1. Securing the future of the freshwater pearl mussel in Great Britain
Pearls in Peril:
Securing the future of the freshwater pearl mussel in Great Britain
Welcome to the conference of the Pearls in Peril project, to Mar Lodge and the Cairngorms National Park
We’re based here, not just for the spectacular location, but also because the Pearls in Peril project has been implementing a range of actions in river Dee catchment, many in and around this location. And we will hear about some of those actions today, and then see them tomorrow.
I’d like to start this conference by briefly introducing the project and the aims it has been working towards, the pearl mussel itself. And most importantly, tell you about the conference and what I hope you will get out of it. I’d also encourage you to take full advantage of the opportunities to discuss and exchange information with the range of experts and practitioners who are here today.

2. I am sure most, if not all of you, will know about the freshwater pearl mussel and its ecology. However it is worth reminding ourselves that it:
Is critically endangered across Europe (as classified by IUCN)
Over the last century the population has declined by 95% across Europe
It is extremely long lived (>100 years in Britain), with a complex lifecycle using host fish
And that it is dependent on flowing water, filtering food from upstream
Britain continues to support some of the largest remaining populations and, later, we’ll hear about the results of the latest survey in Scotland.

3. without freshwater pearl mussel with freshwater pearl mussel
The freshwater pearl mussel is incredibly important as it filters river water removing tiny particles for nourishment and by doing this helps to clean the water benefiting other river wildlife. Each day an adult mussel can filter more water than we use in an average shower, as illustrated in this slide of two tanks of slightly turbid water, one with a pearl mussel and one without and you can see the difference a pearl mussel can make over a day.
Key message – pearl mussels are a barometer of the health of our rivers and burns, and the actions we take to conserve pearl mussels will benefit the wider river and catchment ecosystem.
Credit: Virginia Tech, Richard Neves, Balinderry Hatchery, Northern Ireland

4. Securing the future of the freshwater pearl mussel in Great Britain
communicate
Given the declines in the status of pearl mussels, and the importance of populations in Britain, the Pearls in Peril project has worked since 2012 to improve the conservation of the species in three main ways:
Communicating with partners and the public about pearl mussels and their importance
Working to restore populations using a range of techniques
And securing the populations that we have and reducing the risk of any deterioration.
You will hear later today, particularly after lunch and on the field trips tomorrow, about the actions that have been taking place. And it is worth noting too that many of these actions have been planned and implemented at the catchment scale, taking an ecosystem approach. And we will shortly hear about other catchment scale approaches to pearl mussel and river conservation in Finland, the UK and elsewhere that I hope we can build on and learn from.
restore
secure

5. Regarding the Pearls in Peril project, you should be aware that the work of this project, despite the conference taking place in the Scottish Highlands, extends across Great Britain. The project focusses on Special Areas of Conservation, designated under the Habitats Directive to protect and conserve pearl mussels. There are 21 designated sites for pearl mussels in Scotland; 19 SACs and two Sites of Special Scientific Interest. This project has worked in all 19 pearl mussel SACs in Scotland but also important work is taking place in the River Ehen SAC in Cumbria and the Afon Eden SAC in Wales. Local conferences have taken place in recent weeks for both the rivers in England and Wales and there is an opportunity to hear about the work that has gone on, in all parts of the project immediately after lunch and during field trips tomorrow.

6. To plan and implement these actions involves a lot of partners
To plan and implement these actions involves a lot of partners. In total PIP 22 partners and funders are contributing to the Pearls in Peril project. This has allowed the project to work across so many catchments, implementing a total of 48 actions, over 4 years, with a budget of approx £3.5 million.

7. Partnership approach benefits
Implementing complicated river restoration initiatives
Supporting local skills and contractors
Providing training within and between partner organisations
Sharing experiences across a partnership
The benefits of working in partnership is something that is apparent within this project and something that I am keen we will learn from, from other speakers and your contributions to this conference.
Within the Pearls in Peril project some obvious benefits of working with such a wide range of partners include:
Partners such as river and fishery trusts are able to play a key negotiating role to help identify and secure permissions to undertake restoration schemes.
Particularly working with local partner organisations, we have been able to identify local skills and contractors that we can use to implement conservation actions, from construction companies, to publishers, to fencing contractors and tree nurseries.
And a wide range of partners are also able to increase and improve the capacity of each other by sharing experiences as well as providing training both to others within their organisation and other partners. This is something we’ve been able to do by giving presentations at local events, collaborating on survey work, provided training on survey and other field skills.

8. Freshwater Scottish Natural Heritage
Partnerships also require investment to keep them going and to produce and sustain benefits for conservation. I hope that this conference will not only help demonstrate some of the benefits of the Pearls in Peril project, but also that our speakers will inform you about work going on elsewhere on pearl mussels and catchment management, and inspire and provoke you to think about what we should be doing next to maintain and build upon the successes of the pearls in peril project. The programme today has been quite deliberately arranged such that most contributions are from outside the Pearls in Peril project, in order for us all to share and hear about experiences and developments in partnership working, pearl mussel conservation and catchment management. And I’d like you all to take away and discuss the opportunities and ideas that I hope the presentations and discussions provoke.
With that in mind, today’s proceedings begins with presentations on major, new projects on integrated catchment management that both include pearl mussels and/or Special Areas of Conservation with much larger initiatives. Before lunch we will also hear developments arising from research and monitoring of pearl mussels. And after lunch you will have the opportunity to hear much more about the Pearls in Peril project, and other pearl mussel conservation projects in Britain and Ireland and then further talks on how we can secure pearl mussels and restoration benefits within catchments.

9. Mo the Mussel www.pearlsinperil.org.uk
And for those of you who use social media, then you can follow the work of the project, and the proceedings of this conference, on the project’s facebook and twitter accounts. Please do tweet about the project conference.