Selsey Bill & the Hounds Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) was designated in 2019 and covers an area of 1564.85 ha. The site is located along the coast of the eastern English Channel between Chichester Harbour and Pagham Harbour.
Several legislative and policy drivers underpin the need to monitor, assess and report upon habitats and species within the marine environment, and marine monitoring activity in Natural England takes place in the context of the wider UK approach under the UK Marine Monitoring and Assessment Strategy. In 2023 Natural England commissioned SeaStar Ltd. to conduct drop down camera and video, and grab sample surveys within Selsey Bill & the Hounds MCZ.
A total of 22 camera transects yielding 4 hours and 21 minutes of analysable footage was collected alongside 376 still images. Grab sampling was attempted at 19 stations, with samples for microbenthic invertebrate analysis successfully collected at 16 stations and sample particle size analysis successfully collected at 17 stations. A total of 16 biotypes were identified from the underwater imagery analysis, and a total of 6 soft sediment biotopes were identified following grab sample analysis.
Several habitats of conservation interest were identified, including blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), patchy clay exposures and Annex I reef features. The data collected and analysed as part of the 2023 surveys are suitable for use as baseline data against which potential future changes can be measured, which will enable monitoring of the condition of the habitat features for which the MCZ was designated.