This Natural England commissioned report describes the distribution of seabed habitats in the Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds Marine Conservation Zone (CSCB MCZ) and their taxonomic composition. It uses biological records collected since 2005 that are held and curated by Seasearch, a volunteer underwater survey project for recreational divers and snorkellers.
This project uses Seasearch data and local knowledge for the spatial extent of CSCB MCZ to improve our understanding in three areas: spatial distributions of habitats and structural features; taxonomic diversity and presence of associations between species and structural features.
Knowledge about the distributions of habitats, patterns of diversity and associations with structural features has implications for understanding which areas are more vulnerable, sensitive or resistant to disturbance, which in turn may influence how the area is managed. It also provides a ‘baseline’ against which any future change might be assessed and identifies directions for useful work in the future.