Species issues
The rivers, burns and lochs in the Dee catchment support many important species, some of which are protected by nation and international legislation. The River Dee has been designated as a Special Area of Conservation due to the importance of its populations of freshwater pearl mussel, otter and Atlantic salmon. There are many other important freshwater species in the catchment (Appendix B). Both the Cairngorms and the North East Local Biodiversity Action Plan initiatives are addressing the needs of many of these species, either through species-specific action plans or Habitat Action Plans; relevant actions from these plans have been included in the Dee CMP.
See Action Cards 27-33.