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CONSERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Conservation

This section is based largely on the Review of Nature Conservation Features and Information within the Solent and Isle of Wight Sensitive Marine Area, which was commissioned by English Nature in 1994. The sub-section on Statutory Designations has been added subsequently.

Description of habitats, communities and species

The Solent and Isle of Wight Sensitive Marine Area (SMA) - see Map 7 - including Selsey Bill and Pagham Harbour, is a complex but interlinked site of international nature conservation importance for the range of marine, coastal and maritime habitats, communities and species present. The Solent is one of the few major sheltered channel systems in Europe and the whole area is unique in Europe in oceanographic terms. Its unusual physical conditions (strong tidal currents in the Solent channel, harbour entrances and at headlands, and a wide range of wave exposures salinities, water temperatures and sediment and rock types) combine with its biogeographic position and climate to strongly influence the diversity of its maritime and marine communities.

Despite its heavy industrial and recreational use, the whole area includes some very important natural and undisturbed lengths of coast, with unusual examples of natural gradations from marine to coastal and maritime habitats (these have generally been lost from most other coastal areas). It is also of great importance for the numbers and range of rare plants, animals and habitats which it supports, many of which are of international, national and regional nature conservation importance. This importance is recognised by a number of international conservation designations including several SPA and Ramsar sites and two proposed Special Areas of Conservation (a maritime site and a coastal lagoon site). The proposed Solent and Isle of Wight Maritime SAC is shown on Map 8.

Most of the features of nature conservation importance are known to be interdependent, for example bird populations move between the harbours to feed and may roost on adjacent landward areas (which are otherwise of no apparent ecological value and not protected by conservation designations), lagoonal species diversity at individual sites appears to be dependent upon the numbers of lagoons nearby, and sublittoral, littoral and coastal habitats are closely linked through migration of marine organisms and coastal sediment processes and water quality. Even habitats or areas of intrinsically low interest when viewed in isolation are usually of importance as an integral component of the whole dynamic system.

Subtidal habitats

The reefs of the SMA, which occur mainly around the Isle of Wight, are among the best examples in the United Kingdom. The proposed SAC was partly selected for this habitat, particularly chalk. Some of the best UK examples of sublittoral chalk reefs occur around the Needles, including the only known submerged chalk caves. These are considered to be of international importance. There are also diverse limestone habitats, sandstone, clay bedrock (an unusual marine habitat), flints and deep boulder fields. The richness of the communities and species associated with these habitats arises from the wide range of exposure to wave action and currents, and this variety of rock types. Some extensive areas of sublittoral bedrock, boulder and cobble habitats on the south coast of the Isle of Wight and west of Selsey Bill require further survey, but are likely also to be of considerable interest and nature conservation importance.

Extensive subtidal areas are dominated by sands, gravels and pebbles over underlying rock, particularly in the approaches to the eastern Solent and on the open coast. The central Solent and its harbours are muddy in the subtidal, except for areas around the entrances to the estuaries. The tide-swept western Solent is floored by gravel, as are other current-scoured areas in the entrance channels to the harbours. Shallow subtidal areas of the Solent contains extensive oyster Ostrea edulis beds; the largest and most important wild beds in north west Europe. Many sediment areas, for example in the western Solent, have a diverse fauna (particularly of mollusca) and rich seaweed flora in shallow waters. There are some very extensive beds of the eelgrass Zostera marina. In deeper water, the muds of the central Solent are dominated by shells of the introduced slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata, but there are some interesting features, including a soft mud community with the echuroid worm Maxmulleria lankestri, characteristic of much deeper water. Where stable tide-swept sediments have a covering of stones and shell these can support very diverse epifaunal communities, but this habitat is scarce in the area as a result of disturbance from dredging. The range of sediments, salinities and infaunal and epifaunal communities present in the area is of national importance.

Intertidal habitats

A wide variety of intertidal habitats, range of exposures to wave action, and diversity of rock types (see above) are present. Sediment shores predominate on the Solent and mainland shores, with rocky shores mainly on the south coast of the Isle of Wight. The latter include nearly 9% of the United Kingdom and 5% of the European extent of littoral chalk, with important cave habitats, and a rich flora and fauna. National surveys of chalk concluded that two of the top five chalk cliff and littoral cave sites in Britain (Culver Cliff and Needles to Freshwater) and the second most important chalk shore on the south coast (Freshwater Bay) occur within the SMA.

The limestone shore at Bembridge Ledges, Foreland, is of international importance for its history of study, range of species present and biogeographic position. Many rarities are present and southern species occur at the eastern edge of their range in the English Channel. Rich littoral limestone bedrock and boulder reefs occur at intervals along the Isle of Wight coast, including on the tide-swept western Solent shore. The undisturbed cobble and boulder shore in the western Yar Estuary, with communities characteristic of wave-sheltered but current-swept reefs, is of national importance. These important rocky habitats extend into the sublittoral in most areas.

Sediment shores are particularly biodiverse in shelter and where mixed sediments and pebbles occur in tide-swept areas. They support some of the largest beds of Zostera (several species) in Britain. Sheltered harbours and estuaries have a very high faunal biomass of huge importance for feeding birds. The area of coast between Ryde and St Helens is one of the best examples of sandy shore in the region with many interesting features, and of national importance. The extensive fine sediments of the sheltered harbours of the north shore of the Solent with their huge Zostera beds are also nationally important, as are the very fine sediments of Newtown Harbour. The area to the west of Ryde and several shores on the north Solent coast are of regional importance for their sediment habitats and communities.

Estuaries

Twelve estuaries occur in the Sensitive Marine Area, which is one of the most important areas in the United Kingdom for this habitat and of international nature conservation significance. They are unusual in having relatively little freshwater influence and a predominantly marine nature. Several estuaries are individually of international importance. The largest estuarine area is made up of the three large inter-connecting harbours of Chichester, Langstone and Portsmouth. This complex is of international importance for its saltmarsh, extensive sediment communities and the huge populations of birds which it supports. It also contains some of the largest intertidal beds of eelgrass (Zostera noltii and Z.angustifolia) in Britain, and Langstone and Chichester are very natural and undisturbed. Newtown Estuary is of international importance for its remarkably undisturbed and pristine nature; very few estuaries in southern Britain are as unpolluted as this site. The western Yar has important marine benthic communities. Beaulieu River is of particular significance for its bird populations and very natural and dynamic estuarine character grading naturally into semi-natural terrestrial habitats; this site is substantially unaltered by man, which is rare. The adjacent NW Solent coast and Lymington Estuary are also important. The Medina contains some of the best examples of mature mixed saltmarsh in southern Britain. Southampton Water is of interest for its large subtidal zone, with some rich gravel areas and oyster beds, and includes the smaller estuarine systems of the Itchen and Hamble.

Saltmarshes

The Sensitive Marine Area contains about 6% of the total area of saltmarsh in Great Britain. It is one of the best areas in the United Kingdom for this habitat, and of international conservation importance. Chichester Harbour is one of the ten largest saltmarshes in Britain, and the largest on the south coast of England. The intertidal between Keyhaven and Lymington supports the third largest area on the south coast. There are many important examples of natural transitions between saltmarsh and landward habitats here, which are rare elsewhere in England.

Hythe and Calshot marshes are of international importance as the site where hybridisation of introduced and native species of cord grass Spartina gave rise to the fertile polyploid Spartina anglica, and have been the subject of extensive scientific study. More than 40% of the United Kingdom resource of this type of saltmarsh occurs here. This is one of the two outstanding locations in the country for the habitat.

Grazing marshes

Extensive areas of grazing marsh and brackish ditches occur on the coast of the Sensitive Marine Area, particularly around Langstone Harbour, Beaulieu River and Lymington River. These are of national importance for their flora, rare invertebrates and breeding birds, and are used by internationally important populations of wintering wildfowl, including the dark-bellied brent goose.

Sea cliffs

The Sensitive Marine Area is one of the most important areas in the United Kingdom for its vegetated sea cliffs. Most of the south coast of the Isle of Wight and parts of the Hampshire coast is fringed by this habitat, including hard chalk at the Needles, Foreland and Culver Cliff and soft, slumping cliffs elsewhere. The range and diversity of this habitat in the SMA is of international importance. Rare species of plant and invertebrate are present, and the cliffs often grade into rich maritime grassland, heathland and scrub at the clifftop. They also have important geological exposures and seabird colonies.

Sand dunes

Several small examples of sand dune systems occur in the Sensitive Marine Area, and these are of regional importance because of the scarcity of this habitat on the south coast. They also support a number of scarce and rare plants and invertebrates.

Shingle

Shingle beaches dominate much of the intertidal of the Sensitive Marine Area, which contains several important maritime shingle structures. The multiple ridge system of Browndown is the largest. It is one of the ten most important shingle sites in Britain and of national nature conservation significance. The shingle spit at St Helen's Duver and the large breached spit at Pagham Harbour are also important. Vegetated shingle is a nationally-rare habitat, and other shingle areas are of regional importance for the characteristic vegetation, including rarities, and nationally rare invertebrates they support. Colonies of tern and ringed plover breed in this habitat in Chichester Harbour.

Coastal lagoons

The coast of the Sensitive Marine Area is one of the most important areas for brackish lagoons in the United Kingdom, with 15% of the national resource (excluding the Dorset Fleet) and the highest density of lagoons in the country (nearly 50 are of some significance for nature conservation). This is an internationally rare habitat and a priority for conservation under Annex 1 of the European Community Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora, with seven individual sites proposed as a complex Special Area of Conservation. The coast of the SMA is of international nature conservation importance for this habitat because of the wide range of examples present. This habitat supports a number of specialist lagoonal plant and animal species, at least five of which are protected under national nature conservation legislation

Marine species

Marine mammals (cetaceans and seals) visit the Solent and Isle of Wight area regularly during the year, but only in small numbers and are not usually resident. A number of relatively rare fish occur in the area during the summer, and the Solent and its estuaries provide very important nursery grounds for several species. Unusually large numbers of rare benthic species of fauna and flora have been recorded in the Sensitive Marine Area, and larger numbers of southern species reach their limits of geographical distribution here than in any other other comparable area in Britain, with the area being of international marine conservation importance. The large populations of Zostera (all three British species) are of national importance. Certain sites are of particular importance for rarities, often as a result of the unusual marine habitats present. There are six rare and seven scarce marine species present, not including several rare or scarce lagoonal specialists. Many non-native introductions are present, as a result of the long history of shipping and mariculture here.

Birds

The Sensitive Marine Area is of international importance for its bird populations. The wintering and migrant waterfowl which feed in the estuaries are of greatest importance, and these move frequently between different estuaries in the SMA. Consolidated winter peak mean counts for the whole of the SMA indicate that over 100,000 waders and nearly 50,000 wildfowl occur in the area, with populations of 12 species of international importance and 13 of national importance. Some nationally important numbers of wintering waterfowl, particularly black-necked grebe, cormorant and red-breasted merganser, prefer to use offshore areas. Important roosting areas in winter may include habitats which are of no intrinsic nature conservation importance (e.g. sports fields).

Breeding birds depend on grazing marsh, saltmarsh, shingle, sand and cliff habitats. The wetlands of the SMA support nationally important populations of redshank, oystercatcher, snipe and lapwing. Beaulieu and Newtown estuaries have some of the greatest densities of breeding waders in the United Kingdom. Sixteen species of seabird breed in the SMA; colonies of two species (black-headed gull at Beaulieu Estuary and little tern in Langstone Harbour) are of international importance. There are nationally important colonies of Sandwich and common tern in the Beaulieu Estuary and Solent marshes. Seabird colonies on the Needles to Freshwater cliffs are internationally important for cormorants and the eastern-most colony of guillemots in the English Channel is regionally significant.

Other coastal species

Otters have been recorded around the Lymington and Beaulieu River systems, but are extremely rare. Disturbance from recreational and other users of the area and water pollution may be preventing the recovery of this species. The area supports very important invertebrate communities on maritime habitats, including many rare and scarce species of coastal habitats which are restricted to this part of the south coast and at the limits of their distribution, and some outstanding species assemblages, for example on cliffs. It is of national importance for invertebrate conservation. Maritime flowering and lower plants present in the area include several national rarities and many scarce species. Maritime chalk grassland on the cliff tops of the Isle of Wight is some of the most important in the country, and the communities of saltmarshes, sand dunes, shingle and grazing marsh are also of national significance.

Important trends

Important trends affecting intertidal habitats include trampling in areas used heavily for recreation, bait digging, fisheries (particularly dredging), pollution, and the introduction of non-native species. The most significant activities affecting the sublittoral are fisheries, pollution, non-native species, aggregate and harbour dredging and spoil dumping. Estuaries and estuarine habitats are threatened by relative sea level rise, interruption of natural coastal processes, pollution, fisheries, harbour activities (particularly dredging and land claim within harbour areas), and recreational demands. Reports on some of these topics were not available during the preparation of the nature conservation review; there may therefore be some omissions and inaccuracies in the following paragraphs.

Spartina dieback is reducing the extent of saltmarshes, but this appears to be the result of a natural process. The habitat is more seriously threatened throughout the area by coastal squeeze and erosion as a result of a relative rise in sea level. Past pollution of saltmarshes in Southampton Water has left a legacy of contaminants in the sediment and these marshes are very vulnerable to further pollution incidents, land claim within harbour areas and disturbance. With almost all remaining areas of grazing marsh designated as SSSI, the main trends threatening this habitat are pollution of ditches from runoff, changes in land management and potential habitat loss through managed retreat or upgrading of coastal defences.

The remote nature of most coastal cliffs restricts most damaging trends, other than cliff stabilisation for the protection of property and human life. This can result in scrubbing up of open habitats and losses of species. Where there is only a narrow fringe of maritime grassland along the cliff top, bordering arable land or other habitat of low conservation value, continued natural erosion of the cliff face will eventually result in the loss of the important maritime grassland habitat.

All sand dune sites are protected, but vulnerable to damage from recreational activity and erosion as the result of interrupted coastal processes. Similarly, erosion control, trampling, vehicle access and construction of sea defence works have affected some areas of coastal shingle.

The most important trends affecting the conservation of coastal lagoons are natural progression to freshwater or reed habitat, erosion and loss to the sea, and pollution. The artificial nature of much of the coast and loss of natural processes will prevent many new lagoonal habitats from arising naturally.

Important trends affecting isolated populations of maritime plants and animals include changing agricultural practices and insensitive land management (including grazing, trampling and changing water regimes).

Rising sea level

A relative rise in sea level is beginning to have a serious effect on intertidal and adjacent maritime habitats in the Sensitive Marine Area. This is now occuring at a rate of 5-8mm/year, with up to 90% loss of intertidal having occurred in some areas during this century. The intertidal zone is steepening and decreasing in area as the low water mark moves inland, but in most cases an equivalent landward movement of the uppershore transition is not possible because of the presence of landward defences protecting arable, urban and industrial land. The result is the coastal 'squeeze' of saltmarshes and other uppershore habitats and a reduction in the extent of these important features. A programme of managed retreat is the most promising option for overcoming this problem, but must ensure that adjacent maritime habitats of nature conservation importance (particularly grazing marsh and coastal lagoons) is not detrimentally affected by retreat. A similar problem is caused by cliff erosion when there is only a narrow fringe of maritime vegetation between the cliff edge and adjacent managed land (whether in agricultural, recreational or urban use). Erosion of this narrow belt of vegetation can result in its complete loss where there is no possible means of retreat of this habitat inland.

Disruption of natural coastal sediment processes

Stabilisation of cliffs and the disruption of natural coastal sediment processes has been the cause of much habitat loss and damage in the past, with most of the coast now protected by artificial works. New areas of coastal protection are unlikely to be added now that policies for grant-aiding coastal schemes have changed. However, continuing sea level rise will increase the requirement for erosion control and the upgrading of coastal works, with consequent loss of intertidal or adjacent maritime habitats. Dredging of aggregates and shipping channels may also disrupt natural sediment movement between sublittoral areas and the shore.

Water quality and pollution

Pollution from agricultural and urban runoff, and sewage and industrial discharges is threatening habitat quality and populations of some species, particularly within enclosed areas of the SMA. Brackish drainage ditches, coastal lagoons, and estuarine habitats are particularly at risk. Langstone Harbour is one of only two sites in Britain considered to be at risk from eutrophication. Levels of nitrogen and dissolved oxygen are of concern in some areas, with levels of some heavy metals requiring further investigation. Constant discharge of effluents to Southampton Water may be the reason for the rather low diversity of some communities in the area. Spills of oil or chemicals also threaten areas around industrial installations or adjacent to shipping lanes; salt marshes in Southampton Water have been badly affected in the past. The use of TBT on shipping has caused the disappearance of dogwhelk populations from most of the Solent. Despite a ban on its use on small craft, the long half life of TBT in enclosed waters and sediments and its continued use on larger vessels appears to be responsible for the continued high levels of this chemical in certain benthic infauna (particularly Mya arenaria) and possibly for low populations of vulnerable species which should be present in larger numbers (e.g. the furrow shell Scrobicularia plana). Dredging of shipping channels or sediment disturbance by bait digging or shellfish dredging may also cause a deterioration in water quality by releasing heavy metals bound up in undisturbed sediments.

Fisheries

The major impact of fisheries on nature conservation interests in the SMA arises from dredging. The traditional oyster dredging and trawling carried out by small, low powered vessels offshore is apparently sustainable and probably not very damaging to habitats of nature conservation importance. In contrast, modified oyster dredges and hydraulic dredges designed to dig deeply into the sediment to remove clams are extremely damaging to sediment habitats and benthic communities. This activity may also cause deterioration of water quality by mobilising polluted sediments from sheltered areas and disrupt bird feeding activity by destroying intertidal habitats.

Dredging and dumping

Capital dredging of shipping channels can cause draw down of adjacent sediment areas; this may have affected the intertidal in Southampton Water. Maintenance dredging continually removes accreting sediment from the system. The conservation of coastal sediment processes ideally requires capital and maintenance dredgings to be retained within the Solent system, not dumped offshore. However, disposal of sediments inshore causes smothering, increased turbidity and the mobilisation of contaminants from estuarine sediments, which will damage benthic communities of high fisheries and nature conservation importance. Offshore aggregate dredging may formerly have reduced the supply of sediments and increased the force of wave action on the shore, and affected fisheries dependent on the dredged habitats.

Changing land use and management

Past changes in land use have considerably reduced the nature conservation interest of many of the maritime habitats fringing the SMA. For example, arable intensification, recreational, urban, port and industrial developments have resulted in large-scale habitat loss. Many of these activities are now controlled under planning legislation, and changes in land management is likely to be of greater significance for the maintenance of existing areas of importance. Examples include maintenance of grazing and water levels on grasslands and disturbance to fragile habitats by changing levels of access or use. Changes to the management of the extensive MoD estates in the area, or of areas of arable land which are not notified as SSSI but which occasionally provide roosts for wintering birds, may become important issues.

Recreational pressures

The high levels of recreational pressure on the Solent, both on shore and at sea, are having an effect on some coastal and marine habitats and species. Examples include habitat loss through developments (including marinas), physical damage from trampling which has affected sand dune and shingle habitats and communities (including invertebrates, plants and nesting birds), and disturbance to birds and animals on the coast and at sea. Bait digging is the cause of considerable habitat damage to sediment shores in some areas and may affect populations of important infaunal and epifaunal species, including long-lived mollusca and Zostera.

Land claim and development

Large areas of intertidal and maritime habitat have been lost in the past on the shores of the SMA as a result of land claim. In the past land claim was primarily for agricultural purposes, with the formation of grazing marshes from saltmarsh over large areas of the SMA. More recently, land claim has been primarily for industrial and port developments, rubbish and spoil disposal, transport, housing and marinas. Much of the intertidal land that is still potentially claimable has some form of habitat or landscape protection, suggesting that the trend towards further land claim in the SMA is unlikely to be significant in the future unless local authority planning decisions to refuse developments are overturned at national level. Oil and gas exploration and extraction developments at sea are possible sources of damage and disturbance, particularly to marine mammals and birds.

Introduction of non-native species

Large numbers of non-native benthic fauna are quite abundant in the Solent area, including a wide range of algae and some barnacles, mollusca and ascidians. Many of these are not yet recorded elsewhere in the British Isles. They are mainly thought to have arrived with ballast water or farmed shellfish, or recruited from colonies on the hulls of shipping visiting the Solent, but some were deliberately introduced. Many are not widespread and probably only of scientific interest, but others pose a significant threat to the nature conservation importance of the area and other uses because they may out-compete (e.g. Sargassum muticum) or prey on indigenous species, or, if commercially valuable, be harvested using fisheries techniques which damage the benthic habitat (e.g. Mercenaria mercenaria). The slipper limpet Crepidula fornicata is widespread in the subtidal and completely changed the nature of the benthos by producing a dense layer of dead and living shell over the former sediments.

Statutory Designations (See Maps 9 and 10, and Table 2)

The nature conservation interests of the Solent are extensive and varied. These interests are recognised at both national and international levels in statutory designations which seek to maintain the full range of habitats and species, along with geological and physiographical features which occur within the Solent area.

Over 80% of the Solent's intertidal areas have been scheduled as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Around 30 SSSIs, covering a total of 12,966 hectares have been scheduled as nationally important nature conservation sites. A number of SSSIs have additionally been designated as Special Protection Areas, (SPAs), under E.C. Directive 79/409 on the Conservation of Wild Birds which aim to protect the habitats of rare or vulnerable species and regularly occurring migrating birds. Many more nationally important sites will be given this additional international status with the proposed designation of the Portsmouth Harbour and Solent and Southampton Water Special Protection Areas. Most intertidal areas already notified or proposed under the EC Birds Directive are also designated or candidate Ramsar sites which bring additional recognition as internationally important wetlands recognised under the Ramsar Convention which was ratified by the U.K. Government in 1976. SPA/Ramsar designated and candidate areas cover a total of around 5,500 hectares within the Solent.

he most recent international initiative to affect the natural habitats of wild flora and fauna in the Solent has been the implementation of the E.C. Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Flora and Fauna, (92/43/EEC), which seeks to establish Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), in order to contribute towards ensuring biodiversity through the conservation of natural habitats and wild species amongst the Member States of the Community. Consultations to establish the Solent and Isle of Wight (Maritime) SAC and the Solent and Isle of Wight Lagoons S.A.C are currently underway.

TABLE 2
STATUTORY SITES OF NATURE CONSERVATION IMPORTANCE IN THE SOLENT

Key organisations, legislation, regulation and control

Reference should be made to the section on Organisation and Management for a summary of the responsibilities and powers of key local, regional, national and international statutory authorities and agencies, and local and national non-governmental organisations.

Recommended needs, objectives and policies

The interdependent nature of the whole Solent and Isle of Wight area is explained above. For this reason, it is essential that the whole Solent and Isle of Wight system is managed as a single dynamic unit. Activities anywhere within the area, even if only directly affecting areas which are apparently of low interest when viewed in isolation, must all be considered and managed within the overall context of this dynamic system.

Needs

• Production of a full research inventory and database;
• Improved targeting and coordination of further research work, including monitoring, survey and mapping (particularly of subtidal areas), and research into key issues (such as water quality, sediment processes, effects of fisheries, dredging, recreational pressures and changing land use patterns);
• Preparation of nature conservation management targets;
• Improved awareness and education, with full public participation in management initiatives;
• Review of contingency plans.

Objectives and policies

• Arising from this Review of Nature Conservation Features and Information within the Solent and Isle of Wight SMA are the following objectives:
• To maintain the total area of each habitat now present in the SMA, and encourage the recreation of new habitats, where possible, in the face of relative sea level rise and unavoidable development of coastal areas;
• To maintain the populations of important species present in the SMA, and encourage the growth of populations, where appropriate. Targets must be set for key species;
• To encourage the use of managed coastal retreat in the face of relative sea level rise, incorporating the set back of coastal and maritime habitats and recreation of landward habitats which may be affected by set back;
• To seek to reinstate natural coastal sediment processes, while so far as is possible retaining the national and regional nature conservation, economic and recreation importance of the area and protecting human life;
• * To introduce an overall strategy for aggregate dredging, integrated within the management strategy for the SMA, and based on an aggregate resource assessment for the whole area and full environmental assessments of past, present and future impacts;
• To promote an overall strategy for capital and maintenance dredging in the channels of the SMA, taking into consideration the importance of undredged refuges for marine communities, and considering options for retaining dredged material within the natural coastal cell;
• To seek controls on damaging and unsustainable fisheries operations, particularly within sheltered harbours and channels and where these affect the quality of marine habitats within the SMA;
• To improve effluent and other polluting discharges and water quality management within the system, taking into account the requirements of the EC Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive and objectives for nature conservation and fisheries;
• To continue to reconcile conflicts between recreation and nature conservation through coastal management;
• To improve the administrative and legislative opportunities for achieving nature conservation objectives in intertidal areas and below the Mean Low Water Mark and incorporate nature conservation objectives within a full coastal zone management plan and administrative structure for the Solent and Isle of Wight SMA.

There are policies for nature conservation in all the statutory and non-statutory plans in the Solent. These policies are helpful in furthering the interests of nature conservation on coastal land, but because statutory plans normally do not extend beyond low water mark the ecology of the sea and sea bed is generally less effectively protected and conserved.

Source: Towards Strategic Guidance for the Solent, Summary of Information, March 1996

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