Tidal Lagoon Power has formed a ‘peer review’ group to assess the impact of Swansea Bay tidal lagoon and future developments on fish.
The Fisheries Peer Review Group is to advise Gloucester-based TLP and its fisheries research contractors on the methodology being adopted for the prediction of effects and impacts on fish as part of broader environmental impact assessments.
The fisheries group will be chaired by former director of Environment Agency Wales Chris Mills.
“I believe that Tidal Lagoon Power recognises the complexity of the environmental challenges associated with development in areas like the Severn Estuary, with its dynamic coastal and marine environment and network of overlaid designations from European Marine Sites to local nature reserves,” said Mills.
“Peer review is an essential part of achieving high quality, independent and authoritative outputs, which are accepted by regulators and other key stakeholders including the public.”
Members of the Fisheries Peer Review Group include Steve Colclough, a fisheries scientist and Director at Colclough & Coates – SC2 Limited and Graeme Harris, also a fisheries scientist and former Chair of the statutory Fisheries, Ecology & Recreation Committee for Wales.
TLP said the group would, while acting as independent advisors, provide support to its new head of fisheries Andy Schofield.
Schofield worked for Natural Resources Wales and its predecessors for almost 30 years and held various fisheries, conservation, recreation and water quality management roles.
TLP director of development services Graham Hillier said: “The Fisheries Peer Review Group has been created to provide us with expert, professional, independent validation of data requirements, survey objectives, survey methods, survey findings, modelling methods and parameters, model outputs, model interpretation and impact assessment.”
Image: Fisheries Peer Review Group (left to right) Graeme Harris, Chris Mills, Graham Hillier, Andy Schofield and Steve Colclough (Tidal Lagoon Power)
