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The identification of the main characteristics of stony reef habitats under the Habitats Directive: Summary report of an inter-agency workshop 26–27 March 2008 2009

Abstract

JNCC invited representatives from a range of organisations with an interest in stony reefs to a workshop in Peterborough on 26 and 27 March 2008. The main focus of the workshop was to clarify the definition of ‘stony reef’ under the Habitats Directive and to help with recognising those areas of the seabed which can be classed as stony reef, and those areas which would fall outside this definition.

A number of presentations were made featuring examples of stony reefs, some of which had already been listed as features within Special Areas of Conservation (SACs). These ranged from offshore, deep-sea areas such as the Wyville Thomson Ridge off north-west Scotland, to near-shore, shallow areas such as an extensive cobble area off the Yorkshire coast. The methods to detect these reefs were similar and included various acoustic techniques (such as multibeam surveys and side-scan sonar), drop and towed video, still photography and grab sampling. Consideration was given to various parameters associated with stony reefs in an attempt to determine which were considered the most important for reef identification.

Note: In May 2020, JNCC hosted a workshop with the country nature conservation bodies (CNCBs) to further refine the definition of the habitat stony reef. The conclusions of the workshop are presented in JNCC Report No. 656.

Resource type Publication

Topic category Environment

Reference date 2009··

Citation
Irving, R. 2009. The identification of the main characteristics of stony reef habitats under the Habitats Directive: Summary report of an inter-agency workshop 26–27 March 2008, JNCC Report No. 432, JNCC, Peterborough, ISSN 0963-8091.

Lineage
Outputs of a workshop on stony reefs, hosted by JNCC in March 2008

Responsible organisation
Communications, JNCC publisher

Limitations on public access No limitations

Use constraints Available under the Open Government Licence 3.0

Metadata date 2020·09·10

Metadata point of contact
Communications, JNCC

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