varieties on dry shingle.

Coastal heath occupies much of the open land.

Shingle heath is present, most notably along Findhorn’s backshore, Lossie Forest and the Lein Nature Reserve, Garmouth. Shoreline shingle banks occur in all these areas as they do in Spey Bay, Portgordon and the Culbin Bar, which is an RSPB reserve.

Salt marsh and intertidal flats occur in Findhorn Bay, Lossiemouth east beach, Spey Bay and the lagoons behind Culbin Bar.

Sandy beaches are found from Culbin to Burghead, and at Hopeman, Lossiemouth (east and west beaches) and Cullen Bay.

Cliffed coastlines with acid grassland, whin, broom and abundant wild flowers are also found. Permo-Trias sandstone cliffs often in excess of 80 metres, mark the coast between Burghead and Cummingston, Cove Bay and Clashach to Covesea and on the Hopeman to Lossiemouth sandstone ridge. Older quartzite and mica-schist cliffs occur between Strathlene and Cullen Bay and again from Cullen Harbour to Logie Head at the Aberdeenshire boundary. Rising coastlines due to isostatic uplift have left ‘fossil’ cliffs at Bin Hill (Garmouth), Hopeman and Cullen Golf Course. There are sea coves above the current sea level throughout the cliffed shorelines and arches at Covesea and Bow Fiddle rock near Portknockie. Wave cut skerries below the cliffs contain rock pools with a rich fauna of crustaceans, sea hares, mussels, starfish and small fishes.

Commercially planted coniferous woodlands, managed for timber production and recreation by Forest Enterprise, follow the shoreline in Burghead Bay (Roseisle Forest) and in Lossie Forest between Lossiemouth and the Lein Reserve, Garmouth. These pinewoods, especially in Culbin Forest, are valuable wildlife resources and contain interesting geomorphological features.

Particular mention is necessary of the wide diversity of wild animals, birds and invertebrates that occur on or next to the shoreline. Only the priority species listed in the text of the Biodiversity in North East Scotland Audit are mentioned here.

Seals, both common and Atlantic grey are commonly seen in Findhorn Bay and throughout the coastline, either feeding (particularly in estuarine waters) or hauled up on sand banks offshore. There is little evidence of breeding on the Moray Coast although grey seal pups sometimes turn up in Findhorn Bay. Culling of seals is practised regularly at Findhorn by angling interests, to control numbers in the belief that seals are the main cause for declining salmon catches. Research elsewhere in the Firth suggests that this is not the case, as squid and salmonid fish species form the main food source in both species.

A colony of some 130 adult bottlenose dolphins reside and breed in the relatively warm waters of the Moray Firth, representing the most northerly community of this species known. Sightings are common throughout the year. Tourist cruise boats on ‘dolphin watches’ can adversely influence the breeding and feeding success of dolphin in the inner Firth but are rarely a problem in Moray’s waters where more responsible cruises operate. Minkie whales are regularly sighted during the summer months following the coastline in search of sprats and other fish prey. The coastline, as far east as Lossiemouth, is the subject of a forthcoming EU Habitat Directive Special Area of Conservation Designation, to protect the cetaceans of the Firth. Research based on the Spey Bay, Moray Firth Wildlife Centre indicates that current estimated numbers and distribution of the dolphin population may be greatly underestimated. Discrete communities and family groups are known to use the outer Firth.

In the woodlands, red squirrels are often present, particularly in Culbin Forest and current research will establish both their numbers and distribution. Brown hares and roe deer are seen in both wood and farm land. Deer are often sighted on the strand line. The reed beds of Spynie Loch, Culbin Forest and Spey Bay have colonies of pipistrelle, Daubenton’s and long eared bats. Otters breed in the Findhorn River and Bay and close to the mouth of the Spey, although they are rarely seen outside dawn and dusk and precise numbers are not known.

Common toads, frogs, palmate and crested newts have been reported in ponds from Culbin Forest and the open water around Spynie Loch.

Common (viviparous) lizards occur in open woodland glades, dunes and heathland throughout the coastline. Adders are sometimes seen in the whin and heath west of Covesea.

The Moray Coast includes estuarine environments at Culbin Sands, Findhorn Bay and Spey Bay that are recognised under the EU Birds Directive (as Special Protection Areas) and the Ramsar Convention as wetlands of international importance for the wildfowl, waders and other bird life that they support. This includes pink feet and greylag geese in great numbers in winter, shelduck, widgeon, teal and pintail, long tailed ducks, eider ducks and scoters. Wading birds include turnstone, oystercatcher, ringed plover, golden plover, lapwing, knot, dunlin, bartailed godwit, curlews and redshank. Blackcaps, yellowhammers and stonechats are a regular feature of the whin banks and open heath on the coast, and these areas coupled with the salt marshes have significant numbers of skylarks.

Fulmars breed on the coastline and guillemots and razorbills are frequently seen. Puffins are now establishing themselves in small numbers. Common terns breed in RAF Kinloss close to the shoreward fence and a variety of terns along with skuas which are present in late summer. Of the visitors, osprey breed in the Findhorn and Spey valleys and feed in the estuaries, while peregrine falcons breed and reside on the rocky coast throughout the year and hunt wildfowl and waders in the estuaries during the winter months. The Forest Enterprise pine forests of Culbin, Roseisle and Lossie are important locations for crested tits, and capercaillie are reported from Culbin and Lossie forests. The appendix to this report contains a species summary for birds of Findhorn Bay LNR. This gives an indication of the bird life of the coast.

Intertidal pools are extremely rich in life with dog whelks, winkles, crustaceans from barnacles to amphipods and shore crabs, anemones, sea hares and other animals. The estuary flats are populated by worms, including lugworms in great numbers and rag worms, viridis worms and other species, together with bivalves and a variety of marine snails, such as cockles, mussels, Baltic tellins, peppery furrow shells, razor shells in sandy areas, and offshore abundant otter shells. The mussel scaup in Findhorn Bay, (the rights for which are owned by RSPB), is developing into a major reef offshore leading to increasing sedimentation in the bay and filling the navigation channel offshore.

The coastline and especially the dune heath and salt marshes are considered to be of great entomological interest for the diversity of slaters, ground beetles, hover flies, wood ants, butterflies and moths, including the day flying Scots burnet moth.

The coastal waters are well populated by a wide variety of fish including migratory salmonids, eels, flounders, saithe, sand eels, dogfish and spurdogs. Gobies, blennies, butterfish and 3 spined sticklebacks are common in the rockpools. This report does not deal with the Firth beyond the literal zone.

• Recreational usage of inadequate access routes, as at Cove Bay and poor path surfacing resulting in the splitting and widening of paths into sensitive habitats, especially in the coastal heath around Portknockie, is resulting in erosion.

• Pollution from coastal outfalls including raw sewage in Strathlene and Lossiemouth.

• Conflicting recreational demands including horse and bike riding on footpaths and speedboats in areas widely used by young children for paddling.

• Rising sea levels resulting in accelerated erosion of the shoreline.

• Local Government Policy Framework and statutory restrictions on development of the coastline within the Coastal Protection Zone.

• The need for physical protection of the coast, and temporary suspension of work on rip rap barriers installed by Grampian Regional Council prior to reorganisation.

• Military use of Lossie Forest for Territorial Army exercises and as a rifle range.

• Acceptance of well managed, appropriate vehicle access to beach area car parks and restriction of recreational use of dunes, heath and other coastal sites by bikes and 4 track vehicles.

• Planning problems including potential applications for expansion of golf courses into valuable coastal habitats leading to their declining value or destruction.

• The need to accommodate any expansion of the Moray Stone Cutters Clashach Cove Quarry without compromising botanically valuable and sensitive cove and heathland areas.

• Commercial shellfish extraction in the estuaries resulting in destruction of food available to birds by the overturning and mixing of the sediment column.

• Rubbish dumping and accretion of litter on banks.

• Incursion of agricultural practices on coastal land and pollution of the littoral zone from pesticide spray drift and run off of fertiliser into wildflower habitats.

The Moray coastline achieves considerable protection from adverse development as a result of the variety of designations it receives. Findhorn Bay, Culbin Sands, Spey Bay, the Lein, Burghead back shore to Cummingston (including Maison Haugh Quarry), Clashach Cove and an area within the Quarry noted for its early reptile tracks, the storm shingle ridge west of Portgordon and the rugged coastline between Findochty and Cullen all benefit from SSSI designation. In all there are 9 SSSIs. All of them include to a greater or lesser degree geomorphological processes in action or constitute geological sites of considerable regional importance.

Coastal protection zone policies are presented in the Moray Council Development Plan. Policies set out in the Structure Plan are interpreted through the Local Plan in zones, which guide future development of the Coast. Between them, sites of interest for nature conservation and areas of high landscape value cover virtually all of the Moray Coast not already protected by SSSI status.

Since 1996 Findhorn Bay, Spey Bay and the Culbin Sands have received additional protection by two international designations. They have Special Protection Area status under the EU birds directive and are Ramsar sites as wetlands of international importance, primarily for migratory, over wintering or resident birds. The development of the River Spey Special Area of Conservation designation will have implications for the protection of wildlife including bird species.

Commercial harvesting of shellfish and particularly cockles in Scottish estuaries and tidal flats has been a major concern for some time. The Scottish Office (now Executive) have banned tractor drawn harvesting. To provide additional protection SNH have succeeded in obtaining a Scottish Office notice banning all commercial extraction of shellfish in Findhorn Bay and Culbin Sands, and this was used in 1997 to remove cockle harvesters from Findhorn Bay.

The Moray Council designated Findhorn Bay and the neighbouring back shore as a Local Nature Reserve in 1998. The reserve is in the control of a Findhorn Bay LNR Management Committee with membership drawn from the local community and other interested parties.

Part of Spey Bay and the Lein lie within a Scottish Wildlife Trust nature reserve. Culbin Sands are owned and managed by RSPB as a bird reserve. The RSPB also control the mussel rights for Findhorn Bay, and the opening of a navigation channel through the Bay’s mouth will be subject of negotiation and implementation of the Bay’s Fairway Committee.

The Moray Council has prepared an environmental charter following the guidelines of the ‘Rio Earth Summit’ Local Agenda 21 initiative. One of the principles of the Charter’s 15 aims is to ‘conserve and enhance the wildlife and natural environment of Moray’.

Both the Moray Bird Club and the local RSPB group record numbers and sightings of wildfowl and other birds of the Moray Coast, and SNH have commissioned surveys of bird numbers throughout the year in Findhorn Bay and elsewhere.

This action plan aims to promote the biodiversity of the Moray Coast (in conjunction with the coastal communities of Moray) and to ensure appropriate development and recreational opportunities in keeping with wildlife conservation and the changing coastline. The objectives should be addressed through consultation between the Moray Council, SNH, the Moray Firth Partnership, local land owners, land managers and other interested parties.

This action plan helps fulfil the aims of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan in a number of ways. Primarily through appropriate management of many species and habitats that are priority listed. UK habitat statements have been written for all broad habitat types found on the Moray Coast and several are or will become the subject of priority habitat action plans. UK species action plans are available for many of the Moray Coast species including otter, crested newt, red squirrel and brown hare.

Objective 1: Resolve Conflicting Management Interests.

Target: Assess land use impacts. Develop management strategy.

Time: 1998 onward.

Many land uses impact on the coast and it is important to resolve potentially competing interests including recreation, agriculture and wildlife. Management plans should contain policies that serve to implement the targets of national biodiversity action plans. Threats posed by particular land users should be assessed and a strategy devised to protect the coast.

Objective 2: Control coastal erosion.

Target: Assess threats from various sources.

Time: 1999-2002.

Moray coasts are used extensively by various user groups who exert pressures on the natural and physical landscape, such as, trampling and degradation of dune and vegetation. Erosion by wind and wave action also changes the landscape. Coastal uses can be managed to limit the acceleration of erosion. Wind and wave erosion are natural processes which must be recognised in plans for managed retreat in certain areas where protection of the coast is impracticable. Coastal erosion should be managed, where possible, to protect commercial interest, communities and vulnerable sites of wildlife interest.

Loss of vegetation, through trampling, can cause serious sand dune destabilisation. Protection of clearly waymarked access routes, which provide smooth, resilient and well-drained surfaces that retain their natural character, will reduce recreational erosion. Co-operation between the Ranger Service, the Moray Community Access Initiative and SNH as a grant aiding body will help advance this objective.

Objective 3: Involve public in promotion and management activities.

Target: Work parties and public consultation.

Time: 1998 onward.

Public recreational pressures influence coastal habitats in ways beyond erosion. Litter, noise and disturbance of wildlife all impact on the character of the land. Community involvement and understanding is important in retaining the natural history and character of the area. The Moray Coast Voluntary Ranger Service will provide an important focus for this work.

Objective 4: Raise public awareness of coastal threats and values.

Target: Provide interpretation and events for the public.

Time: 1998 onward.

Develop interpretative facilities and educational events to raise awareness, appreciation and regard for the coastline’s natural life. Implementation of the Moray Coast Ranger’s interpretation strategy and co-ordination of this with the Moray Firth Partnership’s Education and Interpretation Sub-Group to ensure recommendations are undertaken. The continued development of the Moray Coast Ranger Service year round programme of public events will take place and co-operation with the Forest Enterprise ranger service will be sought. Joint events with the Moray Firth Wildlife Centre will also continue.

Objective 5: Surveying

Target: Monitor current and future land use and impacts.

Time: 1998 onward.

Establishing base line data and monitoring progress is a priority in determining the success of the action plan.

Proposed action required to meet objectives

In addition many scarcer species of waders (e.g. grey plover, greenshank, little stint, curlew sandpiper, whimbrel, black-tailed godwit) use Findhorn Bay as a stopover feeding area on migration. Large numbers (sometimes 1,000s) of common gulls and black-headed gulls use the Bay as a roost. Skylarks also breed in the salt marsh as do meadow pipits and the occasional grasshopper warbler.