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Protection of the Portsmouth Harbour European Marine Site

On 17 January 2011, we placed an emergency byelaw under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 to allow for the protection of eelgrass beds in the Portsmouth Harbour EMS.

• Protection of the Portsmouth Harbour European Marine Site Byelaws (PDF 64 KB)
• Map and co-ordinates of the area (PDF 236 KB)
• Evidence summary (PDF 100 KB)
• Letter to local fishermen (PDF 51 KB)

The Portsmouth Harbour EMS is designated for its mudflats and sandflats upon which meadows of eelgrass provide important feeding habitats for migratory birds, including dark-bellied brent geese, dunlins, black tailed godwits and red-breasted mergansers. The purpose of these emergency byelaws is to allow for the protection of eelgrass beds in the Portsmouth Harbour EMS against destructive activities.

Eelgrass is recognised as a key structural component of sand and mudflats across the site and is particularly important in being a declining habitat. The eelgrass beds that these emergency byelaws seek to protect provide a rich source of food for wintering wildfowl. They also provide essential nutrients to the marine ecosystem and trap sediments, helping reduce coastal erosion and also provide an important nursery area for fish.

In 2008, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) commissioned Natural England to undertake a strategic review of risks from all ongoing activities within all European marine sites (EMS) designated at the time. The report from this review was published on 22 November 2010 in respect of 45 EMSs.

As a result of this project, it was identified that clam dredging on eelgrass beds within Portsmouth Harbour (part of the Solent EMS) posed a high risk to the site. A voluntary agreement not to clam dredge on specific areas was established in October 2009 by Natural England and the Queen’s Harbour Master (QHM) with local fishermen. However, this has not prevented damage from occurring to the sensitive eelgrass beds.

In response to this issue, we put in place an emergency byelaw at the earliest opportunity as a management measure to afford short term protection for part of the site.