Marine minerals
Cefas role in Marine Minerals
Cefas and its predecessor the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) Directorate of Fisheries Research, have provided advice on the environmental and fisheries implications of proposed sand and gravel / marine mineral extraction operations to Government since 1968. The advice from Cefas draws upon a wide range of scientific expertise available within the organisation including hydrography, sedimentology, benthic and fisheries ecology and fisheries resource.
The level of information required to assess the impacts of sand and gravel extraction has steadily increased over the years as our knowledge has increased. During this period the knowledge gaps in understanding the impacts of sand and gravel extraction have also become more defined.
Cefas, as technical advisor to the Marine and Fisheries Agency (MFA), Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG), provides scientific / technical advice on the management of human activities that impact the aquatic environment as well as carrying out related research and development programmes of a strategic nature in UK waters. In order to manage that impact, we undertake research to understand the mechanisms of impact and potential mitigations, and monitoring activities to check on the effectiveness of controls. In doing so, we aim to generate practicable solutions so that the UK can maintain, enhance and benefit from a healthy marine environment.
Dredging for Marine Minerals
Whilst the submission of an Environmental Statement (ES) is part of the formal application process, consideration of environmental matters should begin at project inception, utilising Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) as a tool for ensuring the sustainable use of marine resources. Whilst there are no statutory procedures associated with this preparatory (pre-application) stage, it is undoubtedly one of the most important. Even where projects do not ultimately require an ES, taking account of environmental considerations at this early stage will ensure a better proposal and should lead to a speedier determination of the application.
An EIA of a proposed sand and gravel dredging operation, and a resulting ES should provide:
- A systematic, thorough and objective analysis and presentation of information about the environmental effects.
- In a form that provides a focus for scrutiny of the project by specialist as well as non-expert decision-makers and interested members of the public.
- It should allow the importance of the predicted effects, and the scope for modifying or mitigating them, to be properly evaluated.
Further guidance on the scope of EIA in support of marine minerals applications can be found in the documents "Marine Minerals Guidance Notes 1 and 2" which are available from the MFA website (http://www.mfa.gov.uk/environment/minerals/regulation.htm). In addition, specific and generic guidance on environmental assessment has been produced on a national and international basis over the years, by a variety of organizations including as ICES, and should be taken into account in the preparation of an EIA.
Useful sources of information can be found from the following websites:
www.cefas.co.uk/publications/files/02dpl001.pdf
www.cefas.co.uk/projects/renewable-energy.aspx
http://www.ices.dk/iceswork/wgdetail.asp?wg=WGEXT
Specific guidance on the non-statutory Regional Environmental Assessment initiative can be found in the following guidance:
www.cefas.co.uk/media/126642/rea%20framework%20guidelines_final.pdf
Specifically related to marine minerals applications, Cefas provide advice on:
- Survey design and methodologies to ensure a robust approach is adopted to support conclusions and assessments of impact.
- Applications to ensure all conclusions and assessments of impact have a scientifically adequate and robust evidence base.
- Monitoring programmes to ensure predicted impacts are suitably monitored and appropriate and proportional mitigation is enacted.
We provide advice to the regulator and pre-application advice directly to the marine aggregate extraction industry or consultants working on behalf of the industry on the implementation of environmental assessment and monitoring programmes. As part of this advisory process, Cefas scientists liaise closely with colleagues working within the Government advisory framework, including those in the nature conservation agencies.
In recent years, greater consideration has been given to identifying mitigation measures to reduce the impact of aggregate extraction, which are translated into appropriate licence conditions. To ensure that such licence conditions are effective in minimising environmental disturbance and that predictions regarding the extent and significance of effects are sound, a monitoring programme is usually initiated.
Monitoring is required to document both pre- and post- extraction conditions at licensed sites and to determine whether unacceptable impacts are occurring, or if conditions that could lead to an unacceptable impact are developing, within and in the vicinity of new and existing extraction sites. The outcome of monitoring programmes can therefore usefully contribute to judgements on the acceptability or otherwise of continued dredging within a licensed site. Monitoring will also be appropriate to determine whether dredging permission conditions are being properly implemented, and to improve the basis on which future licence applications are assessed by improving knowledge of field effects.
Cefas therefore also provides advice on the nature and scope of monitoring programmes on behalf of the Regulator. We also work with a number of other relevant agencies and organisations, both nationally and internationally, to ensure that the UK Government can make decisions on marine minerals issues in an informed manner taking account of the latest scientific knowledge.
