South-East England: Lowestoft to Dungeness
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Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom Region 7 South-east England: Lowestoft to Dungeness edited by J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson, S.S. Kaznowska, J.P. Doody, N.C. Davidson & A.L. Buck Joint Nature Conservation Committee Monkstone House, City Road Peterborough PE1 1JY UK ©JNCC 1998 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, A.L. Buck Administration & editorial assistance J. Plaza, P.A. Smith, 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 C. Gilbert Kent County Council & National Coasts and Estuaries Advisory Group N. Hailey English Nature Dr K. Hiscock Joint Nature Conservation Committee Prof. S.J. Lockwood Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences C.R. Macduff-Duncan Esso UK (on behalf of the UK Offshore Operators Association) Dr D.J. Murison Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment & Fisheries Department Dr H.J. Prosser Welsh Office Dr J.S. Pullen WWF UK (Worldwide Fund for 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., & Buck, A.L., eds. 1998. Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom. Region 7 South-east England: Lowestoft to Dungeness. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. (Coastal Directories Series.) Recommended citation for a chapter in this volume (example): Davidson, N.C. 1998. Chapter 4.1 Estuaries. In: Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom. Region 7 South-east England: Lowestoft to Dungeness, ed. by J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson, S.S. Kaznowska, J.P. Doody, N.C. Davidson & A.L. Buck, 67-72. 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 19 2.1 Coastal geology British Geological Survey & J. Sawyer 19 2.2 Offshore geology British Geological Survey 23 2.3 Wind and water British Geological Survey, D. Dales & K. Gilbert 28 2.4 Sediment transport British Geological Survey, D. Dales & K. Gilbert 33 2.5 Sea-level rise and flooding British Geological Survey, D. Dales & K. Gilbert 36 2.6 Coastal landforms British Geological Survey & J. Sawyer 38 Chapter 3 Terrestrial coastal habitats 41 3.1 Cliffs and cliff-top vegetation Dr T.C.D. Dargie 41 3.2 Sand dunes Dr T.C.D. Dargie 45 3.3 Vegetated shingle structures and shorelines Dr R.E. Randall 48 3.4 Coastal lagoons Dr R.N. Bamber & Dr R.S.K. Barnes 53 3.5 Wet grassland Dr H.T. Gee 56 3.6 Saltmarsh Dr M.I. Hill 62 Chapter 4 Marine and estuarine environments 67 4.1 Estuaries Dr N.C. Davidson 67 4.2 The sea bed R.A. Irving 73 4.3 Plankton M. Edwards & A.W.G. John 81 Chapter 5 Important species 85 5.1 Terrestrial lower plants N.G. Hodgetts 85 5.2 Flowering plants and ferns V.M. Morgan 89 5.3 Land and freshwater invertebrates M.S. Parsons & A.P. Foster 94 5.4 Rare sea-bed species J. Plaza 107 5.5 Exploited sea-bed species Dr M.G. Pawson & C.F. Robson 111 5.6 Amphibians and reptiles Dr M.J.S. Swan 115 5.7 Fish: exploited sea fish Dr M.G. Pawson & C.F. Robson 121 5.8 Fish: salmon, sea trout and eels Dr M. Aprahamian & C.F. Robson 126 5.9 Fish: other species S.E. Swaby & Dr G.W. Potts 128 5.10 Seabirds M.L. Tasker 131 5.11 Other breeding birds R.T. May & A.B. Law 135 5.12 Migrant and wintering waterfowl R.T. May & A.B. Law 139 5.13 Land mammals Dr C.E. Turtle & K.D. Meakin 145 5.14 Seals C.D. Duck 148 5.15 Whales, dolphins and porpoises Dr P.G.H. Evans 150 3 Chapter 6 History and archaeology A. Gale & V. Fenwick 155 Chapter 7 Coastal protected sites J. Plaza & R.G. Keddie 167 7.1 Introduction 167 7.2 Sites designated under international conventions and 169 directives 7.3 Sites established under national statute 175 7.4 Sites identified by statutory agencies 181 7.5 Other types of protected site 184 Chapter 8 Land use, infrastructure and coastal defence 8.1 Introduction S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 189 8.2 Land use S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 189 8.3 Infrastructure S.L. Fowler, S.J. Everett & Scott Wilson Resource 190 Consultants 193 8.4 Coastal defence S.L. Fowler 201 Chapter 9 Human activities 205 9.1 Fisheries C.F. Robson 205 9.2 Mariculture C.F. Robson 214 9.3 Quarrying and landfilling S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 218 9.4 Marine aggregate extraction, dredging and solid waste S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 221 disposal at sea 9.5 Oil and gas developments S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 226 9.6 Water quality and effluent discharges S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 228 9.7 Leisure and tourism S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 234 Chapter 10 Coastal management S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 241 10.1 Introduction 241 10.2 National coastal initiatives with regional elements 242 10.3 Regional coastal management groups and initiatives 245 Appendix 253 A.1 Frequently cited contact organisations and addresses 253 A.2 Local planning authorities; port and harbour authorities 255 A.3 Core reading list 257 A.4 Contributing authors 258 4 Foreword Information is vital for sound policy formulation. Decision of the interplay between the coastal environment and human makers at national and local level need to know more than activities. These organisations included the Ministry of just the scale, location and importance of natural resources Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Scottish Office, the that are of value to humans. They have to understand how Department of the Environment (Northern Ireland), the human activities affect the value of those resources and how Environment Agency, the Countryside Commission, the to conduct those activities in an environmentally sustainable Welsh Office, the Department of the Environment (now the way. This is true for virtually every activity that impinges on Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions), the natural environment. In the coastal zone the complexity of the Sea Fisheries Committees, English Nature, Scottish the relationships between the physical and biological systems Natural Heritage and the Countryside Council for Wales, adds another dimension to the problems of formulating together with local authorities, voluntary conservation management policy. organisations and private companies (notably those in the oil I am pleased, therefore, to be introducing the Coasts and industry, through the UK Offshore Operators Association). seas of the United Kingdom series. The Coastal Directories I am also pleased to be able to acknowledge the contribution project, of which this series of seventeen regional reports, made by the staff of the Joint Nature Conservation covering the whole of the UK coast, is an important product, Committee. As the work has evolved since the first meetings has brought together an encyclopaedic range of information of the Steering Group in 1990, the value of involving such a on our coastal resources and the human activities that are broad span of interests has been highlighted by the extent to associated with them. Amongst the topics covered are the which it has allowed new approaches and information sources basic geology of the coasts around the United Kingdom and to be identified. measures taken for sea defence and coast protection, the The regional reports will be of value to all who live and distribution and importance of the wildlife and habitats of our work in the maritime areas of the UK, where informed coasts and seas, including fish and fisheries, and the climate management is the key to the sustainable use of resources. 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.