Sussex: Rye Bay to Chichester Harbour
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Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom Region 8 Sussex: Rye Bay to Chichester Harbour 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 8 Sussex: Rye Bay to Chichester Harbour. Peterborough, Joint Nature Conservation Committee. (Coastal Directories Series.) Recommended citation for a chapter in this volume (example): Davidson, N.C. 1997. Chapter 4.1 Estuaries. In: Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom. Region 8 Sussex: Rye Bay to Chichester Harbour, ed. by J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson, S.S. Kaznowska, J.P. Doody, N.C. Davidson & A.L. Buck, 53-56. 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 8 1.1 The Coastal Directories Project 8 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 22 2.3 Wind and water British Geological Survey, D. Dales & K. Gilbert 25 2.4 Sediment transport British Geological Survey, D. Dales & K. Gilbert 29 2.5 Sea-level rise and flooding British Geological Survey, D. Dales & K. Gilbert 31 2.6 Coastal landforms British Geological Survey & J. Sawyer 33 Chapter 3 Terrestrial coastal habitats 35 3.1 Cliffs and cliff-top vegetation Dr T.C.D. Dargie 35 3.2 Sand dunes Dr T.C.D. Dargie 38 3.3 Vegetated shingle structures and shorelines Dr R.E. Randall 41 3.4 Coastal lagoons Dr R.N. Bamber & Dr R.S.K. Barnes 44 3.5 Wet grassland Dr H.T. Gee 47 3.6 Saltmarsh Dr M.I. Hill 50 Chapter 4 Marine and estuarine environments 53 4.1 Estuaries Dr N.C. Davidson 53 4.2 The sea bed R.A. Irving 57 4.3 Plankton M. Edwards & A.W.G. John 65 Chapter 5 Important species 69 5.1 Terrestrial lower plants N.G. Hodgetts 69 5.2 Flowering plants and ferns V.M. Morgan 73 5.3 Land and freshwater invertebrates M.S. Parsons & A.P. Foster 77 5.4 Rare sea-bed species J. Plaza 83 5.5 Exploited sea-bed species Dr M.G. Pawson & C.F. Robson 87 5.6 Amphibians and reptiles Dr M.J.S. Swan 91 5.7 Fish: exploited sea fish Dr M.G. Pawson & C.F. Robson 95 5.8 Fish: salmon, sea trout and eels Dr M. Aprahamian & C.F. Robson 99 5.9 Fish: other species S.E. Swaby & Dr G.W. Potts 101 5.10 Seabirds M.L. Tasker 103 5.11 Other breeding birds R.T. May & A.B. Law 105 5.12 Migrant and wintering waterfowl R.T. May & A.B. Law 108 5.13 Land mammals Dr C.E. Turtle & K.D. Meakin 112 5.14 Seals C.D. Duck 114 5.15 Whales, dolphins and porpoises Dr P.G.H. Evans 116 3 Chapter 6 History and archaeology A. Gale & V. Fenwick 119 Chapter 7 Coastal protected sites J. Plaza & R.G. Keddie 127 7.1 Introduction 127 7.2 Sites designated under international conventions and directives 129 7.3 Sites established under national statute 132 7.4 Sites identified by statutory agencies 135 7.5 Other types of protected site 138 Chapter 8 Land use, infrastructure and coastal defence 141 8.1 Introduction S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 141 8.2 Land use S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 142 8.3 Infrastructure S.L. Fowler, S.J. Everett & Scott Wilson Resource Consultants 145 8.4 Coastal defence S.L. Fowler 149 Chapter 9 Human activities 153 9.1 Fisheries C.F. Robson 153 9.2 Mariculture C.F. Robson 161 9.3 Quarrying and landfilling S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 164 9.4 Marine aggregate extraction, dredging S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert and solid waste disposal at sea 166 9.5 Oil and gas development S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 170 9.6 Water quality and effluent discharges S.L. Bell & K. Gilbert 172 9.7 Leisure & tourism S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 176 Chapter 10 Coastal management S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 181 10.1 Introduction 181 10.2 National coastal initiatives with regional elements 182 10.3 Regional coastal management groups and initiatives 185 Appendix A.1 Frequently cited contact organisations and addresses 193 A.2 Local planning authorities; port and harbour authorities 193 A.3 Core reading list 194 A.4 Contributing authors 195 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 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 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.