Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom Region 10 South-west England: Seaton to the Roseland Peninsula 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 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, A.L. Buck Administration & editorial assistance R. Keddie, J. Plaza, S. Palasiuk, N.M. Stevenson The project receives guidance from a Steering Group which has more than 200 members. More detailed information and advice came 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 & 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., & Buck, A.L., eds. 1996. Coasts and seas of the United Kingdom. Region 10 South-west England: Seaton to the Roseland Peninsula. 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 10 South-west England: Seaton to the Roseland Peninsula, ed. by J.H. Barne, C.F. Robson, S.S. Kaznowska, J.P. Doody, N.C. Davidson & A.L. Buck, 51-54. 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 17 2.1 Coastal geology 17 2.2 Offshore geology 20 2.3 Wind and water 23 2.4 Sediment transport 26 2.5 Sea-level rise and flooding 28 2.6 Coastal landforms 30 Chapter 3 Terrestrial coastal habitats 33 3.1 Cliffs and cliff-top vegetation Dr T.C.D. Dargie 34 3.2 Sand dunes Dr T.C.D. Dargie 37 3.3 Vegetated shingle structures and shorelines Dr R.E. Randall 40 3.4 Coastal lagoons Dr R.N. Bamber & Dr R.S.K. Barnes 42 3.5 Wet grassland Dr H.T. Gee 44 3.6 Saltmarsh Dr M.I. Hill 47 Chapter 4 Marine and estuarine environments 51 4.1 Estuaries Dr N.C. Davidson 51 4.2 The sea bed R.A. Irving 55 4.3 Plankton M. Edwards & A.W.G. John 63 Chapter 5 Important species 67 5.1 Terrestrial lower plants N.G. Hodgetts 67 5.2 Flowering plants and ferns V.M. Morgan 70 5.3 Land and freshwater invertebrates M.S. Parsons & A.P. Foster 74 5.4 Rare sea-bed species Dr W.G. Sanderson 81 5.5 Exploited sea-bed species Dr M.G. Pawson & C.F. Robson 89 5.6 Amphibians and reptiles Dr M.J.S. Swan 94 5.7 Fish: exploited sea fish Dr M.G. Pawson & C.F. Robson 98 5.8 Fish: salmon, sea trout and eels Dr M. Aprahamian & C.F. Robson 103 5.9 Fish: other species Dr G.W. Potts & S.E. Swaby 105 5.10 Seabirds M.L. Tasker 108 5.11 Other breeding birds D.M. Craddock & D.A. Stroud 110 5.12 Migrant and wintering waterfowl D.A. Stroud & D.M. Craddock 113 5.13 Land mammals Dr C.E. Turtle 117 5.14 Seals C.D. Duck 120 5.15 Whales, dolphins and porpoises Dr P.G.H. Evans 122 3 Chapter 6 History and archaeology A. Gale & V. Fenwick 125 Chapter 7 Coastal protected sites R.G. Keddie 135 7.1 Introduction 135 7.2 Sites designated under international conventions and directives 137 7.3 Sites established under national statute 139 7.4 Sites identified by statutory agencies 143 7.5 Other types of protected site 146 Chapter 8 Land use, infrastructure and coastal defence 151 8.1 Introduction M.J. Dunbar, S.J. Everett, S.L. Fowler, J.A. Norton, C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 151 8.2 Land use S.L. Fowler & M.J. Dunbar 152 8.3 Infrastructure S.L. Fowler, J.A. Norton, M.J. Dunbar, C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 156 8.4 Coastal defence M.J. Dunbar, S.J. Everett, S.L. Fowler & J.A. Norton 161 Chapter 9 Human activities 165 9.1 Fisheries C.F. Robson 165 9.2 Mariculture C.F. Robson 175 9.3 Quarrying and landfilling C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 179 9.4 Marine aggregate extraction, dredging C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin and solid waste disposal at sea 182 9.5 Oil and gas developments C.A. Crumpton, M.J. Goodwin & J.H.Barne 186 9.6 Water quality and effluent discharges C.A. Crumpton & M.J. Goodwin 188 9.7 Leisure and tourism S.L. Fowler, S.J. Everett & M.J. Dunbar 193 Chapter 10 Coastal management S.L. Fowler & S.J. Everett 201 10.1 Introduction 201 10.2 National coastal initiatives with regional elements 202 10.3 Regional coastal management groups and initiatives 206 Appendix A.1 Frequently cited contact names and addresses 213 A.2 Local planning authorities; ports and harbour authorities 214 A.3 Core reading list 215 A.4 Contributing authors 216 4 Foreword Information is vital for sound policy formulation. Decision in collating the information, their variety reflecting the makers at national and local level need to know more than extent of the interplay between the coastal environment and just the scale, location and importance of natural resources human activities. These organisations included the Ministry that are of value to humans. They have to understand how of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Scottish Office, the human activities affect the value of those resources and how Department of the Environment, the Department of the to conduct those activities in an environmentally sustainable Environment (Northern Ireland), the National Rivers way. This is true for virtually every activity that impinges Authority (now the Environment Agency (EA)), the on the natural environment. In the coastal zone the Countryside Commission, the Welsh Office, the Sea Fisheries complexity of the relationships between the physical and Committees, English Nature, Scottish Natural Heritage and biological systems adds another dimension to the problems the Countryside Council for Wales, together with local of formulating management policy. authorities, voluntary conservation organisations and I am pleased, therefore, to be introducing the Coasts and private companies (notably those in the oil industry, through seas of the United Kingdom series. The Coastal Directories the UK Offshore Operators Association). I am also pleased project, of which this series of seventeen regional reports, to be able to acknowledge the contribution made by the staff covering the whole of the UK coast, is an important product, of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee. As the work has brought together an encyclopaedic range of information has evolved since the first meetings of the Steering Group in on our coastal resources and the human activities that are 1990, the value of involving such a broad span of interests associated with them. Amongst the topics covered are the has been highlighted by the extent to which it has allowed basic geology of the coasts around the United Kingdom and new 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.