Chalk Reefs
Table of Contents
Introduction
Definition
Chalk reefs are a subtype of rocky reef. Rocky reefs are created when rocky outcrops (including limestone and chalk) crumble into the sea, providing safe nooks, crannies, and valleys for ocean life to attach or hide.
Rarity
"57% of coastal chalk in Europe is found in UK waters, which amounts to just 0.6% of our coastal habitat, making this an internationally important site for protection." - The Chalk Reefs of Cromer Shoal
Strongholds for Biodiversity
"Chalk beds are important because their cracks and crevices provide refuge for wildlife, especially juvenile invertebrates and fish. It is also a source of substrates for burrowing organisms." - Chalk Bed Marine Conservation
Norfolk’s Chalk Reef
11:07 minute video about this extremely rare type of reef including the species who live there.
Subtypes of Chalk Reefs
Bubbling Reefs
"Bubbling reefs are formed by prolonged leaking of methane gasses from deep deposits (Jensen et al, 1992). The reef structures are formed in the near-surface sediment layer in a chemical process binding chalk to the sediment in an oxygenated sediment environment along the gas-seeping channels. Large bubbling reefs have caves and overhangs hosting communities dominated by hard bottom fauna on shady parts that are not found at the same water depth on nearby boulder reefs. Bubbling reefs in Kattegat are often located on sandy bottoms and thus significantly increase the complexity of these habitats.
The appearance of the reef structures above the seabed is due to erosional processes likely over very long time-scales. The structures are fragile and very sensitive to physical disturbance." - Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs): Danish Kattegat
Chalk Flats
Instead of large pieces of chalk, these are flattened places made from chalk, which also allow wildlife colinization, including worms who burrow into the sediment.
Geography & Biology of Chalk Beds
"Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ supports a diverse range of habitats and species, within a relatively small area. Different habitats are not spread evenly across the MCZ. For example, chalk seabed typically gets more irregular with increasing distance from shore. Chalky seabeds supported much greater diversity than did clay seabeds. Seabeds with an irregular surface (eg with gullies and cobbles) supported more biodiversity than did less complex habitats." - Seasearch: Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ Report
Dangers to Chalk Beds & Chalk Reefs
Ocean Acidification
This poses an increasing danger to many ocean habitats, but perhaps especially chalk reefs, which are already extremely rare.
"Currently, new anecdotal evidence shows that there may be impacts on chalk habitats from some fishing activities after all. But given the rarity of this habitat, we still need more evidence to improve our understanding." - Chalk Bed Marine Conservation
Commercial Fishing & Shellfish Hunting
Fishing and dredging have damaged these delicate eco systems. Abandoned fishing gear or "ghost gear" has also been found in these reefs.
Lobster & Crab Potting
These areas have been fished for hundreds of years, but modern equipment is harming these reefs.
Beach Combers
A growing number of people are comming down to beaches in huge groups to fill builder's buckets with shellfish, damaging the coastline itself, and destabilizing the ecosystem by removing massive numbers of creatures from the marine food web.
Energy Production
Natural Gas
Natural gas fields are close to some of the UK's known chalk reefs.
Offshore Wind
According to the PDF, Vattenfall Wind Power Ltd Thanet Extension Offshore Wind Farm, there would be a chance of temporary habitat loss or disturbance while laying the electric cable for the wind farm, and possibly again for maintenance. The threat was considered low.
Sheringham Shoal and Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm Extension Projects PDF states that "Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ is unique and protects features rare within English waters. Cabling could cause damage and loss of habitat within the MCZ which could put the conservation status of the MCZ at risk. The impacts from cabling are twofold. Firstly, the siting of the cable in the wrong location, such as in the chalk reef area, would cause irreparable damage to this habitat. Secondly, due to the location of chalk bedrock along the north Norfolk coast, cable burial may be difficult or impossible in some locations, increasing the need for rock protection. This would result in a loss of habitat. In addition, repeated cable burial works due to cable burial failure during the lifetime of the project could result in disturbance and damage to habitats within the MCZ." The document then discussed mitigation and plans to avoid damage to the reefs.
Oil Industry
Oil spills are considered a big threat due to the proximity of major shipping lanes.
Boating & Tourism
Ship Wrecks & Illicit Wreck Diving
"Illicit wreck diving on the fragile chalk reefs causing damage to the marine ecosystem, as well as impacts on the maritime archaeology associated with the wrecks." - Kent: Dover Strait Seascape Character Assessment (PDF)
Anchors are also a threat due to the delicacy of the calk and organisms living on the reefs.
Invasive Species
These have been outcompeting native species. Scroll down for a list of identified invasives.
Toxic Contaminants
"The deterioration of waters quality by pollutants and nutrients has caused respectively the replacement of fucoid dominated biotopes by mussel-dominated biotopes, and the occurrence of nuisance Enteromorpha spp. blooms..." - UK BAP Priority Habitat Descriptions
Solutions
Continued & Improved Monitoring
"Natural England, as a statutory conservation agency, is obliged to monitor the marine environment, and to assess the condition of protected species and habitats. Making such condition assessments is challenging, time-consuming and expensive, so there is a clear need to explore options that support this process. One possibility is to use data from citizen science (like Seasearch)." - Seasearch: Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ Report
Fishing Industry
Dietary
Eat alternative foods, including plant-based proteins and seafood alternatives.
Fishing Industry
Boundaries of protected marine zones need to be better protected, with no dredging or bottom trawling allowed.
If fishing in the area, fishermen should adhere to the Code of Best Practice for potting in Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ)
Energy Production
Proper surveys need to be performed before permits are given for projects. Mitigation should be planned with scientific and local collaboration.
Boating & Tourism
"Work with local, regional and national tourism organisations and businesses (in both England and France) to support initiatives that promote the sustainable use of assets within this SCT to people arriving by sea. Include information on the underwater environment, including particularly the area’s chalk reefs and the ancient creation of the Strait. Such visitor information should be readily available both upon port exit/ entry and on the ferries themselves." - Kent: Dover Strait Seascape Character Assessment (PDF)
Locations
Europe
North Sea
The Seabed of Skagerrak "the northern part of the North Sea, is characterized by chalk reefs, gravel, gutters and sandy areas near land. Further out there are several successive rock reefs between the sandbanks, old peat- and forest floor, soft holes, seaweed forests and limestone peaks with sandy bottom areas between."
According to Wikipedia, "The Skagerrak contains some of the busiest shipping routes in the world, with vessels from every corner of the globe. It also supports an intensive fishing industry.[1] The ecosystem is strained and negatively affected by direct human activities. Oslo and Gothenburg are the only large cities in the Skagerrak region."
"The Skagerrak serves as a habitat for approximately 2,000 marine species, including a unique variety of Atlantic cod. It also contains sandy and stony reefs and cold-water coral reefs. Environmental institutions have expressed concern about increasing pressure on the ecosystem due to human activities and climate change. Protections are in place, with several marine protected areas in Skagerrak, including Ytre Hvaler National Park in Norway and Kosterhavet National Park in Sweden."
Denmark
Bubbling Reefs in Kattegat, a minor part of the Danish part of Skagerrak "Bubbling reefs are formed by prolonged leaking of methane gasses from deep deposits (Jensen et al, 1992). The reef structures are formed in the near-surface sediment layer in a chemical process binding chalk to the sediment in an oxygenated sediment environment along the gas-seeping channels. Large bubbling reefs have caves and overhangs hosting communities dominated by hard bottom fauna on shady parts that are not found at the same water depth on nearby boulder reefs. Bubbling reefs in Kattegat are often located on sandy bottoms and thus significantly increase the complexity of these habitats.
The appearance of the reef structures above the seabed is due to erosional processes likely over very long time-scales. The structures are fragile and very sensitive to physical disturbance." - Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs): Danish Kattegat
France
Iceland
Ireland
Bubbling Reefs in the Codling Fault Zone in Irish waters "Bubbling reefs are formed by prolonged leaking of methane gasses from deep deposits (Jensen et al, 1992). The reef structures are formed in the near-surface sediment layer in a chemical process binding chalk to the sediment in an oxygenated sediment environment along the gas-seeping channels. Large bubbling reefs have caves and overhangs hosting communities dominated by hard bottom fauna on shady parts that are not found at the same water depth on nearby boulder reefs. Bubbling reefs in Kattegat are often located on sandy bottoms and thus significantly increase the complexity of these habitats.
The appearance of the reef structures above the seabed is due to erosional processes likely over very long time-scales. The structures are fragile and very sensitive to physical disturbance." - Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs): Danish Kattegat
UK
"57% of coastal chalk in Europe is found in UK waters, which amounts to just 0.6% of our coastal habitat, making this an internationally important site for protection." - The Chalk Reefs of Cromer Shoal
"... There are other chalk reefs in Kent and Yorkshire, where they are much flatter, but Norfolk’s chalk reef is the longest by far and probably the most rugged. It is a very special habitat.
The Chalk platform exposed along parts of the North Norfolk coast is not a new landform, in marked contrast to the Chalk platforms along the Channel coast which are being created by undercutting and collapse of often high Chalk cliffs." - The Chalk Reef
Chalk Wave-Cut Platforms and Shingle talks about some chalk reefs we couldn't verify the locations of. It also talks about the features and species living in chalk and limestone around tide level.
Isle of Wight's Alum Bay hosts the Needles Marine Conservation Zone
Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone "threatened species include the Short Snouted Seahorse, the Common Oyster & Blue Mussel beds."
Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds are home to the recently named Parpal Dumplin', "a name that evokes the sounds of the Norfolk accent. The winning suggestion was submitted by 9-year-old Sylvie from Langham Village School in Norfolk."
Kingmere (MCZ) these features are the fragile chalk reefs, the rock, mud, sands and gravels (also known as ‘sediments’) that surround them, and the black bream which breed on the site each spring.
These species and habitats are protected by new local bylaws. Management of damaging or potentially damaging activities within the MCZ is designed to allow these features to recover to their full potential, to what is known as a 'favourable condition'."Royal Sovereign Shoals "a region of sandstone and chalk reef which creates a wildlife-rich area home to a variety of encrusting and mobile life, including sponges, soft corals, anemones, starfish, crabs and many species of fish."
Seven Sisters Chalk Reefs
Worthing Lumps "have been given the acolade of 'one of the best chalk reefs in Europe (Marine Conservation Society) and is designated a Marine Site of Conservation Interest.It occurs about 8 km (5 miles) off the coast of Worthing, facing north running approximately south of ENE to WSW. The vertical cliff face rises to approximately 3 m (10.75 ft). At is base the seabed consists of broken chalk rubble, flints, gravel and shells of Slipper Limpet (Crepidula fornicata). The top is extensively covered with red algae, the cover of which varies throughout the year (storms can tear it off and deposit it on Worthing's and other beaches to the east).
The reef-face itself is heavily bored by piddocks, Pholas dactylus, and its broken nature provide numerous niches for a large range of marine life including molluscs, seafirs, seamats, tube worms, sponges and fish. The nooks and crannies and rich life also provide ideal nursery conditions for several species of fish, notably Black Bream which produce 'nests' close by to the reef..."
Revealed: the hidden secrets of Norfolk's seas - chalk reefs
4:40 minute video showing the fascinating creatures and shapes of these reefs.
Oceana
New Caledonia
Loyalty Islands
"The atolls of the Loyalty Islands are built up as fringing reefs around raised limestone or sea mounts of volcanic origin. They are also underlain by a perched lens of fresh water which has created karstic erosion of caves and potholes, and their chalk cliffs are the remains of old raised atolls. Ultramafic soils cover a third of the main island and with the serpentine soils are nutrient poor but unusually rich in elements such as chromium and manganese. Lagoonal basins have a variety of substrates derived from terrestrial sediments nearer the coast or from degraded coral and shells further out, providing a soft muddy bottom, coral sands, or a mixture of the two The system therefore hosts an exceptional diversity of landforms, corals and their associated ecosystems, both continental and oceanic in character containing some 10,400 marine and 4,600 terrestrial species, many of them endemic and rare." - World Heritage Datasheet
Native Species
These have been given tags for the areas that each species has been recorded. It is possible each species may also be found in other chalk reefs, we just haven't verified. Over 300 species have been cataloged in the Norfolk chalk reefs, and over 1,000 are estimated to live in the reefs between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden.
Algae
Apistonema spp. (UK)
Chrysotila lamellosa (UK)
Haptophyceae (UK)
Pleurochrysis carterae (UK)
Prasinophyceae (UK)
Seaweed
Bladder Wrack (UK)
Red Seaweed or Irish Moss an edible native used for carrageenan (UK)
Fucales "include some of the more common littoral seaweeds and the members of the order have the typical seaweed construction: a holdfast, stipe, and lamina. The lamina is often much branched and may include gas-filled bladders." (UK)
Mossy Feather Weed or Bryopsis plumosa "They are incredibly tough though, surviving on highly scoured, flat chalk with fine sand constantly whisking past." (UK)
Red Algae Tufts (UK)
Reflexed Grape Weed or Gastroclonium reflexum "is one of our most common red algaes and it thrives on soft chalk. Each stem tip bends over to reattach and send up a thicket of new stems, just like a bramble patch. A single plant can soon spread to cover any horizontal surface in reasonable light, but never gets more than 3 or 4cm high." (UK)
Serrated Wrack (UK)
Ulva intestinalis is a green alga in the family Ulvaceae, known by the common names sea lettuce, green bait weed, gutweed, and grass kelp. (UK)
Ulva lactuca, also known by the common name sea lettuce (UK)
Kelp
Kelp was mentioned many times while researching chalk reefs, but no specific types were listed.
Anemone
Beadlet Anemone (UK)
Blush-Red Strawberry Anemone (UK) (This might actually be part of the stony coral family instead of a true anemone)
Dahlia Anemone (UK)
Plumose Anemone (UK)
Snakelocks Anemones (Anemonia viridis) (UK)
Birds
Fulmar "Related to the massive albatross, the fulmar is a gull-like bird that nests on rocky cliff edges. Don't get too close, though - it spits a foul-smelling oil at intruders." (UK)
Gannet (UK)
Kittiwake "A pretty, little gull, the kittiwake can be spotted nesting in colonies on clifftops and rock ledges around the UK's coast. It spends the winter out at sea." (UK)
Razorbill (UK)
Coral
Anthozoan communities have been found on subtidal rocky habitats
Anemones (UK)
Dead Man's Fingers (UK and probably in the chalk reefs between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, as well as the French reefs judging by distribution maps)
Fan Coral (UK)
Pink Sea Fan Coral currently threatened (UK)
Crustaceans
Crabs
Cromer Crab these can live for 40 years if not caught by fishermen. They also go by Brown Crab or Edible Crab. (UK)
Pilumnus hirtellus "the bristly crab or hairy crab, is a species of European crab. It is less than 1 inch (25 mm) long and covered in hair. It lives in shallow water and feeds on carrion. (UK)
Sea Toad a type of spider crab (UK)
Shore Crab (UK)
Small Spider Crabs they can be found covered in colourful living sponges. (UK)
Velvet Swimming Crab also known as Devil Crabs are recognizable with their blood red eyes. (UK)
Lobsters
Blue Lobsters also known as European Lobsters. These feed on mollusks and crabs. (UK)
Spiny squat lobster or Galathea strigosa "The UK’s most colourful squat lobster is more usually seen off the NE or SW coasts of the UK, where it hides deep inside crevices with just the tips of its claws showing. When tempted out, it is an amazing brick red and electric blue animal, with big bristly claws. Less than a handful have been recorded off Norfolk so far. The biggest lives about half a mile off West Runton and is very old, which makes him much calmer than those we’ve seen elsewhere round the UK." (UK)
Squat Lobsters (UK)
Prawns
Common Prawns (UK)
Shrimp
Cephalopoda
Cuttlefish
Little Cuttlefish like to burry themselves in the sands around chalk reefs, often allowing only their eyes to be seen. These fierce, bee-sized predators ambush their prey from the sand.
Echinoderms
Brittlestars
Sea Cucumber
Fish
Cod (UK)
Cuckoo Wrasse (UK)
Bass (UK)
Bib or Pouting members of the cod family (UK)
Black Bream (UK)
Butterfish "The slippery butterfish is a common sight in rockpools all around the UK. Look out for the distinctive black spots on their backs that look a lot like eyes!" (UK)
European Eel (UK)
Flounder (UK)
Herring (UK)
Leopard Spotted Goby "This lovely fish likes to live in small tunnels and caves in the deepest chalk walls. It generally shares them with large lobsters, acting as waste disposal for the tiny bits of food dropped by its host. That’s if the common prawns, who also share with lobsters, don’t get there first! In return, the goby acts as lookout, warning the lobster of any approaching threat by shooting back inside." (UK)
Mackerel migrate through these areas (UK)
Sea Bass shoals have only recently been seen swimming over the Norfolk chalk reefs. (UK)
Sea Scorpions are ambush predators who (UK)
Pogge is a small relative of the sea scorpion, also known as hooknose
Shoaling Horse Mackerel (UK)
Tompot Blenny (UK)
Weever Fish(UK)
Whitebait (UK)
Flat Fish
Plaice (UK)
Dover Sole also called Common sole or Black sole This is a popular species food-wise, but are usually caught via bottom trawling putting them on the red list for unsustainable harvesting practices. In the wild these are ambush predators who wait in sandy bottoms for their prey to pass by. (UK)
Seahorses & Relatives
Greater Pipefish related to seahorses, but stronger swimmers. Males carry eggs in a pouch till they hatch. (UK)
Short Snouted Sea Horses (UK)
Snake Pipefish (UK)
Rays
Undulated Ray (UK)
Gastropods
Sea Slugs
Sea Slugs some of the most colourful animals on the reef are slugs. They eat stinging or poisonous prey to re-use their defences. (UK)
Atlantic Ancula Sea Slug (UK)
Nudibranchs are a group of soft-bodied marine gastropod mollusk that sheds their shells after their larval stage. (UK)
Sea Snails
Common whelk, Buccinum undatum
Dog whelks are a predatory snail which hunts barnacles. (UK)
Sea Hare look like sea slugs, but actually have a soft internal, transparent shell. They take on the colour of whatever seaweed they eat. (UK)
Topshells are sea snails (UK)
Jellyfish
Compass Jellyfish (UK)
Lion's Main Jellyfish (UK)
Mammals
Porpoise
Harbor Porpoise (UK)
Seals
Grey Seal these can live for 40 years and eat mostly fish, but sometimes other species such as crabs. Their numbers dropped to only a few hundred, but have risen to the thousands, but they are still considered one of the rarest species of seal. (UK)
Sea Squirts
Pinhead Squirts or Pycnoclavella stolonialis "These miniscule, sociable creatures like to live on flat chalk bedrock on the tops or sides of gullies which are too deep for seaweeds to grow. Each animal is glassy clear with a minute white cross between its two siphons. They grow in groups of thousands and the white crosses give the rock a ‘sparkly’ sheen, the only clue to their presence unless you are very close up." (UK)
Sea Squirts (UK)
Sharks
Small-Spotted Catshark (UK)
Shellfish
Barnacles
Limpets
Blue-rayed limpets (UK)
Mussels
Blue Mussels (UK)
Burrowing Piddocks "are a strange group of clam-like shellfish that burrow into soft rocks such as clay and sandstone. They begin this process after settling as larvae and slowly enlarge and deepen the burrow as they grow. As such, they are essentially locked in and will live there for the rest of their lives." (UK)
Oysters
Native Oysters (UK)
Sponges
Fragile sponge on subtidal rocky habitats
Pink Goosebump Sponge or Dysidea pallescens "This animal is found only on the very ends of the tallest gully walls and outcrops, where the high currents deliver plenty of nutrition and scouring by sand is at a minimum. It is rarely seen, mainly because of the effort needed to swim out 600m from shore before the tide turns! The bright bubblegum pink spikes make it look like it is made of plastic, but it is reassuringly ‘spongy’ when touched. " (Only found in chalk reefs off the coast of Norfolk, UK)
Shredded Carrot Sponge (UK)
Worms
Polychaete Worms "Polychaeta is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin." (UK)
Polydora ciliata the tube-dwelling worm is found predominantly on vertical or overhanging chalk
Invasive Species
Algae
Seaweeds
Sargassum muticum "commonly known as Japanese wireweed[2] or japweed,[3][4] is a large brown seaweed of the genus Sargassum. It is an invasive seaweed with high growth rate (up to 10 cm per day during spring). It has an efficient dispersion thanks to its floats." It "was introduced to ... Europe in the 1970s " (UK)
Wakame (Undaria pinnatifida) "is a species of kelp native to cold, temperate coasts of the northwest Pacific Ocean." (UK)
Oysters
Pacific Oysters
This paper lists different ways people have tried to combat this invader, and recommends "Removing individual oysters for immediate destruction on-site In Kent, United Kingdom, a trial was conducted by volunteers to combat Pacific oysters with the aim to return to former abundances. The trial lasted a whole year and was conducted simply by crushing the oyster shells one by one with ordinary handheld hammers (McKnight and Chudleigh, 2015). In the first-place whole oysters were removed but an unintended side effect appeared where the substrate was severely damaged. The substrate inhabited by the Pacific oysters were chalk reef structures declared as a fragile and protected habitat. To overcome that negative side effect the oysters were eradicated by crushing only the upper valve leaving the lower valve on the substrate. On non-protected chalk substrates entire individuals were crushed. The trial resulted in significant reduction of individuals' present leading to a habitat change from a dense oyster reef to a situation of less dense and mainly solitaire M. gigas on the location. The benefit was that the improved method was targeted on the alien oyster with minimal impact on the protected chalk formations and the naturally associated invertebrates but the disadvantage was the high cost of labor it required. McKnight and Chudleigh (2015) even did a cost benefit analysis of effectiveness and negative impacts from their oyster removal trial. They concluded this mitigation tool could effectively be used elsewhere if the goal sanctifies the means and the high cost is justified. In Northern Ireland, M. gigas individuals were crushed likewise. In the year after the eradication treatment oysters were almost 100% eradicated (Herbert et al., 2016). Hence, although labor-intensive and therefore relatively costly this simple mitigation strategy apparently works." This source offers a native vs invasive map of Pacific Oysters.
Click the Handle Invasive Species button for apps and other resources to help reduce the impact of invasive species.
Resources
Mapping Annex I Reefs in the central English Channel: Evidence to Support the Selection of Candidate SACs This PDF includes many maps, photos, and scans of the area between England and France. "The underlying goal was to improve our knowledge and mapping of seabed habitats to create a more profound, scientific basis for the selection of marine protected areas."
Europe
UK
Benthic Assemblages in Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ "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."Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds Marine Conservation Zone (PDF) "This document sets out why this site is important, the features protected and general management information."
Existing Marine Conservation Zones (includes an interactive map) "There have been 31 Marine Conservation Zones designated in the Eastern Channel so far, from the chalk reefs of Dover to Deal, to the seagrass beds of Torbay, Devon."
Organizations
Europe
OSPAR "is the mechanism by which 15 Governments & the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment of the North-East Atlantic.
OSPAR started in 1972 with the Oslo Convention against dumping and was broadened to cover land-based sources of marine pollution and the offshore industry by the Paris Convention of 1974. These two conventions were unified, up-dated and extended by the 1992 OSPAR Convention. The new annex on biodiversity and ecosystems was adopted in 1998 to cover non-polluting human activities that can adversely affect the sea.
The fifteen Governments are Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom.
OSPAR is so named because of the original Oslo and Paris Conventions ("OS" for Oslo and "PAR" for Paris)."
UK
Marine Conservation Society: Community Voice Method This organization has been working to bring community members together with leaders to help protect areas including the Cromer Shoal Marine Conservation Zone, and help spread awareness for everyone including local students.
Natural England has helped generate reports with the data gathered by Seasearch.
Seasearch "Volunteer divers and snorkellers working together for marine conservation"
Sussex Inshore Fishersies and Conservation Authority: Marine Protected Areas "MPAs are defined areas of the sea and coast where human activities which damage or disturb protected habitats and species are restricted. MPAs are essential for healthy, functioning, and resilient ecosystems. The UK Government has committed to developing a well-managed, ecologically coherent MPA network. This, supported by wider environmental management measures, will help protect our seas and their associated benefits for future generations."
The Wildlife Trusts "We are a grassroots movement that believes we need nature and it needs us. More than 911,000 members and 35,000 volunteers work together with their Wildlife Trust to make their local area wilder and make nature part of life, for everyone.
Every Wildlife Trust is an independent charity.
We’d love you to join us."
Maps
Europe
OSPAR Commission: Figure 10.1 includes chalk and other types of reefs.
UK
Existing Marine Conservation Zones (interactive map) "There have been 31 Marine Conservation Zones designated in the Eastern Channel so far, from the chalk reefs of Dover to Deal, to the seagrass beds of Torbay, Devon."
Map of OSPAR Habitat Types includes chalk and other types of reefs.
Beachy Head East
Beachy Head West Marine Conservation Zone
Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds
MCZ Interactive Map Select All dives, or other options which indicate what was found during dives including different substrates, types of lost fishing gear, chalk damage, etc.
Kingmere
Kingmere (MCZ) shows the preserve's position in relation to Worthing and the Rampion Wind Farm.
Educational Opportunities
Europe
The Channel
Mapping Annex I Reefs in the central English Channel: Evidence to Support the Selection of Candidate SACs This PDF includes many maps, photos, and scans of the area between England and France. "The underlying goal was to improve our knowledge and mapping of seabed habitats to create a more profound, scientific basis for the selection of marine protected areas."
UK
Norfolk Coast: The Agents of Change Project "is keen to hear from local teachers and other educators interested in getting the Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds MCZ, local fishermen, fishing culture and the marine environment into local schools.
Outreach visits enable schools to integrate with local issues and encourage everyone to learn more about what lies just beneath the waves on our shoreline.
Children will watch a video of the stunning marine wildlife living in the MCZ and have the chance to handle shells, crab and lobster claws and have a question & answer opportunity with a local fisherman."Seasearch: Training "Learn how to record your underwater sightings correctly to make them count for marine conservation."