Natural England requested that a Phase I and Phase II habitat survey of the intertidal rock, underboulder communities and peat and clay exposure features was undertaken for the Yarmouth to Cowes Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). This survey was to provide baseline data of the features to help inform the conservation advice package and provide a foundation for future monitoring, including condition assessments of specified attributes of these features of the MCZ.
The primary aim of the survey was to map the extent and distribution of the three features of interest within the Yarmouth to Cowes MCZ and to characterise the habitats observed by providing semi-quantitative data on species composition of representative and notable biotopes.