The Solent is a known hotspot for maritime recreational activities including boating, anchoring, angling, swimming, jet skiing, paddle boarding and more. These activities can be damaging to the seagrass and halt its recover; therefore, it is vital to obtain an understanding of boating and recreational activity to support the ongoing management of seagrass habitats.
The LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES (Reducing and Mitigation Erosion and Disturbance Impacts affEcting the Seabed) project is surveying the ongoing recreational activity at five sites within the Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation (SAC): Yarmouth West, Bouldnor, Osborne Bay, Kings Quay and Langstone Harbour.
This was started in 2021 and is being continued throughout the project. For 2022, surveys were undertaken from 30th July to 28th September with the aim for each site to be surveyed once midweek and once on the weekend each week.
The occurrence and frequency of a number of recreational activities such as boat movements, anchoring and mooring, and activities like bait digging and dog walking were recorded, and the results are presented in this report.
Overall, the 2022 results strongly supported the key conclusions of the 2021 surveys. The patterns of activity and use varied considerable across the sites, showing the highest at Osborne Bay and Yarmouth West. In particular, Osborne Bay showed higher levels of anchoring pressure compared to other sites. This data is being used to develop and further management of seagrass habitats through the ReMEDIES project.