Best Practice Workshop and Guidelines on Aggregate Ecological Assessment
- Reference:
- 08/P75
- Organisation:
- Cefas (with Wessex Archaeology, ABPmer, MESL and JNCC)
- Amount Funded:
- £132,859
- Status:
- Current
The project is designed around delivering two main objectives,
namely; i. to hold a workshop with the aim of sharing best practice
on ecological assessment approaches for area of marine aggregate
extraction, ii. to up-date the existing "Guidelines for the conduct
of benthic studies at aggregate dredging sites" (DTLR, 2002).
The workshop will be held over three days (two half days and one
full day) to focus on the 'Marine Aggregates Regulatory Process' as
the new structure for the guidelines. The emphasis will be on using
real life examples so practical advice can be provided relating to
survey design, sampling methods, data generated and the numerical
assessments undertaken for the different stages of the regulatory
process.
An update on survey methods will also be produced and included
as an annex to the existing sampling guidance document in relation
to photographic and acoustic imagery. This will involve reviewing
existing guidance documents in terms of their suitability for
application at marine aggregate extraction sites (e.g. guidance
derived from the Interegg IV MESH programme).