Region 3 North-East Scotland: Cape Wrath to St. Cyrus
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Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom Region 3 North-east Scotland: Cape Wrath to St. Cyrus edited by J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson, S.S. Kaznowska, J.P. Doody & N.C. Davidson Joint Nature Conservation Committee Monkstone House, City Road Peterborough PE1 1JY UK ©JNCC 1996 This volume has been produced by the Coastal Directories Project of the JNCC on behalf of the project Steering Group JNCC Coastal Directories Project Team Project directors Dr J.P. Doody, Dr N.C. Davidson Project management and co-ordination J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson Editing and publication S.S. Kaznowska, J.C. Brooksbank, F.J. Wright Administration & editorial assistance C.A. Smith, R. Keddie, E. Leck, S. Palasiuk, J. Plaza, N.M. Stevenson The project receives guidance from a Steering Group which has more than 200 members. More detailed information and advice comes from the members of the Core Steering Group, which is composed as follows: Dr J.M. Baxter Scottish Natural Heritage R.J. Bleakley Department of the Environment, Northern Ireland R. Bradley The Association of Sea Fisheries Committees of England and Wales Dr J.P. Doody Joint Nature Conservation Committee B. Empson Environment Agency Dr K. Hiscock Joint Nature Conservation Committee C. Gilbert Kent County Council & National Coasts and Estuaries Advisory Group Prof. S.J. Lockwood MAFF Directorate of Fisheries Research C.R. Macduff-Duncan Esso UK (on behalf of the UK Offshore Operators Association) Dr D.J. Murison Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department Dr H.J. Prosser Welsh Office Dr J.S. Pullen WWF UK (Worldwide Fund for Nature) N. Hailey English Nature Dr P.C. Reid Plymouth Marine Laboratory Dr M.J. Roberts Water Resources and Marine, Department of the Environment S.L. Soffe Countryside Council for Wales M.L. Tasker Joint Nature Conservation Committee R.G. Woolmore Countryside Commission Recommended citation for this volume: Barne, J.H., Robson, C.F., Kaznowska, S.S., Doody, J.P., & Davidson, N.C., eds. 1996. Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom. Region 3 North-east Scotland: Cape Wrath to St. Cyrus. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. (Coastal Directories Series.) Recommended citation for a chapter in this volume (example): Davidson, N.C. 1996. Chapter 4.1. Estuaries. In: Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom. Region 3 North-east Scotland: Cape Wrath to St. Cyrus, ed. by J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson, S.S. Kaznowska, J.P. Doody & N.C. Davidson, 65-68. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. (Coastal Directories Series.) Region 1: ISBN 1 873701 75 6 Region 10: ISBN 1 873701 84 5 Region 2: ISBN 1 873701 76 4 Region 11: ISBN 1 873701 85 3 Region 3: ISBN 1 873701 77 2 Region 12: ISBN 1 873701 86 1 Region 4: ISBN 1 873701 78 0 Region 13: ISBN 1 873701 87 x Region 5: ISBN 1 873701 79 9 Region 14: ISBN 1 873701 88 8 Region 6: ISBN 1 873701 80 2 Regions 15 & 16: ISBN 1 873701 89 6 Region 7: ISBN 1 873701 81 0 Region 17: ISBN 1 873701 92 6 Region 8: ISBN 1 873701 82 9 Region 9: ISBN 1 873701 83 7 Set of 17 regions: ISBN 1 873701 91 8 2 Contents Foreword 5 How to use this book 6 Acknowledgements 7 Chapter 1 Overview Dr J.P. Doody 9 1.1 The Coastal Directories project 9 1.2 Introduction to the region 13 Chapter 2 Geology and physical environment British Geological Survey 19 2.1 Coastal geology 19 2.2 Offshore geology 23 2.3 Wind and water 28 2.4 Sediment transport 33 2.5 Sea-level rise and flooding 36 2.6 Coastal landforms 38 Chapter 3 Terrestrial coastal habitats 41 3.1 Cliffs and cliff-top vegetation Dr T.C.D. Dargie 42 3.2 Sand dunes Dr T.C.D. Dargie 46 3.3 Vegetated shingle structures and shorelines Dr R.E. Randall 52 3.4 Coastal lagoons Dr R.S.K. Barnes & Dr R.N. Bamber 56 3.5 Wet grassland Dr H.T. Gee 58 3.6 Saltmarsh Dr M.I. Hill 61 Chapter 4 Marine and estuarine environments 65 4.1 Estuaries Dr N.C. Davidson 65 4.2 The sea bed R.A. Irving 69 4.3 Plankton M. Edwards & A.W.G. John 76 Chapter 5 Important species 79 5.1 Terrestrial lower plants N.G. Hodgetts 79 5.2 Flowering plants and ferns V.M. Morgan 83 5.3 Land and freshwater invertebrates A.P. Foster & M.S. Parsons 87 5.4 Rare sea-bed species Dr W.G. Sanderson 91 5.5 Exploited sea-bed species C.F. Robson 94 5.6 Amphibians and reptiles Dr M.J.S. Swan 98 5.7 Fish: exploited sea fish C.F. Robson 102 5.8 Fish: salmon, sea trout and eels C.F. Robson 107 5.9 Fish: other species Dr G.W. Potts & S.E. Swaby 109 5.10 Seabirds M.L. Tasker 112 5.11 Other breeding birds D.M. Craddock & D.A. Stroud 116 5.12 Migrant and wintering waterfowl D.A. Stroud & D.M. Craddock 120 5.13 Land mammals Dr C.E. Turtle 125 5.14 Seals C.D. Duck 128 5.15 Whales, dolphins and porpoises Dr P.G.H. Evans 131 3 Chapter 6 History and archaeology A. Gale & V. Fenwick 135 6.1 Introduction 135 6.2 History and archaeology of the region 136 6.3 Human activities 138 6.4 Information sources 141 Chapter 7 Coastal protected sites R.G. Keddie 143 7.1 Introduction 143 7.2 Sites designated under international conventions and directives 145 7.3 Sites established under national statute 148 7.4 Sites identified by statutory agencies 152 7.5 Other types of protected site 155 Chapter 8 Land use, infrastructure and coastal defence 159 8.1 Introduction S.L. Fowler, S.J. Everett & J.A. Norton 159 8.2 Land use S.L. Fowler & M.J. Dunbar 160 8.3 Infrastructure S.L. Fowler 164 8.4 Coastal defence S.L. Fowler 171 Chapter 9 Human activities 175 9.1 Fisheries D. Murison & C.F. Robson 175 9.2 Mariculture C.F. Robson 184 9.3 Quarrying and landfilling C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 188 9.4 Marine aggregate extraction, dredging and solid waste disposal at sea C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 192 9.5 Oil and gas developments C.A. Crumpton, M.J. Goodwin & J.H.Barne 196 9.6 Water quality and effluent discharges C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 199 9.7 Leisure and tourism S.L. Fowler 204 Chapter 10 Coastal management S.L. Fowler 209 10.1 Introduction 209 10.2 National coastal initiatives with regional elements 210 10.3 Regional coastal management groups and initiatives 211 Appendix 217 A.1 Frequently cited contact organisations and addresses 217 A.2 Local planning authorities; port and harbour authorities 218 A.3 Core reading list 218 A.4 Contributing authors 219 4 Foreword Information is vital for sound policy formulation. Decision collaborated in collating the information, their variety makers at national and local level need to know more than reflecting the extent of the interplay between the coastal just the scale, location and importance of natural resources environment and human activities. These organisations that are of value to humans. They have to understand how included the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, human activities affect the value of those resources and how the Scottish Office, the National Rivers Authority, the to conduct those activities in an environmentally sustainable Countryside Commission, the Welsh Office, the Department way. This is true for virtually every activity that impinges of the Environment, the Department of the Environment on the natural environment. In the coastal zone the (Northern Ireland), the Sea Fisheries Committees, English complexity of the relationships between the physical and Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and the Countryside biological systems adds another dimension to the problems Council for Wales, together with local authorities, voluntary of formulating management policy. conservation organisations and private companies (notably I am pleased, therefore, to be introducing the Coasts and those in the oil industry, through the UK Offshore Operators seas of the United Kingdom series. The Coastal Directories Association). I am also pleased to be able to acknowledge project, of which this series of seventeen regional reports, the contribution made by the staff of the Joint Nature covering the whole of the UK coast, is an important product, Conservation Committee. As the work has evolved since has brought together an encyclopaedic range of information the first meetings of the Steering Group in 1990, the value of on our coastal resources and the human activities that are involving such a broad span of interests has been associated with them. Amongst the topics covered are the highlighted by the extent to which it has allowed new basic geology of the coasts around the United Kingdom and approaches and information sources to be identified. measures taken for coast defence and sea protection, the The regional reports will be of value to all who live and distribution and importance of the wildlife and habitats of work in the maritime areas of the UK, where informed our coasts and seas, including fish and fisheries, and the management is the key to the sustainable use of resources. climate and sea level changes to which they all are subject. The reports should become indispensable reference sources In addition to the value of the information itself, the way for organisations shouldering new or expanded the project has been run and the data collected has made an responsibilities for the management of Special Areas of important contribution to the quality of the product.