What’s a Devon record, or not, in terms of the sea?

Yep, an old topic I know. but this little bit I wrote in Devon Birds 68(1):14 back in April 2015 suddenly got quite topical again, after Rupert Kirkwood's excellent 'at sea' sighting, with photograph of a Wilson's Storm-petrel c2 miles NE of the Eddystone Rocks (lighthouse) on 13/08/17. So here's the piece regurgitated.

Edit. On talking to Tom Bereton a long-time researcher/surveyor for MarineLife 12nm is the one to go for. This limit already is used by most conservation bodies (but not Devon Birds!) and records can be checked for distance to Devon on http://defra.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3dc94e81a22e41a6ace0bd327af4f346. 

Edit 23/02/18. DBRC reviewed the limit and went for 12nm. Good decision.

What’s a Devon record, or not, in terms of the sea?
We may see a pelagic seabird such as a passing Sooty Shearwater from Berry Head or from a boat ten miles out at sea. In both situations the bird was at sea (its natural foraging habitat) and not flying over land; it’s just the position of the observer that is ‘land-based’ or ‘at sea’. But at what point does it count as a Devon record and when not? In 2011, the Devon Birds Records Committee (DBRC) decided that point was 5 nm from the coast, and that any records beyond this would not count; they can be included in the Devon Bird Report (DBR) for interest but do not contribute to the county’s statistics. Yet a 5nm limit follows no scientific or any other logical rationale, such as limits already in place for conservation or fisheries!
A much better option would be to use a limit already in place for the UK. The most logical approach would be to include records for Devon where its coast represents the closest county within the UK Economic Exclusion Zone (which is equivalent to the UK Continental Shelf area and broadly similar to the British fishery extent, see http://defra.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=3dc94e81a22e41a6ace0bd327af4f346. Off the south coast this boundary extends halfway across the English Channel to France, and in terms of conservation the UK has responsibility for this area under the Habitats Directive. This rule of thumb could be applied
to all counties with sea areas. When reporting, records could be subsequently recorded as ‘land-based’ or ‘at sea’ (when boat-based any distance from land up to this limit), but they still count as what has been seen over the sea off Devon. This could easily be represented in the DBRs by adding an ‘at sea’ row in tabulated data for more abundant species (as in DBR 2010); then ‘at sea’ and data from regular land-based watch points could be compared for seasonal variation. Even using the UK territorial waters boundary of 12 nm would make more sense than 5 nm, as this is at least a recognized limit already in place. Interestingly, prior to 2011, and perhaps wisely, no attempt was made to define a recording area for Devon’s waters. Both Tyler (2010) and Moore (1969) made no distinction of Devon’s sea area and include ‘at sea’ records. There is no consistent approach with other counties, which use a variety of options. At a national level, BBRC and BOURC consider
records from the UK Economic Exclusion Zone (as defined above). The Isles of Scilly, renowned for their pelagic birding trips (which have made several additions to the British List) include ‘at sea’ records well beyond 5 nm with no apparent problem. Under the DBRC 5-nm rule the Lundy crossing makes an interesting case. If applied, around 7 nm of this crossing would be more than 5 nm from both the mainland and Lundy, and therefore not count as Devon. In this instance. however, DBRC state that all sightings on the Lundy crossing count as Devon records – which is at odds with any other Devon boat-based sightings! If the proposed UK Economic Exclusion Zone rule was applied, this captures Lundy and its boat crossing as well as the surrounding area of sea, with no need to make a special case. In recent times, short-range pelagic trips have been made out of Brixham; however, no attempt was made to record when inside or just outside the 5-nm limit as participants were more interested in birdwatching.
It is interesting to note that in past Devon Bird Reports, sightings from the Plymouth–Santander ferry up to the Eddystone have been attributed to Devon. Under the 5-nm rule these would not count for Devon, and even if the rule of ‘closest county coast’ were to be applied, most of these records should go to Cornwall, as once the ferry has left Plymouth Sound it is actually closest to the Cornish coast. However, the Eddystone rock has long been considered part of Devon, even though actually nearer Cornwall (some 9 miles off Rame Head). So where should records from here go?
At the time the DBRC applied the 5-nm rule, a review of past ‘at sea’ records should have been made, with a list of those no longer acceptable published in the DBR so as to amend the county’s statistics. Since this appears not to have been done, it may just be simpler to use a more logical limit, as suggested above.

References
 Moore, R. 1969. The Birds of Devon. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
Tyler, M. 2010. The Birds of Devon. DBWPS.