• Minimise the demand for primary aggregates.
• Promote environmentally friendly extraction and transport.
• Reduce the effect of local aggregate extraction.

Sarah Harper

MSc Marine Resource Development and Protection
Heriot-Watt University

Investigating anthropogenic disturbance of the seabed at Hastings Shingle Bank

Abstract

The marine environment is under increasing pressure from resource development. Minimizing the impact of anthropogenic activities on the marine environment requires an understanding of the spatial and temporal extent of resource use as well as an understanding of the interactions of multiple resource activities. One method of acquiring this knowledge is by investigating the response of specific organisms or habitats to certain activities and pressures. This study examined the extent of seabed disturbance from demersal fishing and aggregate extraction activities and the response of the reef-building polychaete, Sabellaria spinulosa, to these activities at Hastings Shingle Bank in the eastern English Channel. Although no definitive relationship was found between the presence of Sabellaria 'reefs' and the proximity to disturbance from either of the two resource activities, this study did identify some of the challenges in estimating pressure on the seabed from multiple resource activities. The scale at which multiple activities are monitored complicates estimates of pressure on the benthic environment. Additionally, the accurate assessment of the impact on Sabellaria 'reefs' from anthropogenic activities may require a more in depth understanding of the biological characteristics of this organism than is currently available.