Broadscale mapping of habitats and biota of the sublittoral seabed of The Wash: Final report of the 1996 Broadscale Mapping Project Survey (ENRR238)

Survey of part of the Wash and north Norfolk coast candidate Special Area for Conservation (cSAC) which also provided training for the Eastern Joint Sea Fisheries Committee. (EJSFC). The survey indicated that many of the important conspicuous species, particularly Sabellaria spinulosa and Ophiura albida, were found over a broad range of habitat type throughout much of the Wash. This has meant that biotope mapping, which requires the biota and habitat characteristics of biotopes to be fairly distinctive, is probably of limited value for management of the Wash in a local context. It is suggested that species distribution and the distribution of community indices, such as diversity, in relation to habitat types may be of greater value at this stage. Maps showing this type of information are presented and recommendations for further work are made.