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A review of monitoring and assessment of seabed habitats in UK inshore Marine Protected Areas 1999–2013 2016

Abstract

This report focuses on the seabed habitat monitoring and assessments conducted by the UK country nature conservation bodies (CNCBs) during the period 1999–2013 in inshore marine protected areas (MPAs), namely SSSIs, ASSIs, SACs, Ramsar sites and SPAs.

It aims to identify:

  • how Common Standards Monitoring (CSM) Guidance has been implemented;
  • how existing monitoring could inform a UK-wide monitoring programme to address all marine biodiversity obligations; and
  • recommendations for future UK seabed habitat monitoring and assessments.

The outputs of this report can be used to help inform the development of options for monitoring seabed habitats both within MPAs and the wider environment to be presented to the UK Government and the devolved governments. The options will consider whether existing monitoring programmes are sufficient to meet our marine biodiversity obligations and management requirements or whether additional monitoring is needed.

As part of the report, an easily accessible combined catalogue of the SNCB seabed habitat monitoring published and unpublished reports from 1999 to 2013 was produced by JNCC (Appendix 7). This has now been updated and improved to include reports up to July 2024. This catalogue enables the SNCBs to share the extensive volume of work which they have produced and to easily search the catalogue on meaningful search terms. The reports can be searched for using terms such as MPA name, geographic location, survey type, and listed species or habitats. This literature can be used to assist in the development of monitoring programmes for both inshore and offshore environments.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Environment

Reference date 2016·11·29

Citation
McBreen, F., Jesus, A., Camplin, M., Clark, L., Edwards, H., Pirie, C., James, B., Young, M., Steel, L., Johnston, C. & Hawkridge, J.(2016) A review of monitoring and assessment of seabed habitats in UK inshore Marine Protected Areas, 1999–2013, JNCC Report No. 540, JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091.

Lineage
JNCC staff visited each of the CNCBs between August and October 2012 to ask a series of questions related to the monitoring and assessment of seabed habitats undertaken in inshore MPAs.

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC publisher

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2026·04·27

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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