2016 Offshore Seabed Surveys

Below is a full list of JNCC's offshore seabed surveys for 2016:

Coquet to St Mary’s MCZ, CEND0716

Dates: 22/04/2016 – 29/04/2016

• JNCC staff participated on this survey, which was led by Natural England and conducted onboard the RV Cefas Endeavour. Northumberland Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) were also involved
• For more information, please see the Coquet to St Mary's MCZ site designation information
• The blog post for this survey, written by JNCC staff, is available to read on our Offshore Survey Blog

Images taken during CEND0716. From left to right; rinsing out a Day grab sediment sample prior to sifting; staff monitoring the drop camera footage during the night shift; and a Day grab containing a sediment sample. All images © Yolanda Arjona/JNCC 2016.

Deep Links Project MPA Connectivity Survey, JC136

Dates: 13/5/2016 – 23/6/2016

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• JNCC is a partner on this NERC-funded collaborative project between Plymouth University’s Deep Sea CRU and the University of Oxford. The British Geological Survey (BGS) is also a partner. This survey was conducted onboard the NERC vessel RSS James Cook
• This survey investigated how patterns of population connectivity vary with depths in the deep-sea environment, and how this influences species diversity
• Data was collected at 8 sites off Western Scotland: Anton Dohrn Seamount cSAC/SCI; North West Rockall Bank cSAC/SCI; East Rockall Bank cSAC/SCI; George Bligh Bank (not designated); Wyville Thomson Ridge cSAC/SCI; Darwin Mounds SAC; Rosemary Bank Seamount NCMPA and The Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount NCMPA. Information on these sites can be found through the Atlantic North-West Approaches offshore MPAs webpage
• For more information check out their website, Facebook page and Twitter page

From left to right; Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) ISIS being deployed during JC136 ©Neil Golding/JNCC 2016; Deep Links Project logo; ROV operating room during an ROV mission for JC136  © Neil Golding/JNCC 2016.

Swallow Sand MCZ and North East of Farnes Deep MCZ, CEND1016

Dates: 17/05/2016 – 29/05/2016

• JNCC led on the planning for this survey, which was conducted onboard the RV Cefas Endeavour
• Grab sample and camera sledge data were collected from within each of the habitats at both Swallow Sand MCZ and North East of Farnes Deep MCZ in the North Sea. The aim was to increase the sampling coverage for the sites. Multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data was also collected
• A number of stations from the 2012 survey at both sites were re-visited to assess any changes in benthic communities

Southern North Sea Sandbanks Monitoring Survey Monitoring Survey

Dates: 31/05/2016 – 19/06/2016

• A joint survey with Natural England and the Environment Agency, across 3 MPAs, using two vessels, the EA’s Humber Guardian and the RV Cefas Endeavour
• This survey collected multibeam bathymetry and backscatter data in addition to Hamon grab samples and drop camera/camera sledge imagery. Data was collected on both the Sabellaria spinulosa reefs and sandbanks
• The cSAC/SCI sites that were surveyed were North Norfolk Sandbanks and Saturn Reef, Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton and Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge

From left to right: JNCC and Cefas survey scientists onboard the Cefas Endeavour; species sample processing; sediment grab sample processing. All images © JNCC 2016.

International Dogger Bank Survey

Dates: 04/07/2016-15/07/2016

• JNCC staff will be participating in this survey, being conducted by the Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries, based in Germany, onboard the FRB Walther Herwig III
• For more information on the site, please see the Dogger Bank SAC site information centre
• The blog posts from this survey are available on the Thünen-Institut Expedition webpage 

Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope NCMPA survey, 1016S

Dates: 18/07/2016 – 03/08/2016

• This collaborative survey with Marine Scotland Science (MSS) was conducted onboard the MSS vessel, MRV Scotia. Box coring, drop-down camera and chariot towed cameras were used to collect data in order to establish the first point in monitoring time series for the site, located on the Hebridean continental slope, north-west of the Outer Hebrides
• For more information on the site, please see the Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope NCMPA site information centre
• Read the blog posts from this survey on the 1016S survey section off the JNCC Offshore Survey Blog

From left to right: Drop-camera deployment on the MRV Scotia; box core sample processing; drop-camera seabed image from within Geikie Slide and the Hebridean Slope NCMPA. Left and middle images © JNCC 2016, right hand image © JNCC/MSS 2016.

Pisces Reef Complex cSAC/SCI survey, CEND2316x

Dates: 30/10/2016 – 09/11/2016

• This collaborative monitoring survey between JNCC and Cefas aimed to gather evidence to assess the condition of the Annex I reef feature at the Pisces Reef Complex cSAC/SCI
• The survey collected Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) and sub-bottom acoustic profile data across the site, and this was groundtruthed by collecting seabed videos and still images. Environmental data was also collected
• The blog post updates for this survey can be read through the Pisces Reef Complex survey section of the JNCC Offshore Survey Blog
• View the cruise report from the survey