Distinct from the 29th October 2005 EUROSION Report which the powers that be attempted to delete that content showing the North Norfolk Coast erosion being due to Offshore Aggregate Dredging, another EUROSION report has recently been unearthed by Maike of Coastal Essex FoE email hidden; JavaScript is required This relates to the serious ongoing estuarial […]

The Sandpit report for Year 2 is the second research based report carried out by WL/Delft Hydraulics. Its overall objective is to attempt to develop reliable prediction techniques for offshore aggregate dredging and to give guidelines to simulate, better understand, predict and mitigate the damaging effects of the process.

This page provides access to the Government’s Marine Minerals Guidance Notes 1 and 2 which govern the determination and granting of aggregate extraction licences. This page also records the public consultation on government proposals to place these licensing procedures on a statutory basis, along with MARINET’s comments on this issue.

The Royal Geographical Society has reported on the practice and impact of marine aggregate dredging in the March 2008 edition of its magazine, Geographical. The report is titled “Shifting Sands”, and MARINET has contributed to this report. The article is introduced in the magazine by the following text: “Mining the seabed for sand and gravel […]

Latest maps showing dredging sites off the east coast. Published by the Crown Estate and correct as at 31st Jan ’08.

An in-detail guide (25 pages with illustrations) as to the nature and impact of dredging the seabed offshore from our coasts for sand and gravel for use by the construction industry.

‘Coastal Zone 07’ was held at Portland, Oregon, from July 22nd to July 26th 2007 to discuss a wide range of coastal concerns. 920 delegates representing 16 countries attended. One session was devoted to the topic ‘Why are our beaches eroding?’ As this is very pertinent to our campaign, with the permission of Professor Vincent May, we have reproduced it in full.

When BBC first broadcast the superb ‘Coast’ programme, which did much to portray the value and wonders of our coastline, they included the story of Hallsands, that delightful Devon Village destroyed in 1917 by dredging. But subsequently …

Details of the amounts of marine aggregate dredged offshore during 2005.

The erosion of beaches and coasts, often due to aggregate dredging, can lead to the unearthing of significant archaeological remains, with examples from the UK.

The following is an extract from ‘Living with Coastal Erosion’ — Eurosion Policy Recommendations — December 2003. To see the report in its entirety go to www.eurosion.org/reports-online/reports.html Example Of Coastal Cliff Erosion The municipality of Happisburgh is a located in the county of North Norfolk (UK). Sediments are removed from the cliffs under the action […]

The history, geology and meteorological events which have shaped the East Anglian coast and the likely impact of global warming.

Scott Douglas, eminent coastal engineer with the University of Alabama, leaves no doubt as to erosion brought about by dredging. Where this was carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, it has dramatically harmed Alabama beaches and necessitated ongoing restoration projects costing the public about $28 million. He maintains that such practices caused […]

In addition to that we already have within Marine Dredging Briefing Paper and in the listing of scientific papers from around the world in the Marine Aggregate Dredging section, a new paper further evidences that we have long found, that much of the research on the damage resulting from offshore aggregate dredging (or, as these […]

CEFAS (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science) Once BMAPA and their apologists claimed there was no long term impact on the seabed and its inhabitants from offshore aggregate dredging, stating that the seabed and the ecosystem dependant on it rapidly recovered from marine aggregate dredging. They are on record (on our MARINET video) for […]

A paper giving insight into the damage created by dredging, specifically the smothering settlement of suspended ‘wash off’ sediments over the seabed, impacting the animals and plants that live on and within it, can be read here. It stresses how animals with delicate feeding or breathing apparatus, e.g. bivalve shellfish, can be intolerant to increased […]

An account of a public meeting in 2005 in Norfolk between the aggregate companies and opponents of aggregate dredging, with details of the evidence presented to that meeting.

Showing the stages of erosion

An application tested by SUMARE, relates to government-sanctioned offshore exploitation of sand on the Belgian continental shelf. However, there is concern that growing exploitation could lead to a reduction in size — or even disappearance — of the banks. In turn this could affect water currents and erosion/sedimentation characteristics of the area, and lead to […]

Dutch researchers from Delft University produced a paper, Assessing the Impact of Sand Extraction on the Shore Stability : Project for a Methodological Framework, assessing the impact of Offshore Aggregate Dredging on the shoreline given at the 20th-21st February 2003 European marine sand and gravel Conference (EMSAGG). It shows by graphical and mathematical models the […]