Case Study Presentation to MESH Conference

Regional Environmental Monitoring & Mapping

in

The East Channel Region

Acknowledgements

Cefas English Nature (Natural England)

English Heritage The Joint Nature Conservation Committee

Defra MFA Andrews Survey

Liverpool University, Department of Geography HR Wallingford

The Crown Estate BMAPA

Marine Ecological Surveys Unicomarine

Marineseen Fisheries Consultees

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency ICES HAWG

ECEN Meeting Attendees TWG Meeting Attendees

??

The ECA would like to acknowledge the considered analysis, assistance and advice provided by the following organisations,

companies and stakeholders;

1EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

Britannia Aggregates Ltd Lower Road Northfleet

Kent DA11 9BL

CEMEX UK Marine Ltd Baltic Wharf Elm Street

Marine Parade Southampton

Hants. SO14 5JF

Dredging International (UK) Ltd Greenstede House

Wood Street East Grinstead West Sussex RH19 1UZ

VDL Hanson Aggregates Marine Ltd

Burnley Wharf Marine Parade Southampton

Hants SO14 5JF

United Marine Dredging Ltd United Marine Aggregates Ltd

Francis House Shopwyke Road

Chichester West Sussex PO20 6AD

Volker Dredging Ltd Robert Brett House

Ashford Road Canterbury

Kent CT4 7PP

1 Introduction – The ECR and ECA

The East Channel Association (ECA) consists of 6 companies

The role of the ECA provide a focus for coordinating regional monitoring and management of operations

The ECR is situated in the Eastern English Channel approx 20km south of Eastbourne

8 areas consisting of 12 individual permission areas

Eastern Channel ‘region’ of 24,000km2

Prospecting areas 1,132km2

Area applied for 150km2

Each area subjected to individual EIA.

Concerns regarding the cumulative and in-combination effects of applications consideration of the ‘regional’ impacts of the development.

??

10km approx

Current Status of Licences and Applications

461 – Permission granted, active.473, 474 & 475 – Permission granted,

inactive.458 & 464-2 – Permission awaited.

477 – Permission awaited.478 – Permission awaited.2

EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

2 The Regional Environmental Assessment

??

The REA provides the foundation upon which the regional monitoring and

management of aggregate extraction is based. It is the intention of the ECA to

work towards repeating the REA process periodically through the term of ECA

licences.

The ECA commissioned Regional Environmental Assessment (REA)

Provides the regional basis for assessment of impacts.

Models of impact developed to determine the potential impact of simultaneous operations at several sites.

Collation of environmental data from individual licence applications undertaken

Regional studies of fishing, navigation, archaeology etc

All this information was incorporated into the Regional Environmental Assessment (Posford Haskoning, 2003).

3EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

3 Design of a Regional Monitoring Programme

??

The coherence of monitoring activities in the ECR, and the

improved cost/benefit of pooling resources, are key to ensuring the continuation of this industry driven

initiative.

Main recommendation of the REA was that the ECA undertook a coordinated programme of regional monitoring

Ensure compatibility and comparability of data; prevent unnecessary use of monitoring resources through pursuit of individual monitoring programmes

Design aided by key government advisors and key stakeholders

Two main threads: physical process monitoring (sediment mobilisation, deposition and transport) & biological community monitoring

Physical monitoring focussed study at ‘type site’ 473 East (also regional sediment description)

Biological monitoring describe benthic, epibenthic, shellfish and demersal fish communities across the region

4EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

4 The Regional Monitoring Blueprint

??

The ECA Regional Monitoring Blueprint v0.3 completed in 2005

The document provides framework for monitoring

Provides plans for baseline sampling at the regional ‘type site’ and also the regional scale

Survey methodologies provided along with framework for reporting and review of data

Biodiversity and conservation issues were considered in the ECA Biodiversity Action Plan (ECA BAP)

Blueprint constantly under review and any changes made will be accounted for in subsequent versions of the document

The reporting and review process proposed in the Blueprint enables

modification of monitoring as results are interpreted. A major review of data (REA II) is proposed in years 4-

5 of ECR operations.

5EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

5 Methodologies and Baseline Survey Operations

??Fish

Blueprint methodologies used to guide baseline survey operations in 2005

Large volumes of licence specific data available to inform monitoring

Data acquisition provide a description of seabed habitat and faunal communities against which impact can be monitored

Natural change considered through use of reference areas

Well established methods employed along with extensive seabed photography

Monitoring aims to describe the various ‘levels’ of community structure

??Shellfish &Epibenthos

??Infauna, Epifauna &

Sediment

??In situ video &

digital stills

??Sidescan & collated

ES data

??Bathymetry

Habit

at

desc

ripti

on

6EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

6 Data Analysis and Results

??

Extraordinary volume of data extraordinary opportunity for interpretation

Basic interpolation attempted to highlight regional habitat trends and features

Simple measures used to illustrate benthic faunal characteristics

Multivariate statistics used to marry data components (sediment, infauna, epifauna)

Region wide description of shellfish and fish communities

Community/biotope maps and charts in development

Repeat biological surveys have been undertaken in 2006. This will enable

inter-annual comparison of monitoring data early in the life of

the development.

7EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

7 Interpretation?

??

Interpretation will be an ongoing process

Further work to be done on baseline data set comparison with first repeat sampling

Results of plume and tracer studies will be required to enable a full comparison of empirical data with the REA model

REA II planned for years 4-5 of extraction operations

Review of data by the ECA Technical Working Group and wider stakeholder groups has been initiated during the first year of monitoring

The ECA GIS and website will be key in managing the large and diverse monitoring data set

8EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

8 Regional Scale Habitat Mapping in a MESH Context

The MESH Project aims to produce seabed habitat maps for north-west Europe (see MESH study area) and develop international standards and protocols for seabed mapping studies.

MESH will address these issues in the following key ways: Compile available seabed habitat mapping information across north-west Europe

Provide the first seabed habitat maps for north-west Europe.

Habitat modeling developed to predict habitat distribution for unsampled areas, from the more widely available geophysical and hydrographic data.

Protocols and standards for habitat mapping will be developed, drawing upon best available expertise, to help ensure that future mapping programmes yield quality assured data that can be readily exchanged and aggregated to further improve the initial maps.

Protocols will be tested through a range of field-testing scenarios to ensure they are robust and the results repeatable.

Protocols and habitat maps will be made available via state of the art Internet-based GIS (Geographical Information Systems), providing ready access to the information for a wide range of end-users

The wide spectrum of potential end-users will be engaged from the start of the project to better understand their end needs, to encourage the supply of relevant data and to encourage the improved use of the mapping information in spatial planning, management issues and for environmental protection.

In comparison, the ECA have undertaken a regional habitat monitoring programme with the following aims:

for the ECR

for the ECR

9EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

??

9 Regional Scale Habitat Mapping: ECR MESH?

??

Habitat Mapping in the ECR

Habitat Mapping through MESH

EC regional context mapping

Constraints of scale addressed by extensive use of acoustic data

Possibility that work can inform classification of MESH habitats

Habitat/impact modelling

Cost/benefit aspects of work

NW European seas context

Habitat modelling

Development of standards and procedures

Mapping conventions

Practical experience of habitat mapping at regional scale

Practical experience of combining diverse data sets to present a regional habitat description

Results of modelling and habitat descriptions

Clear, practical guidance from MESH regarding survey methodologies and results

Understanding of the types of data being generated by ECR and similar programmes and consideration of how such data might be used by MESH

Address resourcing issues for all parties involved

Beneficial Interaction between MESH and the

ECR Monitoring Programme

10

EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

10 Issues

Practicality Cost/benefit of monitoring at a regional scale

Primary purpose of the data set – monitoring, not research attempt to produce data capable of informing either

Confidence of interpretation over varying spatial scales best use of collated data sets and other studies (eg ALSF Eastern Channel Habitat Survey)

Determination of significance of operations in the context of habitat abundance through NW European Seas ECA Biodiversity Action Plan

11

EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y

??

Questions?

If you would like to know more please visit

www.eastchannel.info

??

Data presented with kind permission of theEast Channel Association

by

Emu Limited

12

EC

A R

eg

ion

al M

on

itori

ng

Case S

tud

y