Latest Newsletter

Documents marked need
Adobe Reader to view. In the unlikely event that it is not on your computer, it is available free of charge from:-

This page is validated to XHTML 1.0

This page is validated to CSS

Latest News Archive

Ο Marine Aggregates   Ο Coastal Erosion   Ο Renewable Energy
Ο Marine Legislation   Ο Bathing Water   Ο Pollution
Ο Marine Reserves   Ο Global Warming   Ο Fisheries

Recycled Glass bottles for saving our beaches

From US/Eastern News of August 12th 2007 comes a story of a most innovative and excellent form of recycling that could save our authorities a fortune, save our shorelines and our marine ecosystem and overcome the problem of glass disposal to boot. That this would also place cohesive granular material back on our beaches that would help arrest the sand draw down on our steepening and non-cohesive shores is yet a further advantage. http://cbs4.com/consumer/local_story_234142623.html

Broward's Sand Shortage May Be Solved With Glass

Picture a beautiful beach spanning miles of coastline, gently lapped by aqua-colored water, but sprinkled with glass? You'd think it might hurt but think again. It's actually sugary soft with sparkling granules that feel like, well, sand. And that's the point.

Faced with the constant challenge of keeping sand on Florida's beaches, Broward County officials are exploring an innovative option to use pulverized glass to control erosion. The recycled glass would be crushed into tiny grains and mixed with regular sand to patch erosion problems on the county's beaches before they wash away. And it's only natural, officials say, since glass is made from melted sand. "Basically, what we're doing is taking the material and returning it back to its natural state," said Phil Bresee, Broward's recycling manager.

The county would become the first in the country to use the process to dispose of recycled glass, bolster sand reserves and intentionally spread it on beaches, Bresee said.

Sand is a commodity in South Florida, where beach-related business generates more than $1 billion a year for Broward alone. It has traditionally been dredged from the ocean a mile offshore and piped onto beaches, about 13 million tons of it since 1970 in Broward. That's enough sand to fill the entire Empire State Building more than 12 times over. But with the county's reef system restricting future dredge sites, available sand is becoming scarce and pricey as construction and fuel costs rise and dredge operations are pushed farther offshore.

In 2005, a dredge operation brought in about 2.6 million tons of sand at a cost of $45 million. By comparison, a 1991 dredge operation brought in about 1.3 million tons of sand for $9 million.

The recycled glass market also is lagging from low value, Bresee said. "The goal of this project is to spearhead a synergistic approach to the glass recycling challenges as well as beach nourishment ... We're certainly blazing the trail," he added. "It's unclear how much the project would cost the county, whether it would be cheaper to just sell the glass or even if the project is feasible as Broward doesn't have its own plant to process the glass. The state and county have so far spent about $600,000 on tests and engineering".

"And while the glass sand project wouldn't solve the county's problem of limited sand supply, it would create a reserve to plug beach "hot spots" like pot holes before they become critically eroded", Bresee said.

A typical large dredge project brings in about 2.6 million tons of offshore sand. The county would create just 15,600 tons of the glass material each year.

Most of Broward County's 24 miles of beaches are considered critically eroded, in largely because of coastal development and offshore channelizing. Statewide, more than a quarter of Florida's 1,350-mile coastline falls into the same category. About $80 million is spent annually restoring Florida's beaches, but it's a constant challenge as storms sweep away sand and coastal development continues.

"The sand that is still there is just getting harder to get," said Paden Woodruff of the state Department of Environmental Protection. Woodruff said the glass sand project would have multiple benefits. "You reduce waste stream that goes to our landfills and you generate materials that could be available for our beaches," he said.

The idea grew from the unintentional consequences of an ocean dump site off Northern California near Fort Bragg. In 1949, officials began dumping garbage over a cliff into the ocean -- everything from old cars to refrigerators and glass, said Charles Finkl, a marine geologist with Boca Raton-based Coastal Planning and Engineering. Finkl said that while organic material degraded over the years, the glass broke apart and became smooth in the surf. The area is now known locally as Glass Beach. Another accidental glass dump site in Hawaii produced similar results, Finkl said. "You talk about glass beach and people have images of sharp glass shards but it's not that way at all," he said. "Mineralogically, its the same as natural sand." While Broward's plan would first crush the glass into sand-sized grains before spreading it on the beach, the California and Hawaii sites show it's not just a pipe dream, Finkl said.

A similar technique has been used to create sandy beaches using glass along Lake Hood in New Zealand and on the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao.

Broward County tested a small patch of the glass sand on Hollywood's beach last year, using sensors to measure humidity and heat. Scientists have also conducted laboratory tests that show organisms and wildlife can live and thrive in the glass material just like natural sand, they said. The county is now awaiting a permit to place the glass sand in the surf zone to see how it reacts in the waves.

But the science is simply too new to truly know of any long-term consequences, said Dennis Heinemann, a senior scientist with the Ocean Conservancy. "There's no way that you can predict all the environmental consequences of an action like this," Heinemann said. "There always will be unforeseen consequences."

The state and Broward County are currently spending millions to remove some 700,000 old tires from the ocean floor off Fort Lauderdale that were dumped there in the 1970s with the good intentions of creating an artificial reef. It didn't work, and now the tires are scouring the ocean floor and wedging against the natural reef, killing coral. A lesson learned the hard way.

Stephen Higgins, Broward's beach erosion administrator, said disastrous side effects from the glass sand are highly unlikely. "If we were going to construct an entire beach out of glass, I would be a little more concerned," Higgins said. "But our test results show there were no discernible differences between the glass-sand blends and the 100 percent natural beach sand."

MARINET asks the Marine and Fisheries Agency when the aggregate dredging regulations will be placed on a statutory basis

Following the public consultation in July 2006 about a statutory basis for the aggregate dredging licensing procedure (MMG2), MARINET has now asked the MFA when this statutory basis (Act of Parliament) will be given to the procedures, see the 3 letters dated 8th July 07, 16th July 07 and 20th August 07 at www.marinet.org.uk/mad/mmdr.html

MARINET believes the Government may be improperly enforcing the aggregate dredging licensing procedure for Area 436

MARINET has asked the Marine and Fisheries Agency (Defra) to check whether the licensing procedures (Marine Minerals Guidance Note 1) have been properly applied when the aggregate dredging licence for Area 436 expired recently, see the 4 lettters dated 10th April 07, 11th July 07, and 28th August 07 (2) at www.marinet.org.uk/mad/objection.html#202

MARINET asks Government about appeal procedures over aggregate licence for Area 401/2

After a prolonged period of correspondence with the Government over the shortcomings of the EIA for a renewed aggregate extraction licence for Area 401/2, MARINET continues to believe that its concerns have not been properly addressed, and is now asking the Marine and Fisheries Agency (Defra) whether it can appeal against the licence decision, see the 3 lettters dated 26th July 07, 7th August 07, and 28th August 07 at www.marinet.org.uk/mad/objection.html#401

Unusual winds and groyne problems for cliff man

From the pages of the Eastern Daily Press of 29 August 2007 comes this story by Chris Hill of Peter Boggis's valiant attempt to save the coastline.

The retired engineer who built his own coastal defences said yesterday that the recent improvements at neighbouring Southwold had exposed his section of cliff to a tenfold increase in erosion.

Peter Boggis had 250,000 tonnes of clay soils delivered to protect a 20km section of the coastline near his home at Easton Bavents in Suffolk.

But he claimed that the £8m rebuilding of Southwold's groynes and sea wall, which was formally completed in July, had led to 40pc of his "soft sea defence" being washed away since the winter. Waveney District Council, which made the improvements in partnership with the Environment Agency, attributed the increased beach scouring to a change in the prevailing weather conditions.

But with conservation agency Natural England preventing further building by declaring the beach a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), Mr Boggis is unable to replenish his DIY defences, and is asking the High Court to overturn the restrictions.

Mr Boggis said: "It is very important that the cliffs at Easton Bavents are protected, not only to ourselves, but also for Southwold because, as the cliffs erode away, Southwold would become an ever more exposed promontory and, therefore, much more difficult to protect than it is today."

Paul Patterson, senior coastal engineer at the district council, said: "The circumstances that led to the massive loss of Peter's sacrificial fill were unusual. "In January and February, the winds were blowing from south to north almost constantly and the force of the wind was not typical. This created a tendency for sand to be lost to the north, and the new groynes prevented sand from coming in from the south to replace it. It is unreasonable to judge the project over the course of one year."

Last July, English Nature (now Natural England) renotified the SSSI zone to protect wildlife habitats along eight miles of coastline from Pakefield to Easton Bavents, prompting Mr Boggis to seek a judicial review to allow his work to continue. The date of the first hearing will be set on September 14.

Sewage set for sea near Lowestoft

Eastern Daily Press, 25th August 2007

Environment chiefs are set to allow minimally-treated sewage to be pumped into the sea off Lowestoft to allow for vital repairs at a water treatment centre. A public consultation was launched in May after Anglian Water (AW) revealed plans to reduce the amount of treatment it carries out on sewage for about six months at its Lowestoft Waste Water Treatment Centre at Corton.
Last night a spokesman for the Environment Agency said the finishing touches were being put to the licence and that permission for AW to proceed with the £1.5m project was imminent.

The plans had come under fire from environmental groups, but AW insists the work is safe and will not compromise water bathing standards off the north Suffolk coast.

Environment Agency spokesman Richard Woollard said careful consideration was given to the licence, which AW wants to run from October to April to avoid the main holiday season. He added: "We haven't issued a licence yet, but it is imminent. We are in the process of drawing it up and we are in negotiations with Anglian Water at the moment."

The £70m water treatment plant at Corton was opened in 2001 and is different to most other sewage plants because it is fully enclosed to prevent smells blighting local residents' lives and also to make it less of an eyesore.

However, its design means that corrosive gases have been harder to disperse, which has caused a quicker deterioration of equipment than would be expected at traditional plants. AW water has revealed plans to use an old pipe system, known as the long sea outfall, to pump water further out to sea off Ness Point.

Spokesman Andrew Mackintosh said the work at Corton was important to maintain bathing water standards in the long term.
He added: "As far as we are concerned everything is going according to the timetable. The work needs to be done and this is the most sensible way of doing it. What we are doing is going back to the way it was seven or eight years ago and it was perfectly safe then. The impact should be very, very minimal."

The work had initially been opposed by the North Sea Action Group (NSAG) and the Marine Environmental Information Network (Marinet). Pat Gowen, a spokesman for both groups, questioned whether AW's actions were in breach of EU laws over the quality of water pumped out by treatment centres, but was told that the Environment Agency could grant temporary consent for less treated sewage to be pumped into the sea. Yesterday, he said: "They are saying they are doing it for the long-term good, so I think I probably agree with that. But I want them to put up notices warning people there is untreated sewage going into the sea. If they fail to do that it would be a very bad reflection of them."

Mr Mackintosh from AW said the possibility of putting up signs was still under discussion.

Tidal Power for the UK - the Severn estuary debate

Should we be building tidal barrages, tidal lagoons or marine curent turbines in the Severn estuary and around UK coasts in order to make sound use of the renewable energy available from the sea? Which technology is best, offering cost-efficient and reliable electricity generation and an acceptable environmental impact?
A MARINET member takes a careful look at the facts and myths in this important debate, see www.marinet.org.uk/refts/7estuarydebate.html

Conservatives work to preserve Walney coast

The following excerpt is part of a letter from Cllr Bill Joughin of Barrow Borough Council published in the North-West Evening Mail of the 15th August 2007

Speaking of the Labour party in general and Councillor Anita Husband's letter on this matter in particular, may I remind her that the problem of coastal erosion has been with us for a number of years, and when the Labour party controlled the council, and indeed had six district councillors and two county councillors on Walney, this problem was ignored by them for many years. As leader of the council, I can advise Walney Ward voters that it is no coincidence that since they elected two Conservative councillors on Walney, their problems are being addressed, by the interventions of councillors Mike Jones and Oliver Pearson, not least the improved bus service to North Scale and indeed the efforts that have been made over the past six months by our council officers to persuade English Nature and the various government agencies to give us authority to carry out even the emergency works we would seek to do.

This continuing and often frustrating work, and the money to pay for consultants reports to get to even this stage, has been provided by a Conservative-led administration and it is indeed ironic that after failing to take any action for many years while the Labour party had full control of the council, Councillor Anita Husband, like some latter-day carpetbagger, now seeks to claim credit for her party for the painstaking actions, undertaken by my administration.

May I say that our council officers are actively seeking a solution to the legal impediments presently preventing the work being done and when that solution is found I trust they will be applauded by those who have seen fit to criticise them.

Plaid Cymru opposes Gower dredging

The following is a quote from a longer article from the Western Mail of 21st August 2007

Yesterday, in a letter to a local paper, Plaid AM Dai Lloyd attacked Swansea Council's Liberal Democrat leader Chris Holley for suggesting that Plaid backed further sand dredging off the Gower coast. Mr Lloyd said in his letter, "Let us make one thing abundantly clear. Plaid have consistently opposed the dredging on the basis that until robust investigation shows that there is no effect on Gower's beaches, then the precautionary approach should prevail. This will continue to be Plaid's stance. Councillor Holley knows full well that the decision as to whether the dredging should continue rests solely with the Minister for Sustainability.

"That Minister is Labour's Jane Davidson, so Councillor Holley's statement, that this was in part a Plaid decision, is simply political game playing."

Sea defences are not enough

From the  East Anglian Times 30th July 2007

PRESSURE groups have welcomed plans to bolster sea defences along a stretch of Suffolk coast as of "short-term" benefit - but have called for more action to address the underlying cause of coastal erosion.

The North Sea Action Group and Marinet, the Marine Network of Friends of the Earth Groups, said restrictions on both off-shore mineral extraction and the deepening of shipping channels were needed.

Pat Gowen, spokesman of both groups, said he was delighted "a degree of common sense had prevailed" in the decision by Suffolk Coastal District Council to back a scheme at East Lane, Bawdsey.

It would see defences bolstered, financed by the private sale of land for local housing.

However, the plans - to dump rocks to protect the local cliffs from the action of waves - was only likely to produce a short-term alleviation of the current level of erosion, he said.

"Rock protection is in vogue. While it does most certainly reduce the loss, the rocks slowly sink and the sand between, behind and below will still reduce," he said.

This had been shown by the scheme at Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, where the initial rock line had now sunk and an additional line of rocks had been placed behind them.

For long-term sea defence it was necessary to address the main causes of the erosion, he said.

"This would mean halting the loss of the shoreline material to the demands of offshore aggregate dredging and the reducing the impact of port deepening such as that at Felixstowe," Mr Gowen said.

Other measures that offered great benefits for stabilising and rebuilding beaches and shorelines included the provision of far less costly but more effective "soft" defences, such as the building of dunes planted with marran grass.

Mr Gowen added: "For many centuries now the East Anglian coastline has been slowly eroding for natural reasons.

"Apart from the effects of the onslaughts of major storms and surges, this has been a steady but nevertheless relentless regression.

"Beaches normally show sand loss over the winter months because the strong onshore northerly winds create an undertow taking the mobile sand and shingle out to sea.

"Where once it was brought back to the shore by the opposite south to south-west summer winds, this previous balance now is mainly lost. Since the onset of Offshore Aggregate Dredging the traffic seems to be one-way only."

The off-shore aggregates industry points out that independent studies have shown there is no evidence of a link between off-shore aggregate extraction and coastal erosion.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has also discounted claims that the deepening of shipping channels has aggravated coastal erosion.

Dimethyl Sulphide's rôle in climate regulation is confirmed

Dimethyl Sulphide (DMS) is a chemical compound emitted by micro-marine organisms, and is marine biology's most common form of sulphur. Sulphur, an essential basic element, is washed out of soils into the sea and begins its return to land as dimethyl sulphide via marine organisms whose respiration emits DMS into the atmosphere where it is converted into sulphate particles around which water droplets and clouds form, thus eventually returning the sulphur back to land as rain. Thus DMS plays a crucial role in the climate and biology of the planet, and is believed by Gaia theorists to be an essential regulatory process. Similar cycles also return other essential elements from the sea to land e.g. selenium and iodine.
For further details, listen to Material World, BBC Radio 4

Worldwide Ban on TBT finally agreed

Tributyltin (TBT) is a chemical compound which, when mixed into paint, will kill algal and barnacle growth and thus act as an anti-fouling system on the hulls of ships. However the chemical is also highly toxic to many marine organisms and, even at low concentrations, it causes deformations and genital changes in marine animals. The decline in the commercial oyster industry is attributed to the use of TBT. TBT has been used as an anti-fouling agent by shipping fleets for many years, although its negative environmental impact was known 40 years ago and there was general agreement that it should be banned 7 years ago. Now a sufficient majority of nations in the United Nation's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) have agreed to this ban, and the IMO will be introducing a global ban in 12 months time.
For additional details, see WWF website

Beach worries over dredging

BBC News website has a 3 minute audio/video interview with people along the Welsh Gower area concerned that offshore aggregate dredging is damaging their Gower beaches.

To hear please click on this link.

MARINET member argues strongly for Great Yarmouth to reject local Shoreline Management Plan

MARINET member Pat Gowen, based in Norwich, has written to the Gt Yarmouth Borough Council drawing attention to the following news article that appeared in the Eastern Evening News on 20th August 2007. Pat's comments to the council appear after the article.

Demise of Great Yarmouth's Golden Mile

Eastern Evening News 20th August 2007

Great Yarmouth is in danger of not having a beach within the next 100 years, while 170 homes along the coast will be lost to the sea by that time, according to a report.

With the spiralling costs of coastal defences, a plan has been devised which will protect important centres along the coast - but that could be at the expense of other sections. The Shoreline Management Plan was commissioned by North Norfolk District Council, Great Yarmouth Borough Council, Waveney District Council and the National Rivers Authority and recommends what action should be taken.

Barry Coleman, leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said it was frustrating that government funding to pay for coastal defences was dependent on the plan being adopted. For Great Yarmouth itself the recommendation is to continue to hold the line and protect the town, but the report states that by 2105 there could be little or no beach unless action is taken elsewhere.

But things could be even worse for people living in the Eccles to Winterton Beach Road area, where the suggestion is mooted for some land to be surrendered to the sea in the future. The report states: "The exposure of this coastline means that technically and economically it will become increasingly difficult to hold the present shoreline position in the longer term. Eventually beaches will become impossible to retain in their current position, even with continual re-nourishment, as sea-level rise and coastal squeeze results in higher exposure of the shoreline defences".

Experts suggest a more sustainable approach could be to retreat the defence line and allow a natural beach to form, although they admitted: "This would result in the loss of properties and farmland in the floodplain."

Other areas which could see properties lost to the sea include Corton, Newport, Scratby, Caister and Hopton.

On Wednesday Yarmouth's cabinet is expected to agree that forward planning is put in place to address the issues for the people whose property would be affected. Mr Coleman said: "What we are hoping will happen is that members will accept the new management plan which will allow funding to come in, but that we will make clear we have reservations."

Pat Gowen's comments to the council regarding the above article.

Assuming this report to be accurate, the assumption that Great Yarmouth and the surrounding area will lose it's beaches 'within a hundred years' is in MARINET's opinion both myopic and highly optimistic. If offshore dredging continues, the new Outer Harbour dredges for deep water access, if no functional forms of defence are installed and the government continue to fail to provide the needed protection, thirty years of life (or even less) is far more likely. You will recall that the erosive demise of Happisburgh was twelve times that predicted by EA and DEFRA 'experts'.

It now appears that in order to force through the rejected and highly unpopular 'Managed Retreat' policy of abandonment of coastal villages, businesses and housing to the sea without the provision of compensation, the Environment Agency is, backed by DEFRA and cosy with BMAPA, intent on seizing the responsibility for coastal protection away from the local councils and experts who far better understand the situation. It further now appears that the EA and DEFRA are in effect blackmailing Great Yarmouth Borough Council into accepting their unethical and already rejected Shoreline Management Plan.

As you will well be aware, Public Consultation on the SMP ran until 29th April 2005. This welcomed 'comments' on the document from all members of the impacted community. By the end of the consultation period over 2,000 such comments resulted, when it was admitted that all but three consultees were vehemently opposed to their 'plan'.

I think, following DEFRA's strategy - or rather the lack of it - in permitting and then poorly dealing with the recent inland flooding, their lack of control over offshore aggregate dredging, their failure to fund vital defences, means that DEFRA and the EA are the very last people who are qualified to issue edicts on coastal protection and flooding. They have completely failed to heed expertise and advice given them in public consultations and by many independent international expert coastal geomorphologists, and they have blundered on with their totally mistaken 'Managed Retreat' policy, which has lead us to the unacceptable Shoreline Management Plan. It is hard to believe that the GYBC Cabinet can even contemplate agreeing to the government's Shoreline Management Plan. when so much is at stake.

As aforesaid, for DEFRA and the Environment Agency to refuse to fund coastal protection for Great Yarmouth unless the SMP is adopted equates to blackmail. It would mean the loss of our wildlife sites, our dunes, coastal trade, our best beaches, valuable farmland and much coastal housing, all without compensation to the losers, at great cost to the infrastructure and at great loss of income dependent upon the attraction of our beaches and coastline. The sole beneficiaries will be the dredgers who will have more sand and gravel liberated from the coastline to exploit.

I do hope that the Council stand up for their rights and those of their constituents tomorrow.

Meaningful points for use on the SMP and coastal defence are to be found by going to: www.marinet.org.uk/coastaldefences/smp.html

That missing sand!

Thanks to the Eastern Daily Press of 13th August publishing an amazing revelation by Chevrolet, we at last know just where all that sand from our denuded beaches is going to. And there we were thinking that it might due to be the millions of tons dredged from our sea bed.

Grains of sand add up

Holidaymakers visiting the East Anglian coast are being urged not to drive sand home from the beach after new research out today suggests that Britons are likely to inadvertently take home enough of the yellow stuff to fill 25,000 family cars this year.

It comes as Norfolk is ranked seventh in a poll of the most popular beach destinations Britons will drive to this year.

The study says that as a nation we are expected to take more than 27 million UK beach holidays this year with three in five of us going green and shunning carbon-heavy flights abroad.

But, without thinking, people are likely to take home with them a total of 160,000 tonnes of sand, enough to fill 25,000 family cars.

The majority of the sand gets transported from coast to car via shoes and clothing, while around a third is carried in towels and blankets and 6pc gets stuck in hair and on the body. According to the research by vehicle maker Chevrolet, women carry on average 7kg of sand away with them every day, while men transport 5km. [I think they mean 5kg]

Chevrolet's Les Turton said: "It seems British seaside holidays are enjoying a resurgence in popularity, so much so that we are accidentally taking 25,000 amount of cars full of sand home with us. Driving holidays are a great way to discover Britain and also spend some quality time with the family. Just make sure if you're going to the beach you don't lose them under the surplus sand on the way back."

Study hope for coastal homes at risk

From the Yorkshire Post of 9th August 2007 comes this news by Alexandra Wood of a contoversial new study into the grave situation of erosion along Yorkshire's East Riding coastline. But it does rather remind one of what the Prince of Wales said in his opening speech at the North Sea Conference so many years ago "While the investigation continues, the patient may die"

A new study into the impact of coastal erosion could help in the battle for compensation for homeowners whose properties are lost to the sea. The findings of the £270,000 project will be used to update the controversial Shoreline Management Plan which advocated a "do nothing" approach a decade ago.

It said that nature was to be allowed to take its course along the East Riding's crumbling shoreline, apart from towns, including Withernsea and Hornsea, which would continue to be defended.

A report earlier this year said up to 70 more homes were under threat on the Yorkshire coast in the next 50 years. However, until now no financial aid has been available to those living on the East coast, and residents even have to pay demolition costs themselves. Campaigners say the Government should now set up a central fund for residents and coastal authorities.

The new two-year study - covering the coastline between Flamborough Head, in East Yorkshire and Gibralter Point in Lincolnshire - will take into account climate change and rising sea levels and show how the coast will look in 25, 50 and 100 years. Consultants Scott Wilson will carry out the technical modelling work but widespread consultation will be carried out with residents.

Paul Bellotti, East Riding Council's head of community and sustainable development, said the Government "couldn't ignore" the findings and would have to respond "one way or another".

He said: "It will provide new evidence to allow us to lobby Government for the right level of investment and that includes the Lincolnshire coast to either protect communities or hopefully bring the compensation they deserve. The Government, by virtue of them funding a significant plan, will want to hear and listen to the results and respond to it."

But fisherman Derek Crook, whose home at Tunstall has been lost to coastal erosion, said: "This is just ludicrous - people have said time and time again what they want. What's the point of spending well over a quarter of a million pounds on a study which won't achieve anything? The money would be better spent helping people move back from the clifftops."

The east coast is the fastest-eroding coastline in western Europe, disappearing at a rate of two metres a year to the south of Hornsea. Less than six miles have sea defences.

Professor John Pethick, the architect of the first SMP said even if the vast expense of concreting the coast could be justified, within a matter of years it would be toppling into the sea.

Better use for old hulks?

From the Sussex Express of 13th August comes this news that old warships may be sunk in Seaford Bay to help arrest erosion of the beach.

Sunken warships plan for bay

A plan to sink old warships in Seaford Bay to create an artificial reef could put the town on the tourism map.

Anthony Fowler, owner of the Tudor Manor Hotel in Seaford, has come up with a plan to sink 12 ex-naval warships after he was inspired by a similar scheme in Plymouth. He said the idea, which could cost millions of pounds, would boost tourism in the area, help prevent erosion of the coastline, encourage marine life and provide a haven for divers.

Mr Fowler, who is a keen diver himself, said: 'I have lived in Seaford all my life and Seaford used to have a fantastic beach with all the families down there. I read up about artificial reefing and found out about an example of this. The Navy has to stop pushing these ships off to different countries to get them scrapped so they have got to look at greener ways of disposing of them. All the toxins and scrap are taken out and you get an environmentally friendly way of getting rid of them which also protects the seafront. As an artificial reef it is going to stop waves bashing against the beach and enable us to develop our seafront. There is nowhere around here for diving like this. It could put Newhaven and Seaford on the map.'

Mr Fowler's plan was inspired by a similar scheme where a ship was sunk off Plymouth. The National Marine Aquarium used HMS Scylla in 2004 to create an artificial reef.

Mr Fowler said since Scylla had been sunk the area had made more than £1 million a year from tourism, mostly from divers visiting the area. Seaford Town Council was set to discuss the plan yesterday (Thursday) but said it would be contacting other bodies to see if it would be viable.

A council report proposes that the Newhaven Community Development Association (NCDA) be asked to evaluate the possibility of the scheme to see whether it could use its contacts to secure funding.

Leader of Seaford Town Council Jon Freeman said: 'The whole idea is to put Seaford on the map as a diving centre and it really does seem quite exciting. The difficulty is before we do that there must be a feasibility study into how much it would cost, how it would work and what effect it would have on the marine banks around there. That study is expected to cost between £50,000-£70,000. 'It would not be something Seaford Town Council could finance so we have looked to the Environment Agency and NCDA in the hope someone could give us a lead about how we could secure the money to do it. 'While it seems like a novel, creative and imaginative plan we have to get the funding from somewhere.'

Petition set up to object to oil being transferred between tankers in the Firth of Forth

KIMO, the Local Authorities International Environmental Organisation, has objected to The Maritime and Coastguard Agency's approval of the application by Forth Ports Plc and Melbourne Marine Services to transfer 8 million tonnes of Russian heavy crude oil in 150 transfers per year between tankers moored together in the Firth of Forth. These transfers will be taking place in open water only a few miles from internationally important populations of wintering waders on the Forth coastline, which is a Special Protection Area, and breeding seabirds colonies on the Forth Islands. The nearby Isle of May is also a Special Area of Conservation due to its breeding seal population and underwater reefs. In addition to these areas of conservation two Marine Environment High Risk Areas (MEHRA's) for shipping have also recently been designated in the Forth. KIMO believes that these proposed transfers, which bring limited economic benefit to the area but significantly increase the chance of a catastrophic oil spill, should be stopped by the Scottish Executive. KIMO have established a petition to resist this approval, see www.kimointernational.org/Default.aspx?tabid=157

MARINET member highlights the importance of increased acidification of the oceans due to climate change

Camel Friends of the Earth, Cornwall, has established a page on its website which explains how increased acidification of the oceans due to the elevated absorbtion of carbon dioxide as carbonic acid in the seawater of the oceans could seriously jeopardise certain marine species. For further details, see www.camelareafoe.org:80

MARINET member criticises Eastern Daily Press journalist for lack of research on UK Marine Bill

Mike King, Great Yarmouth FOE, has written to the Eastern Daily Press to point out to its jounalist, Steve Snelling, that his assertion that it is a pity that the type of planning system that exists for terrestrial issues does not extend out to sea is, in fact, a poorly researched claim because this issue is one of the major proposals within the UK Government's forthcoming Marine Bill.

The full text of Mike King's letter is reproduced here as a pdf file.

Goodbye to Gower?

From BBC News of 8th August '07 comes this sad news that the go-ahead has been given to further dredge off the Welsh Gower coastline despite the evidence of the impact supplied by MARINET and over 30,000 objectors.

Firms aim to double sand dredging

Sand dredging at Nash Point off Porthcawl is set to end by 2010

Three dredging companies are looking to double the amount of sand they can take from the sea off the south Wales coast. They are applying to the Welsh Assembly Government for a licence to excavate up to 1.8m tonnes annually, about 10 miles (16km) off Worms Head, Gower.

Campaigners who claim dredging is badly damaging the area's beaches say that is too close to the shoreline.

But the firms involved dismissed that and said the sand was vital to keep the region's construction industry going. The companies - Hanson, United Marine Dredging and CEMEX UK - are currently allowed to remove up to 900,000 tonnes annually from Nash Bank, off Porthcawl. But their operations there are to end by 2010 and they are seeking permission to dredge up to 1.8m tonnes a year from a new location south of Carmarthen Bay and west of Gower. A spokesman said it was part of their commitment to the assembly government to dredge in deeper water. They have completed an environmental impact study and are starting a three-month consultation process before submitting their final proposals. The spokesman said there was no scientific evidence that dredging contributed to beach erosion, but they would discuss the issues with all interested parties.

Mike Jenkins of Gower Save Our Sands had not seen the new application, but said his organisation had called for a ban on dredging within 25km (15.5 miles) of the coast. He said over the past 10 to 15 years there had been a huge loss of sand from Gower's beaches. "We are not against dredging and appreciate sand is needed for the construction of hospitals, schools and roads," he said. "But we say we should be taking a precautionary approach and falling in line with other countries such as Holland."

A spokeswoman for the assembly government said the decision on whether to grant the application would be taken at ministerial level, although there was provision for a public inquiry.

Last week Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing Jane Davidson gave the go-ahead for a separate company - Llanelli Sand Dredging Ltd - to conduct limited dredging at Helwick Bank - also off Gower.

There had been a 30,000 signature petition of opposition to it.

More on Gower Dredging go-ahead

From 'Dredging News on Line' - Environmental Issues - August 6th '07

Welsh dredging decision arouses local ire

News sources in the UK say more than a million tonnes of sand are set to be dredged from aggregates sources close to beaches in the Gower Peninsula in Wales following a decision to give the green light to resume dredging off Helwick Bank, a couple of miles off Rhossili. The decision follows a bitter 13-month public inquiry.

Outraged local campaigners say they have been "treated with contempt," but a Welsh Assembly minister has now ruled that a company can dredge 150,000 tonnes a year from the area for the next seven years. (This is less than the 300,000 tonnes a year for 15 years that the company had originally wanted".

The decision is a significant blow to campaigners who have claimed the dredging is responsible for disappearing sands from local beaches.

Anti-dredging campaigners claim that removing sand from near the Gower peninsula leaves its beaches more vulnerable to storms. They claim it has resulted in sand levels dropping alarmingly in holiday hotspots like Port Eynon, and more than 25,000 people signed a petition opposing the application by Llanelli Sand Dredging (LSDL).

Comment from Jerry Berne, Sustainable Coastlines:

It is even more amazing that the "usual suspects" seem to have convinced the authorities that --despite all the evidence-- strip mining or pit mining the offshore has no effect on coastal erosion. Follow the money: The government gets the royalties, the dredger gets the sand and the profits and the beach gets gone.

As I recently wrote to a campaigner in New Zealand, "You can lead a town --and its leadership-- to water, but you can't make them think -- and make the right decisions. In this case, you do not have to lead them to water: It is coming to them!" As God said to Noah, "How long can you tread water?"

Strengthened coastal flood and erosion rôle for Environment Agency

From 'Media Newswire' comes the unwelcome news that the Environment Agency are, despite many objections (not least by MARINET) to oversee the management of all flood and erosion risk on the English coast. MARINET believes that such a move will wrest powers in dealing with the threats away from both local knowledge and expertise and from local democratic control and accountablility (i.e. Local Authorities) to place it into the hands of the EA, whose lack of understanding in recognising the facts of the situation and in producing mistaken decisions in the past has long been demonstrated.

Climate Change and Environment Minister Ian Pearson said on 25th July 2007 that the new role would "increase accountability and clarity for the public and help ensure that work is properly prioritised and managed so that record levels of investment are used to best effect".

DEFRA announced that the Environment Agency is to oversee management of all flood and erosion risk on the English coast. With its new strategic overview role, the Environment Agency will take the lead in managing all sea flooding risk in England, and fund and oversee coastal erosion works undertaken by local authorities. It will "ensure that proper and sustainable long-term Shoreline Management Plans are in place for the English coastline, work with local authorities to ensure that the resulting flood and coastal erosion works are properly planned, prioritised, procured, delivered and maintained to get maximum value for taxpayers' money and ensure that third party defences are sustainable".

It was announced that "the role and membership of Regional Flood Defence Committees will be widened to include coastal erosion, bringing the Environment Agency's decisions and activity on coastal erosion within the same governance framework that currently applies to flooding. Local authorities' coastal groups will continue, but become more streamlined and strategic".

Ian Pearson said:
"This new Strategic Overview role for the Environment Agency is an exciting new joined up approach to managing flood and erosion risk on the coast. We will rationalise the present mixture of roles between the Environment Agency and 92 coastal local authorities and take a more robust and joined up approach to managing risk. While the Environment Agency will bring this all together, they will work closely with local authorities so that, crucially, the skills and local expertise that currently exists in local authorities will continue to support this activity. Defra and local authorities will spend around £600 million this year on flood and coastal erosion risk management in England. Taxpayers have a right to demand that this is used to manage risks in the best and most sustainable way possible in each case, whether by building hard defences or by other approaches such as beach management or realigning the coastline to take account of climate change and other pressures. Our approach seeks to ensure that all risks across the country are considered consistently and fairly, and the available funding is directed by the Environment Agency to where it is needed most. There is significant work to be done to bring about the changes I am announcing today. I am looking to the Environment Agency, Regional Flood Defence Committees, coastal groups and local authorities to work in close collaboration with DEFRA in producing and delivering a challenging implementation plan.

Barbara Young, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency said:
"This is a significant step towards the sustainable management of England's coast. Climate change and increased development has put increased pressure on flood defences - and it will continue to grow. It is vital that we take a long term view of management for all of our coastline. This new role for the Environment Agency is an exciting challenge. How we manage the coast is critical to the sustainability of the communities and habitats it supports. We're looking forward to working with the Government and local authorities when we take on this sustainable approach".

Pat Gowen, MARINET, comments:
With the past record of the EA and DEFRA, enhanced by the revelations of the recent inland flooding, the amazing and totally unacceptable 'Managed Retreat' policy and the continuing support for offshore aggregate dredging, the UK approach has become the laughing stock of Europe and the world in general when it comes to flooding protection. To now place the responsibility entirely into the hands of those who have so obviously blundered in the past is surely a further disastrous step.

Cash-strap problems threatens Walney Sea Defences

From the North-West Evening mail of 16th July comes this news of the lack of cash for coastal protection at Walney.

Cost Scuppers Coast Defences

VITAL sea defences to protect chalets from washing away have been put on hold because no one will pay for them. Around 150 limestone rocks - each weighing more than two tonnes - were due to be placed between the water and the road near chalets at West Shore Park, Earnse Bay, Walney. The road is used by BAE Systems as a secondary access to Walney Airport.

The 12-month stopgap measure, costing £25,000, should have been completed by early September. Its aim was to buy time before a permanent solution can be found. But now it will not go ahead.

Phil Huck, Barrow Borough Council's director of regeneration and community services, said: "In May I met representatives of Embra UK Ltd, the owners of West Shore Park and BAE Systems, who have a right of access over the road and requested they consider sharing the cost of the temporary works, then estimated to be £15,000. I received a letter from Embra on July 3 refusing to contribute to the cost of the temporary works. I am still awaiting a response from BAE Systems. Given Embra's refusal to contribute financially to the temporary defence works, and the limited window for their construction, it is unlikely they will be constructed".

"The borough council is under no obligation to provide the temporary works and I would advise against the borough council funding them as, given the uncertainties over land ownership, it would be potentially assuming liability for the coastal defences in the longer term."

Mr Huck said Embra had blamed the erosion on a fish tail groyne protecting the nearby golf course. But he said: "I have taken professional advice on Embra's claims that the coastal defences are causing erosion at Earnse Bay and this is not the case. The groyne is in fact offering a measure of protection to West Shore Park." Mr Huck is set to update council chiefs on the situation, including any response from BAE, at a meeting in Barrow Town Hall on Wednesday.

Residents at West Shore Park are angry the work will not go ahead. Dennis Taylor, 69, said: "I think it's disgusting. I think the council should do something about it. We're worried about the erosion because it's getting that close to the road. Once that road goes, there's going to be nothing to stop it coming up here."

Neighbour Sally Crowe, 85, says the temporary works needs to be done. She said: "If it doesn't go ahead, they've got to find me a new home because I can't stay here. I've had to get out two nights because I've been so frightened by the noise, wind and height of the tide. It's absolutely disgusting that we're having to worry like we are. We pay our rates and ground rent the same as everyone else."

Resident Joyce Chadwick, 53, says it "absolutely imperative" the temporary works are done before winter. She said: "I personally don't think it will last another winter."

Ollie Bryant, chairman of West Shore Park Community Association, said he is "absolutely furious" and warns that people may decide not to pay their council tax if the council does nothing about the coastal erosion.

Suffolk's Sea Defences

From the pages of the East Anglian Daily Times of 30th July '07 comes this report by David Green entitled 'Sea defences are not enough'

Pressure groups have welcomed plans to bolster sea defences along a stretch of Suffolk coast as of "short-term" benefit - but have called for more action to address the underlying cause of coastal erosion. The North Sea Action Group and Marinet, the Marine Network of Friends of the Earth groups, said restrictions on both off-shore mineral extraction and the deepening of shipping channels were needed.

Pat Gowen, spokesman of both groups, said he was delighted "a degree of common sense had prevailed" in the decision by Suffolk Coastal District Council to back a scheme at East Lane, Bawdsey. It would see defences bolstered, financed by the private sale of land for local housing. However, the plans - to dump rocks to protect the local cliffs from the action of waves - was only likely to produce a short-term alleviation of the current level of erosion, he said. "Rock protection is in vogue. While it does most certainly reduce the loss, the rocks slowly sink and the sand between, behind and below will still reduce," he said.

This had been shown by the scheme at Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, where the initial rock line had now sunk and an additional line of rocks had been placed behind them. For long-term sea defence it was necessary to address the main causes of the erosion, he said. "This would mean halting the loss of the shoreline material to the demands of offshore aggregate dredging and the reducing the impact of port deepening such as that at Felixstowe," Mr Gowen said.

Other measures that offered great benefits for stabilising and rebuilding beaches and shorelines included the provision of far less costly but more effective "soft" defences, such as the building of dunes planted with marran grass.

Mr Gowen added: "For many centuries now the East Anglian coastline has been slowly eroding for natural reasons. Apart from the effects of the onslaughts of major storms and surges, this has been a steady but nevertheless relentless regression. Beaches normally show sand loss over the winter months because the strong onshore northerly winds create an undertow taking the mobile sand and shingle out to sea. Where once it was brought back to the shore by the opposite south to south-west summer winds, this previous balance now is mainly lost. Since the onset of Offshore Aggregate Dredging the traffic seems to be one-way only."

The off-shore aggregates industry points out that independent studies have shown there is no evidence of a link between off-shore aggregate extraction and coastal erosion.

The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has also discounted claims that the deepening of shipping channels has aggravated coastal erosion.

Research centres join forces for Scottish Oceans Institute

The Scotsman of 21st July reports on a joint venture on climate change and the marine environment.

Three of Scotland's leading marine research centres are to join forces to establish a dedicated Scottish Oceans Institute, it was revealed yesterday. The joint venture - the first of its kind in Britain - is to be forged by St Andrews University, the UHI Millennium Institute and the Scottish Association for Marine Science, which operates the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory near Oban.

Both the Gatty Marine Institute and the Sea Mammal Research Unit are based at St Andrews. The new Oceans Institute would aim to combine work from the various centres to create a world-leading centre for marine and oceans research.

Professor Ian Boyd, director of the Sea Mammal Research Unit, said the new institute would create a vital "critical mass" for marine research in Scotland, covering everything from climate change to coastal erosion.

Saline Intrusion

As seas rise and bigger summer droughts result with Global Warming, we shall see further salination of our our inland river system, this a very real threat to the ecosystem of the precious Norfolk and Suffolk Broads and water supplies for irrigation and consumption. This comes in addition to the ever increasing threat of direct sea breakthrough due to continuing offshore aggregate dredging and the government's 'Managed Retreat' policy.
From 'Scienceline', a project of NYU's Science, Health and Environment Reporting Program comes this story by Molly Webster on Saltwater Invasion, dated June 22nd 2007, followed by a response by Jerry Byrne of Sustainable Shorelines, Inc.

Saltwater Invasion

Climate change is causing the oceans to flow further inland, putting pressure on coastal areas to adapt.

Expect coasts to get a whole lot saltier - and not just because of the sailors - as global warming disrupts storm patterns and pushes seawater further inland throughout the next century. The forecasted salt surge will threaten natural organisms and freshwater resources as it increases the salinity levels of coastal soil and water, according to an April report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"It was so easy to reach a consensus" for the impacts of climate change on the coasts, said Virginia Burkett, a scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey and lead author on the report by the United Nations panel. "How [salinization] plays out regionally and locally - that's where our greatest challenge lies."

Salinization on the coast, also called saline intrusion, is the increase of sodium ions in soil and water. This is an important process because salt level affects osmosis, the process by which some organisms, such as plants, take up or give away water. As the number of salt ions in the surrounding environment increase, water will naturally flow out of an organism toward the greater concentration of particles, causing dehydration and death.

"Salinization, once in [an area], is hard to reverse," stated Sujay Kaushal, who co-authored a 2005 paper discussing increased salinization in U.S. freshwater.

Saline intrusion will occur as storm patterns vary due to climate change. "If you have erratic and high intensity storms at weird intervals, it leaves a salt pulse that has a big effect on little organisms," Kaushal pointed out. A salt pulse is a sudden influx of ions into soil and water, dramatically changing the ionic concentration of an area, giving organisms little time to adapt to their salty surroundings.

Saline levels on the coast will also fluctuate in the next century because of human-induced sea level rise, brought about as the oceans expand due to warming waters. "When talking climate, you're not just talking climate change, but climate variability," said Sujay. "Organisms and ecosystem processes can't adjust to huge [salt] fluctuations associated with climate variability."

In an attempt to adapt to changing salt levels brought on by these circumstances, ecosystems will likely try to shift further inland, away from the salty seas. Their movement will be met with resistance, however, in the form of human development such as houses, roadways and dams.

The result of moving organisms and shifting ecosystems with no where to go is a process called "coastal squeeze." As an organism's habitat is reduced, its population declines, explained Burkett, hurting people, such as fishermen, whose livelihood depends on brackish water ecosystems.

The effect of salinization on marine ecosystems, either from climate change or due to natural processes, has already been seen in some coastal areas. Burkett mentioned entire groves comprised of Florida sable palms and Louisiana ball cyprus became "ghost forests"- areas that were once covered with trees now awash in salty water and dead wood. Salinity levels not only affect animals and plants, argued Sujay, but also disrupts natural processes, such as denitrification, which maintain the quality of freshwater.

As saltwater pushes inward, it will mix with freshwater, which can cause problems, such as water shortages. "It's the water resources that are key - whether it's estuaries, streams, or water wells," said Burkett of the geological survey.

According to Burkett, sea water rise will not be as big of an issue for bluff-lined cliff coasts, such as the U.S. boundary on the Pacific, but will come into play in low-lying areas like the Atlantic shore between Florida and Boston, which don't have natural barriers or height to protect them from incoming water.

Robert Nicholls, another lead author on the United Nations report and a professor of coastal engineering at the University of Southampton in England, argues that salinization is a complex problem involving not only climate change, but human land use both on the coasts and inland, where dams upriver can affect freshwater runoff to coastal areas.

Salinity will become a bigger issue as it affects more freshwater, he said. But for now its impact is subtler than some of the other symptoms of global warming. "Climate change means a lot of different things: flooding, erosion, ecosystem change, and salinization are the four big effects," he explained. "[Salinity] is just one of the things to worry about."

Comments from Jerry Berne of Sustainable Shorelines www.sustainableshorelines.org

One of the major contributors not cited by these reports to saltwater intrusion into coastal fresh water sources is the unrelenting dredging being done along our coastlines. The ever deeper and unnatural, canyon-like navigational channels being dredged to accommodate massive container ships are driving salt water far inland. This dredging is even breaking into coastal aquifer containment layers directly polluting these sources.

Even smaller inlet are now dredged deeper for ever larger recreational craft. This dredging, along with offshore sand mining, are the major manmade causes of coastal erosion which, in turn, further threatens our coastal water supplies. Unfortunately, much of this activity is based on greed, not need.

We must design our vessels to our environments, maybe even building offshore ports as transfer facilities for smaller coastal vessels (back to the future). We must also adopt more sustainable, environmentally sound methods of mitigating the damage done by this dredging to protect our coastlines (beach nourishment is, in reality, a starvation diet).

Retreat from Managed Retreat?

From the Builder and Engineer website of 23rd July '07 comes this item suggesting a change of heart from the government edicts on flooding and protection.

UK floods lead to strategy rethink

The Government is close to ditching key elements of its flood defence strategy in the face of furious public anger at the recent floods in Yorkshire, Hull, Gloucester and Oxfordshire. As a consequence, the Environment agency's so called holistic approach to flood management, a cornerstone of the country's flood defences is likely to be modified.

The Environment agency's strategy (under Defra) for dealing with floods was developed in 2004, in the policy document "Making Space for Water".

This essentially postulated the argument that traditional flood defences such as the regular dredging of rivers and sea defence walls were proving ever more costly and that a policy of letting water onto the land in a series of managed agricultural schemes was environmentally preferable and cheaper. However, this was criticised at the time as putting flora and fauna before people.

Indeed, a scoping report by the engineers Babtie in 2003 looked at the dangers of the Severn flooding around Gloucester and concluded that such holistic measures were unlikely to be effective in such areas. At the same time the report noted that there was considerable local unease that dredging - reasonably effective but environmentally costly to wildlife - had been stopped.

Defra, after consultation, decided to continue with its holistic programme despite public unease and, astonishingly, set itself a timescale to overcoming what it termed "cultural barriers" to this approach. That is people wanting flood defences rather than land management. It decided that despite the public it was going to tough it out. One paper noted: "The Environment Agency is considering how to adopt a more rigorous approach to abandonment of sea walls where costs exceed benefit."

This month with large swaths of England under water and after a barrage of negative press, Defra has quietly issued an update to its flood defence strategy. This not only seeks to look urgently at the effectiveness of land management programmes that are already underway, but acknowledges the public relations disaster that has unfolded.

The update concludes: "It will be necessary to make a clear transition away from defending current decisions to more participation by the public in the overall decision making process."

There is now likely to be a considerable increase in expenditure on traditional flood defences.

Assessing the risks posed by marine aggregate extraction

From 'Dredging News on Line' of July 18th 2007 comes this story under 'Environmental Issues' But we wonder just how much of this is for real and how much is intended to be a whitewash of current practices? www.sandandgravel.com:80/news/article.asp?v1=10215

A risk assessment framework for marine aggregate extraction has been developed by HR Wallingford in association with Royal Haskoning and the University of Newcastle. The Marine Aggregate extraction Risk Assessment (MARA) framework enables the risks to all potential sectors from dredging of marine aggregates to be assessed (such as marine ecology, archaeology and the fishing industry).

It does this by providing a practical approach to assessing risk at a range of temporal and spatial scales, from extraction at a single site to regional assessments of multiple extraction activities. MARA provides techniques for both quantifying uncertainty and assessing cumulative and in-combination effects.

The project has been completed under Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) for Defra and CEFAS. Offshore aggregate dredging has a range of potential environmental impacts. The extent of these impacts is currently evaluated using environmental impact assessments (EIA). The MARA framework may be used to support the completion or review of an EIA and allows progression in the assessment process, enabling greater transparency in quantifying impact.

The MARA approach for assessing the risks of marine aggregate dredging takes into account the consequences and the likelihood of those consequences occurring. It provides a means for quantifying the uncertainty associated with the analysis. This will enhance the transparency of assessments for dredging licence applications and make the decision-making process easily traceable and auditable. It also provides a framework for reconsidering the impacts of the activity as developments in scientific understanding and the results of site specific monitoring of a particular licence become available.

The summary and technical reports are available on the MARA website: www.mara-framework.org.uk

£8m coastal defence scheme finished

From the 'Lowestoft Journal' 10th July 07

Waveney District Council is celebrating the end of an £8 million scheme to improve coastal defences at Southwold and raise the standard of protection for several hundred residential properties.

Houses in Southwold and Reydon are now enjoying greater protection from the risk of flooding and erosion and the scheme has also improved the recreational value of the beach and promenade.

Key items of work undertaken were:

• More than 20 derelict groynes removed
• Eight new rock groynes north of pier
• Eight new wooden groynes south of pier
• 72,000 cubic metres of dredged sand pumped onto beach.
• 300m length of promenade south of pier substantially rebuilt.

A ceremony hosted by Waveney District Council to mark the occasion took place on Tuesday, July 10, on the promenade close to the pier and featured the unveiling of a sign to commemorate the project.

Guests representing partner client The Environment Agency, members of the project delivery team and others from the local community were in attendance.

Councillor Ken Sale, Portfolio Holder for the Built Environment said: "Southwold is a premier toursist attraction in the Waveney area and this outstanding scheme has increased the standard of protection for the town, its residents and visitors. I would like to thank all members of the project team for their professionalism and commitment to the project and our gratitude also goes to other active individuals within the local community for their contributions. This has been a complex operation, which has had to contend with variable weather conditions throughout, and I would also like to acknowledge the support of the wider community who endured some inconvenience and disruption during the construction period in a spirit of tolerance and co-operation."

USA Awareness of our predicament

The New York times published this item by Elisabeth Rosenthal entitled 'As the climate changes, bits of England's coast crumble' in the New York Times on Friday, May 4, 2007

This winter a 50-foot-wide strip of Roger Middleditch's sugar-beet field fell into the North Sea, his rich East Anglian lands reduced by a large fraction of their acreage. The adjacent potato field, once 23 acres, is now less than 3 - too small to plant at all, he said.

Each spring Middleditch, a tenant farmer on the vast Benacre Estate here, meets with its managers to recalculate his rent, depending on how much land has been eaten up by encroaching water. As he stood in a muddy field by the roaring sea recently, he tried to estimate how close he dared to plant this season. "We've lost so much these last few years," he said. "You plant, and by harvest it's fallen into the water."

Coastal erosion has been a fact of life here for a century, because the land under East Anglia is slowly sinking. But the erosion has never been as quick and cataclysmic as it has been in recent years, an effect of climate change and global warming, many scientists say. To make matters worse for coastal farmers, the government has stopped maintaining large parts of the network of seawalls that once protected the area. Under a new policy that scientists have labeled "managed retreat," governments around the globe are concluding that it is not worth taxpayer money to fight every inevitable effect of climate change.

Land loss at Benacre "has accelerated dramatically," said Mark Venmore-Roland, the estate's manager. "At first it was like a chap losing his hair - bit by bit, so you'd get used to it." But in the past few years, he said, "it's been really frightening."

A report this year from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that rising seas will force 60 million people away from their coastal homes and jobs by the year 2080. Another study, the Stern Report, released last December by the British government, projected hundreds of millions of "environmental refugees" by 2050. That category includes people whose land is ruined by floods and those whose pastures are parched by drought.

Most are expected to be poor people in developing countries, like fishermen in Asia or shepherds in Africa. Middleditch, a grizzled, balding man in Wellington boots, and Venmore-Roland, with his upper-class accent, plush yellow corduroy trousers and walking stick, are certainly not typical of this group. But their plight shows that even here in Europe, livelihoods are being affected, particularly in rural areas.

Walkers and birders who frequent these famous Broads, or salt marshes, will find that the hiking path through Benacre that once gently declined from a low grassy plateau toward the beach, now ends in a precipitous drop of 16 feet to the water; the rest fell into the sea in February. The 6,000-acre Benacre Estate is losing swaths of land 30 feet wide along its entire two miles of coastline each year. Inland trees that were once sold for timber are dying or no longer commercially valuable, because the proximity to the salty sea air has left them stunted. Farmers like Middleditch are losing fields and trying to adjust crops to an unpredictable climate. Middleditch is now planting hemp. In Cornwall, in southwestern England, warmer and wetter weather has led farmers to experiment with growing jalapeño peppers.

As climate change has accelerated erosion on the east coast of Britain, many scientists and politicians have decided that it no longer makes sense to defend the land. Under the policy of managed retreat, farms, nature preserves and villages are surrendered to the sea.

"This land is very sensitive to climate change because it is very low-lying and doesn't tolerate high temperatures like we've had the last few summers," said David Viner, a climate expert at the University of East Anglia. "The government will only protect land it thinks of as economically important, and on an economic level you can say that makes sense, but of course that's not the whole picture."

A landmark scientific report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released in February, predicted that warming caused by human activities could produce rises in sea level of 7 to 23 inches, accompanied by much stormier weather, by the end of the century.

In Indonesia, the environment minister predicted that 2,000 of the country's islands could be swallowed by the seas in 30 years and said that little can be done to defend them.

In wealthier regions, vast engineering projects can often prevent the sea's encroachment, Viner said, but the cost is often so high that it becomes politically unacceptable.

Here in the Broads, there are conflicts about who deserves to be spared the effects of climate change, and what should be sacrificed to the advancing water.

Local council meetings have pitted conservation groups against farmers; landowners against environmentalists; national politicians against villagers. Then there is the question of who, if anyone, should compensate people for the land and income lost. Farmers and landowner groups are calling for government payments and for a voice in deciding what must be saved. They would also like permission to build their own private sea defenses.

Last year, Peter Boggis, a farmer whose land abuts Benacre, paid a contractor to add dirt to the bottom of the sea cliff that abuts his land. He was ordered to stop, after conservation groups said he was tampering with a site of scientific interest.
Farther up the coast, four or five homes from the village of Happisburgh fall into the sea each year, as the cliff beneath them crumbles.

While they appeal for help, the North Norfolk District Council and Coastal Concern Action Limited have started to shore up Happisburgh's cliff with rocks, financed in part by an Internet campaign, "Buy a Rock for Happisburgh."

"The U.K. won't let London flood," Viner said, "but the national government's not going to worry about an odd village or farm."

Change of Heart on Coastal Protection?

The following item was written by Richard Smith in the East Anglian Daily Times of 11th July 2007.

Council decision will save Suffolk coast

A Ground-breaking decision taken yesterday has ensured the protection of a vital stretch of the Suffolk coastline for up to 50 years. A pioneering scheme to fund coastal defences was approved by Suffolk Coastal District Council and now farmland will be sold for new homes with the proceeds of the land sales funding the £2million-plus required to improve coastal defences at East Lane, Bawdsey. As a result, a historic Martello Tower and isolated properties, farmland and villages near Woodbridge will be safeguarded against the ravages of the North Sea.

John Fell-Clark, owner of the Martello Tower, said he was thrilled with the council's commitment to coastal protection. "I am absolutely delighted with the result. It is the very best we could have hoped for," said Mr Fell-Clark.

The move comes as locals have been told that there is no Government money available for East Lane. A breach of the coastline there would have a huge local impact but it has less significance in a national context and therefore the Government gave it reduced priority when handing out money.

The district council's development control committee agreed the principle of allowing homes to be built outside the physical limits boundary of Bawdsey, Alderton and Hollesley. Now the council has to decide exactly where and how many homes can be built against its own planning policies. Councillors indicated they favour sites in East Lane, Bawdsey, and Hollesley Road, Alderton, but they think land in Bushey Lane, Hollesley, is unsuitable.

Buyers for the land, donated by farmers, will have to be secured while the council needs to fine-tune the design of the coastal defences and find a contractor. It is anticipated the defences will be constructed in 2008. Jeremy Schofield, a strategic director with the district council, said the council could undertake any emergency work this winter and then reclaim the cost from the 'enabling' project. Mr Schofield said: "There are critical stages to go through and whatever your decision today we can not go on site before the winter."

The scheme involves three landowners giving land, at no profit to themselves, to the East Lane Trust. The trust's agent, Gerry Matthews, said a great deal of "first aid" had been done to East Lane over the years but there was now "very little life" left in the defences. He stressed the consequences of a breach in the defences would be huge for everyone today and future generations. "We are in a crisis situation and crises demand exceptional ideas," he added. "It is a bitter pill to swallow to have houses built. Nobody wants new housing on their doorstep if they can avoid it, but we need to find sufficient sites to finish the job."

Lydia Calvesbert, chairman of Bawdsey parish council, said: "If you do not go ahead with this scheme we will be left with mud flats, salt marsh and reed beds. An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty? I do not think so. What we will lose will be horrendous. A Martello Tower, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Shingle Street itself - it does not bear thinking about and the whole area would be blighted economically."

Christine Block, district councillor for Alderton and Bawdsey, said the council's decision removed uncertainty for the villages.
"Year after year the villagers have watched as shingle was built up on the beach only to be swept away by winter storms and year after year funding has become more and more elusive," she said.

Audit Office asks whether Wales is ready for rising seas

This article by Tomos Livingstone appeared appeared in the Western Mail on July 12th 2007.

Wales' spending watchdog is to examine whether the nation is ready to cope with rising sea levels which could lead to communities disappearing under water by the century's end.

The Wales Audit Office will look at how prepared the Assembly Government's is for the increasing coastal erosion, but also warned that some "high-risk" areas may have to be abandoned to the tides. The WAO is working on the assumption sea levels will rise by about one metre over the next 100 years, which would leave some well-known landmarks at risk. Areas that could face problems include Cardiff Bay, parts of the Vale of Glamorgan coast, Swansea Bay and Mumbles, and Cardigan Bay.

More than 60% of the Welsh population leave near a coastline, the WAO said - 15 of Wales' 22 local authorities adjoin the coast - and the costs of flood damage could increase up to 20-fold over the next 80 years.

Last month flooding in parts of England damaged more than 27,500 homes and 7,000 businesses. It is estimated the insurance bill alone will run to £1.5bn.

The Assembly Government is preparing its own coastal erosion and flood strategy, and it is this that will go under the auditors' microscope. The WAO said it was concentrating on coastal erosion as plans to deal with river flooding were relatively well advanced.

Andy Phillips, the performance specialist at the Wales Audit Office who is overseeing the project, said, "We can't, obviously, just build sea defences around the whole of Wales. There are places where infrastructure and commercial interests are well established and need to be protected, such as Cardiff Bay... [but] there may have to be a migration away from high-risk areas, and this is where it gets a bit difficult. The Assembly Government has a proposed plan, and we're looking to challenge than plan and see if it's robust."

In a statement the Wales Audit Office said, "The full extent and consequences of climate change is not yet known, so plans designed to reduce the impact of flooding must manage risk rather than certainty. Stakeholders involved in the complex administration of activities are increasingly recognising the need to move to a new risk management approach. The aim of this study is to support the Assembly Government and other public bodies in testing and refining their proposals to manage the effect of coastal erosion and tidal flooding and the impact on people and property."

The report is due to be completed in the new year, when it will be considered by AMs on the Audit Committee.

Mark Williams, the Liberal Democrat MP for Ceredigion, said there was already concern that local authorities were not getting sufficient funding for flood defences. He said, "No one can forget the distress caused to people in Aberaeron when the harbour wall collapsed last year, extensively damaging local properties. Urgent repair work is still needed to the South Quay, which is in danger of complete collapse. The promenade in Aberystwyth is crumbling, and is regularly buffeted by high seas. It urgently needs to be repaired and strengthened, but the council can't afford to carry out the full extent of the work. Houses in Llangrannog continue to be regularly battered by high seas, with very little in the way of defence. The Aberystwyth to Shrewsbury Cambrian Line has also been hampered by river mouth flooding for years, but global warming will add a whole new dimension to this. Action must be taken to protect the train line."

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn has announced an increase of £200m in the flood defence budget in England, but it is not yet clear how much money will be allocated to Wales as a result.

English Heritage predicts loss of historic sites due to erosion

The following item by Tara Greaves entitled 'Historic coastal sites being washed away' appeared in the pages of the Eastern Daily Press on 13 July 2007.

Hundreds of historical sites and buildings along the east coast will be lost to the sea as a result of coastal erosion, according to a new survey. The extent of the destruction, which has already affected the Suffolk coastline, has been highlighted in a new book, launched by English Heritage yesterday.

England's coastline is receding by an average of one metre per year which means thousands of significant sites and buildings will literately be washed away. Geologically soft and low-lying, the Suffolk coastline has already lost some of its heritage. Results from the National Mapping Programme (NMP), a countrywide survey commissioned by English Heritage, examining aerial photographs - largely from the second world war through to the present day - highlights historical sites that are either no longer visible or accessible from the ground.

These photographs now form the subject of Suffolk's Defended Shore which illustrates the history and development of military defences on the Suffolk coast and demonstrates the importance of the coast in national defence strategies.

Speaking at the launch at Landguard Fort, near Felixstowe, Sarah Newsome, one of the book's authors, said: "The photographs provide us with a valuable tool for the study of Suffolk's coast. They provide a different, and often unique, perspective on military defences, particularly those constructed in the second world war. Photographs taken during and immediately after this war sometimes provide the only visual record of the rapidly evolving defences from this period. They also tell us a great deal about how the coast is changing and what has already been lost to the sea".

"Publishing these photographs will also help the people of Suffolk to appreciate what is on their doorsteps. But some of these wonderful sites are under threat, most notably from the sea, which has already claimed several defence sites."

Many of Suffolk's historic military remains have already become victims of coastal erosion including Walton Castle and the Roman fort at Felixstowe which was lost to the sea by the mid-18th Century.

There are currently no plans to produce a similar book for Norfolk.
Suffolk's Defended Shore is £14.99 and available from book shops.

New research reveals the secret life of lobsters

New research has been undertaken by leading shellfish Scientist Dr. Eric Edwards (Source: Shellfish News, published by CEFAS, Summer 2007) which reveals how lobsters, although generally regarded as aggressive creatures, become placid and gentle at the time of mating, with males even becoming subordinate to females.

When a female lobster sheds her shell in order to grow, she also becomes sexually receptive to the male. The male, whose behaviour may easily have resulted in him eating the female just a few weeks before or after the shedding of her shell, now becomes protective and gentle towards his prospective mate. The process of their courtship can take days, but the act of copulation takes just eight seconds. Then, after a gestation period of nine to twelve months, more than 10,000 fertilised eggs are released by the female over a period of some five nights which normally coincide with a full moon.

The eggs hatch as larvae and, being attracted by light (daylight or full moonlight), they rise up to the top three metres of the surface of the sea where plankton, of which lobster larvae are a part and upon which they in turn will feed, is abundant. However Dr. Eric Edwards has estimated that the chances of lobster larvae surviving to adulthood is as low as 0.005% because they too are prey, like all other plankton, for basking sharks, herring, mackerel, sprat and other pelagic fish species.

During this larval stage, the lobster larvae go through a series of four moults where they shed their outer skin (skeleton) and, depending on weather conditions and the state of the tides, they can find themselves travelling hundreds of miles from where they were originally born.

Following the larval stage, the juveniles will undergo a large change. They begin to look like lobsters, measuring five millimetres or so, and they drop from the surface of the sea to the seabed to seek shelter. As before (i.e. when they were still larvae), their principal food is plankton.

In order to grow, a lobster must periodically shed its shell which serves as a hard, outer skeleton. During the first five years of its adolescence, it will moult (shed its shell) over twenty times, and each time it does so it gains about 15% in body weight and 50% in volume.

After year five, although still an adolescent, the lobster begins to moult around twice a year. The frequency of the moult continues to decline as the adolescent moves into adulthood, falling to around once a year or even less as its age progresses. Determining the exact age of a lobster is difficult because each time it discards its old shell its also sheds any clues as to its past history.

The process by which a shell is shed is noteworthy. When the lobster is ready to moult, it pumps liquid into its body. This forces the old shell to split lengthways at the top of the carapace. Then, after about twenty minutes and with the aid of a self-made lubricant, the lobster begins to extract its body from the old shell. In addition to geting rid of its old shell, the lobster also has to shed rigid parts in its stomach which serve like teeth for grinding food. In order to do this, the lobster has to rip out the lining of its throat, stomach and anus, and thus become completely free of its old "shell". The whole process of extracting itself from its external and internal shell is fraught with danger for the animal, and this is a high risk time in its life-cycle when many lobsters die.

Once free of the old shell, the lobster's body functions go into overdrive, and the outer leathery skin of the animal is converted into a new shell.
For further details about lobsters and other crustaceans (shellfish) see the MARINET Illustrated Guide to Great British Marine Animals www.marinet.org.uk/mreserves/marineanimals.html

Public Inquiry to hear case against the breakage of the US Navy "ghost ships" at Hartlepool

Hartlepool and North Tees Friends of the Earth and other local environmentalists are to contest a decision by Hartlepool Borough Council to grant planning permission to Able UK Ltd to be break-up three vessels, currently moored offshore, from the US Navy's Reserve Fleet at the company's TERRC (Teeside Environmental Reclamation and Recycling Centre) dry dock facility at Graythorp, Teeside.

Planning permission has been granted following the withdrawal of objections by English Nature and the RSPB who had been concerned that dredging of a s