The edge

The magazine of CoastNET Winter 2006

Interpreting Artificial UK renewables Marine species and

coastal futures reefs climate change
 Contents
6
3 Editorial

4 News

6 Interpreting coastal futures

CoastNET – breathing new
life into coastal matters
Winter 2005
Climate change and the coast
The edge is a quarterly magazine,
sent out to all CoastNET members.
CoastNET is an international
networking organisation that
works with all coastal interests to
promote the exchange of ideas,
information and expertise to find
long term solutions to coastal
problems that benefit all. Our
mission is to safeguard the world’s
coast and those communities of
people and wildlife that depend
upon it for their future.
Editor: Lesley Smeardon
Lesley.smeardon@coastnet.org.uk
Designed by: Cottier & Sidaway
Printed by: Gildenburgh Ltd
Tim O’Riordan and Jessica Milligan from the
University of East Anglia consider the possible
future scenarios for our coastal communities.
8 The accidental ecologists
George Steinbach, Executive Director of the
California Artificial Reef Enhancement 8
Program, takes a closer look at the
controversy caused by the artificial reefs
inadvertently created by offshore oil and gas
platforms in the US state of California.
10 Into the Blue
Switching the UK energy debate away from
nuclear for a moment, Michael Hay from the
British Wind Energy Association reviews the
latest from UK wind, wave and tidal
technologies.

Submissions 10
To submit an article for publication, please
email to the editor saving your submission 12 A sea of change
as a word document. Alternatively, send to With rising sea levels and temperatures,
the address below. Letters can be sent to the
editor but we are unable to acknowledge researchers at the Marine Biological
receipt. The editor reserves the right to edit
submissions. Association discuss their research on species
changes in our UK coastal waters.
CoastNET: The Gatehouse,
Rowhedge Wharf, High St,
Rowhedge, Essex, CO5 7ET. 14 Groundworks
Tel/Fax: 01206 728644
A regular look at the work of coastal
Email: admin@coastnet.org.uk
Web: www.coastnet.org.uk partnerships

CoastNet is governed by an independent

Board of Management and serviced by a
Secretariat.
15 Webwise 12
Registered charity no 1055763 A round up of the some of the best sites on
Registered as a company limited by
guarantee, company no 3204452
the web for climate change

The opinions expressed in the magazine are

not necessarily those of CoastNET. 16 CoastNET events
© CoastNET, 2006

22 The
TheEdge
edge Winter
Winter2006
2006
Editorial
At the end of November, the UK Government announced a review of the need
for new nuclear power generating capacity to fill an energy gap which, it is
claimed, cannot be filled through other non-carbon generation technologies.
A
t about the same time we heard
of the significant slowing
down of the Gulf Stream,
which not only brings warm water and
a mild climate to the UK shores but
also largely drives the ecosystems of
the North Atlantic. I also heard about
the possibilties for storing carbon in
depleted gas and oil fields at a recent
CoastNET conference.
BP announced that it is to double
investment in renewable and
alternative energy and establish a new
company to “create a new low-carbon
power business”. And if all that is not
enough, Margaret Beckett, UK
Secretary of State for the Environment,
launched a new UK initiative to raise
public awareness about climate change
– Tomorrow’s climate, today’s challenge.
Perhaps this flurry of action was
triggered by the UN climate
change conference in Montreal held at
the end of November or perhaps it was
just coincidence?
These news items serve to remind us of
the many different strands of the
climate change issue: impacts of
climate change on ecosystems;
international cooperation; renewable
versus non-renewable energy; systems
to remove and store carbon;
opportunities for business growth in the
eco-technology sector; the challenge of
changing public behaviour.
The coast and seas feature very
prominently in all of these issues,
certainly in a European context.
Climate change is causing sea level rise
and consequent coastal habitat loss
and coastal erosion. It is causing
marine ecosystem change of global
importance. There are huge
opportunities for business in new,
‘clean’ technologies, and in carbon
removal and storage. The sea and coast
provide the most important wind
resources in Europe, and the sea itself
constitutes a huge resource for tidal
and wave power. In investigating the
potential and feasibility of these
options, we are adding volumes to our
understanding of the marine
environment. Carbon storage offers an
option for the alternative use of
offshore oil and gas pipelines, rigs and
depleted geological reservoirs,
potentially saving many hundreds of
millions of pounds which could be re-
invested into marine management,
renewable energy and carbon storage
research and development.
The global climate change priority is
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
That is the basis of Kyoto. However, it
is a priority not shared by all, and one
wonders at the ability to achieve real
progress at a global level given the
pace of economic growth in countries
such as China and India. The coasts
and seas across the world offer a vital
resource in this global effort, but only
if well managed. Already we are seeing
the potential conflicts of offshore
wind power generation with birds
and nature conservation, and with fish
and fisheries. The pressure to
decommission offshore gas and oil
infrastructure, for environmental
reasons, may close out significant
potential carbon storage reservoirs.
The prospect of a new generation of
nuclear reactors in the UK holds much
interest for those with a stake in the
coast. Of the 25 or so nuclear power
generation sites in the UK, all but one
are on the coast, and a number are in
vulnerable erosion and flood risk
zones.
If the UK is to open the door to the
investment in new nuclear
technology, what will be the impacts
on the maritime and fledgling
renewable economic sectors in the UK
and northern Europe? Will the pace of
renewable generation capacity be
slowed, and will we consequently
become even more dependent on
nuclear power to fill the gap in
generation capacity? Are the positive
aspects of this scenario balanced by
the risks to the environment inherent
in nuclear technology? The debate has
only just begun.
Alex Midlen,
Chair of CoastNET
The edge Winter 2006 3
News
Nuclear countdown? Also in the news
In November, the Government announced its intention to lead a substantial
review of its UK energy policy. Much of the chatter surrounding this ● Gulf Stream slows –
announcement focused firmly on the role nuclear will have in this review – a Scientists from the National
decision that will have significant implications to the coastal community, with all Oceanography Centre in
but one of the existing nuclear plants currently sited on the coast (see Editorial). Southampton have discovered a
30 per cent slowing of the Gulf
Well chosen statistics have been thrust in front of the public from all sides of Stream, the ocean current that
the nuclear argument yet the real facts on energy may continue to be clouded maintains Europe’s warm waters and
by the complexities of the decisions to be made. So far, the nuclear discussion moderate climate. If the current
seems to have achieved one thing: the overshadowing of a much larger debate remains as weak as it is,
that must be played out. This is the debate looking at a total energy review temperatures in Britain are likely to
including the part played by renewables and new technology opportunities such drop by an average of 1˚C in the
as carbon sequestration in our energy future. Wind, wave, tidal, next decade according to Dr Harry
microgeneration, CHP, biomass and even hydro should not be forgotton in this Bryden from the Centre.
deliberation. This completeness is what the Government assures us the new www.soc.soton.ac.uk/
energy review will be. Whatever the outcome of this review, what is guaranteed
is that most of the options on the table will have a profound effect on our ● World weather disaster
coastal landscape. Consultations start early in 2006. losses hit record in 2005 –
The world in 2005 will show the
highest-ever financial losses for
An energy review in progress?
weather-related natural disasters.
2005 2006 Economic losses globally will exceed
June: Jan/Feb: $200 billion and insured losses will
● Carbon Abatement ● Agreement between ● Climate Change be over $70 billion, according to
Technology Strategy the UK and Norway to Programme Review preliminary estimates by the Munich
published. explore options for report to be published Re Foundation, part of a leading
permanently storing (reviewing progress reinsurance company.
October: sequested carbon from
●
under the UK Climate www.planetark.
Publication of the coal and gas fired
Change Programme). com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/
costs and carbon power stations beneath
the North Sea. April/May: 33871/story.htm
savings study for
renewable heat and ● Microgeneration
December: ● Low carbon leaders of the
●
combined heat and Strategy due for
Launch of the decade announced –
power (CHP) publication.
Government’s climate The Low Carbon Leaders Awards
technologies
change communications Autumn: have been published in Business
● Stern Review on the
undertaken by Future
campaign, Tomorrow’s Week and were sponsored by The
Energy Solutions.
climate, today’s Economics of Climate Climate Group. Companies in the top
November: challenge. Change due to be 10 included BP, BT and IBM.
●
●
The Renewable published. (The purpose http://www.businessweek .com/
Summary conclusions
Transport Fuel of the Stern Review is to magazine/toc/05_50/B39630550
of the Energy Efficiency
Obligation announced understand the carbon.htm
Innovation Review
– making transport economic challenges of
carried out by the
fuels greener by
Carbon Trust and the
climate change and how ● Flood and coastal
requiring five per cent they can be met, in the defence risk management
Energy Saving Trust
of all UK fuel sold on UK and globally.) funding announced –
published.
UK forecourts to come Defra grant allocations for spending
from a renewable on flood and coastal defence from
source by 2010. 2006-07 will continue at around £570
million per annum.
www.defra.gov.uk/news
Emissions – Only 8 of the world’s nations are responsible for nearly 50
per cent of its carbon dioxide emissions. (Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, the United States and Russia) (WWF)

4 The edge Winter 2006


● Ozone hole over Antarctica
may take longer than expected
to repair itself –
The ozone hole over Antarctica in
2005 was one of the largest and
new research from the US and
Canada indicates ozone-eating
chemicals are still being released
into the atmosphere in large
quantities. Latest modelling predicts
the ozone layer in the stratosphere
will not now recover its health until
about the year 2065.
http://news.bbc.co.uk
/1/hi/sci/tech/4506182.stm
CoastNET news
All party parliamentary group on
marine and coastal issues to be set up
CoastNET has, in conjunction with Norman Lamb, MP for North Norfolk,
re-established the All Party Parliamentary Group on Marine and Coastal
Issues. CoastNET has worked hard to get the group re-established following
calls from its members and other individuals within the coastal community.
With a committed supporter in Norman Lamb MP, it has finally succeeded.
The group’s aim is to create a forum
where relevant and interested parties
can discuss key coastal issues,
formulate policy options and
encourage wider political debate and
action on the coast. Among the first
topics likely to be debated will be the
upcoming Marine Bill.

● Marine nature
conservation review –
Defra and the devolved
administrations of Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland have pledged
to conserve sea ecosystems while
supporting the UK’s marine
industries and the communities that
rely on them in a new report
published in December,
Safeguarding Sea Life. The report is
a key background document for the
nature conservation elements of the
Marine Bill. The report can be found
on the defra website:
www.defra.gov.uk/wildlife-
countryside/ewd/rmnc/index.htm
● UN conference on
climate change
“It has taken more than 12 years to
get 36 countries to cut their
emissions by about 5% and
worldwide emissions are still rising
steeply. The next negotiations will
have to get countries to reduce their
emissions not by a modest 5% but
by 30-50% within a generation. For
that to have any chance of
happening will mean some of the
most fraught negotiations ever
conducted.” Guardian online
The all-party group will consist of a
mix of MPs from across all parties
with a first meeting due to take place
early in 2006. CoastNET will act as
Recovery –
Even if we stopped producing more greenhouse gas from today, the
world’s climate would continue to change for a further 30-40 years. (Defra)
Encora project initiated
CoastNET has become a partner
in a new European project, Encora.
Encora is a ‘network of networks’
aimed at initiating a self-sustaining
process of cooperation in Europe
with new mechanisms for
knowledge-sharing within and
between communities of coastal
sciences and coastal practice.
The project aims to deliver an
operational European coastal network
Efficiency – A cleaner energy source –
The average UK household creates
6 tonnes of CO2 every year. But
the average UK household could
save 2 of those tonnes just by
being more energy efficient.
(www.saveenergy.co.uk)
the secretariat and regular updates of
the group’s activities will be reported
in subsequent issues of The edge.
structure supporting the exchange of
knowledge and experience within and
between the communities of science,
policy and practice after three years
of operation. Its opening session is in
Feb 2006.
For more information on the
Encora project visit the website:
www.encora.org
Note: Encora stands for European Network
for Coastal Research Coordination Action.
It takes only 1 hour for the sun to
produce enough energy to meet
the world’s energy needs for a
year (Foyle regional energy agency).
In 2003, the total electricity
supplied in the UK by renewable
energy sources was just 2.7 per
cent.
Digest of UK energy statistics

The edge Winter 2006 5

Interpreting
coastal futures
Nowhere is climate change more visible than along our coastline. Communities are
experiencing more frequent flooding, greater intensity storms, not to mention potential loss
of livelihoods and property than ever before. Just what then, might the future have in store
for these communities? Tim O’Riordan and Jessica Milligan from the University of East Anglia
consider the question.
T
he coasts of Britain have
finally begun to be seen by
the public and politicians for
what they really are. They
are, for the most part, unstable,
dynamic, exposed to flooding and
erosion, yet heavily populated for
residence, commerce, leisure and
nature conservation value.
In 2004 the Office of Science and
Technology published a report on
possible scenarios for coastal and river
valley flooding over the rest of this
century. In one way, this was a highly
speculative move. Nobody seriously
believes we can forecast over 95 years
with any certainty. But in another
important way, the exercise highlights
how we treat our coasts, and how we
should, as a democracy, prepare our
future generations for plausible, safe
and vibrant coastal livelihoods, while
we have the time to make the required
adjustments.
6 The edge Winter 2006
The Foresight Future Flooding reports
(Evans et al, 2004) examined four
scenarios (story-based predictions set
in plausible assumptions) of coastal
and river valley change over the next
95 years. These provided a basis for
examining how: society might be
organised; what values it may hold;
what greenhouse gas emissions and
consequent sea level rise would be,
with attendant salt incursion of coastal
freshwater sources.
The four scenarios were based on
the following criteria:
1 A rapidly expanding global market
driven economy with an emphasis
on innovation, competitiveness
and technological advance. This
would create a strong sense of
interdependence, but also a
willingness to experiment with
market-based approaches to regulation
and social behaviour. The scenario
involves a sense of social autonomy
and high greenhouse gas emissions.
2 A more national-based approach to
shaping economy and society, with an
emphasis on national dialogue and
embedded well-being. There would be
a greater sense of national
responsibility for future outcomes,
both adverse and beneficial, and
middling levels of greenhouse gas
emissions.
3 A locally based economy, with
much more emphasis on social
responsibility. There would be
relatively low emissions and local
solutions to planning and
environmental management would be
encouraged.
4 A global sustainability scenario
with a high emphasis on international
action and international obligation
over all aspects of sustainable
The coasts of Britain have finally begun to be seen by the public and politicians
for what they really are. They are, for the most part, unstable, dynamic,
exposed to flooding and erosion, yet heavily populated for residence, commerce,
leisure and nature conservation value.
development. This would result in low
emissions with a strong commitment
to regulation and more proactive
management of resources and
landscapes to be sure that they remain
viable.
The Foresight study concluded that, at
present, two million properties worth
over £440 billion, are at risk of flooding
from rivers and seas. There are 80,000
urban properties at risk of localised
downpours which overwhelm drains
and cause water to stand around. This
outcome, coupled with the likelihood
of much more intensive thunderstorms
could put properties worth a further
£200 billion at risk of flooding, even
those nowhere near a river or the coast.
Potentially this ‘overwhelmed
drainage’ effect could move huge
amounts of insurance money and
public investment away from proactive
management of rivers and coasts.
Under the four scenarios, the Foresight
team estimated that future annual
flood-related costs could rise from the
current £1.4 billion to £2.5 billion
under the ‘local sustainability’
scenario, and over £30 billion under
the ‘market-based’ scenario. Expressed
in terms of costs in relation to national
income, the two scenarios based on
more communal approaches (global
and local sustainability) could involve
lower overall burden than at present.
The implications of this exercise
are threefold:
1 The effects of overwhelmed drainage
in urban areas, notably where
properties are insured and unprotected,
could involve a huge political bias in
favour of investing in urban drainage
improvements. Yet managing water
before (by better design of buildings)
and after it hits the ground (by
improving the water retention
capacities of river catchments) should
be the priority for drought-prone and
water-short areas.
2 There is no way that all future coasts
can be defended to the present levels
of ‘holding the line’ without massive
additional costs and even greater
ultimate vulnerability to the
‘unsettled’ future coastline. Holding a
mobile coastline in place means that
nearby coasts may be starved of
protective sediment, and hence further
exposed to coastal hazard. So holding
the line is not only costly, but will
result in inter-community squabbles as
community after community tries to
defend itself. This is a recipe for chaos
and intransigence over any future
coastal planning. It is another reason
why it is necessary to ensure that local
authorities are encouraged to
cooperate along naturally-functioning
coastlines.
3 Designing a coast for retreat and
reconstruction to more natural
mechanisms of defence (offshore
sandbars, tidal lagoons, salt marshes,
sand dunes, wetlands, and flood soak
areas) will require visions of possible
future alignments, creative planning to
avoid future risk, and a high degree of
public involvement based on a strong
commitment to trust and social justice.
This means that the future of coastal
management cannot remain just
within flood management policy, but
must embrace new forms of settlement
planning, economic development and
social relationships. This is a
comprehensive sustainability agenda,
and one that lies well beyond the
current remit of Defra, bringing in
local government, planning, training
and enterprise elements of the public
and private sectors.
The current circumstances of coastal
planning are neither geomorph-
ologically sensitive nor socially
tolerable. The present official aim,
namely, to establish a new generation
of shoreline management plans, to
invite public consultation, and to
refuse any compensation for loss of
property value, simply will fail.
Already local authorities are rejecting
the new breed of SMPs, Coastal MPs
are limbering up for a ‘hold the line’
stand-off and citizen willingness to get
involved in creative dialogue is
evaporating in exasperation, anxiety
and despair.
There is no solution for all this, under
current arrangements. Indeed, matters
will only get worse if the government
tries to carry on in the manner in
which it is currently operating.
The way forward is:
● To hold all coasts for a further five
years to give everyone time to come
to terms with future realities
● To share the current responsibilities
of Defra by placing the enlarged
opportunities in the hands of a
wide-ranging approach to
sustainable coastal livelihoods.
Land use planning should be
designed to move property
progressively away from vulnerable
areas and to stop any new build in
all possible future zones of flood
threat
● To use the sustainability principles
to establish coastal action plans
that shape livelihoods and social
relations for long-term coastal
recession and reconstruction. Plans
that help ensure new coastal
landscapes and settlements are
healthy, economically active on a
highly localised basis, and socially
united by just treatment and fair
play.
Tim O’Riordan and Jessica Milligan, Tyndall Centre
and CSERGE, University of East Anglia
Emails: t.oriordan@uea.ac.uk and
j.milligan@uea.ac.uk
Tyndall Centre: www.tyndall.ac.uk
Centre for Social and Economic Research
on the Global Environment (CSERGE):
www.uea.ac.uk/env/cserge
The edge Winter 2006 7
The accidental
ecologists
When the offshore oil and gas runs out and the oil industry packs up and goes home, it
leaves an unintended and surprising ecological legacy. But not everyone is so enamoured
with this newly discovered by-product of the oil rigs as George Steinbach, Executive Director
of the California Artificial Reef Enhancement Program explains.

S
killed and experienced
engineers from some of the
largest engineering firms in the
world designed and built the
oil and gas platforms for offshore
California. They did a good job,
because the resulting structures have
withstood wind and wave for decades
in water depths up to 1,200 feet. But
while the designers focused intently
on deck loads and sheer forces to build
platforms for drilling and production,
they inadvertently built structures
ideally shaped and configured for fish
and marine life. As these platforms
approach the end of their producing
lives, we are beginning to deal with
these unintended consequences.
Almost immediately after the
California platforms were installed,
the growth of marine life on and
around the structures was
unmistakable. Over the years, the
underwater portions of the platforms
became home to mature reef
ecosystems of fishes and invertebrates.
Some of the easily accessible platforms
are popular destinations for
recreational fishermen. Divers and
underwater photographers are
attracted to the structures by a variety
and abundance of marine life that
makes them the best dive sites in the
State. The marine growth on the
platform legs is so prolific that it
requires periodic removal to maintain
platform stability. The contractor who
cleans the legs also collects the
removed mussels and scallops for sale
into the local restaurant trade.
The platforms received little attention
from marine scientists until the US
Geological Survey (USGS) funded a
study in 1995 to determine the role
they play in the marine environment,
if any. Dr Milton Love of the Marine
Science Institute, University of
California at Santa Barbara assembled
a small team and began to survey the
fish populations on several of the
platforms. His team traversed the
entire vertical reach of the structures,
using scuba diving equipment for the
shallow portions and a two-person
submarine to reach the bottoms. The
results confirmed the anecdotal
evidence of extensive marine life, and
the surveys became annual events for
Love and his team. The research data,
collected in a consistent manner for 10

Underwater home. From l-r: Greenspotted

rockfish at bottom of Platform Grace; Starfish
in shallow midwaters at Platform Holly;
juvenile bocaccio at Platform Gilda; flag
rockfish at bottom of Platform Grace; juvenile
vermillion rockfish at Platform Gilda and
juvenile yellowtail rockfish at Platform Irene.

8 The edge Winter 2006

 The inescapable fact is that the California platforms, as they
currently exist, are extremely successful artificial reef structures
that play an important ecological role in the marine environment.
consecutive years, provides a sound
scientific basis for several conclusions
now drawn by Love.
Love surveyed fish populations on
both platforms and nearby natural reef
outcrops and found both to be
dominated by rockfishes of genus
Sebastes, a commercially important
group of fishes on the Pacific Coast.
The surveys show that, compared to
natural reefs, the platforms have
higher densities of juvenile rockfishes
and are functionally more important
as nurseries. Also, compared to natural
reefs, the platforms have higher
densities of reproducing-age adults
and, therefore, contribute a higher
proportion of rockfish larval
production. Overall, Love has
concluded that the platforms are not
just passive attractors of fish, but play
an important role in regional rockfish
production.
The inescapable fact is that the
California platforms, as they currently
exist, are extremely successful artificial
reef structures that play an important
ecological role in the marine
environment.
When these platforms run out of oil
and gas, the oil industry has a clear
obligation to remove the structures.
Many environmentalist groups,
especially those that oppose the oil
industry, have been looking forward to
this end to the industry’s presence
offshore. However, these groups are
now faced with another consequence
both unforeseen and unsavory. The
removal of the platforms also means
the removal of the accidental reefs, and
the prospect of killing billions of Recreational fishermen, divers,
marine animals and destroying highly scientists, environmentalists and
productive marine habitat. commercial fishermen have
volunteered to tell the story of these
The reaction of environmental groups accidental reefs.
to Love’s scientific evidence was
revealing. Many dismissed the By challenging the conventional
existence of marine life as of secondary wisdom of removing the oil platforms,
importance to seeing the platforms a foregone conclusion has become a
removed. After all, the oil industry debate. The decommissioning of the
promised to remove them, and they platforms is now seen for its fisheries
should not be let ‘off the hook.’ The management implications. The
platforms are artificial and constitute discussion is heated, and the outcome
‘industrial junk.’ The removal of the is not certain. However, serious
platforms is needed ‘to produce a people are now asking the right
catharsis for all the damage caused by question: ‘What is the best way to
the oil industry.’ It became clear that decommission California’s offshore
the scientific evidence alone was going platforms?’
to fail in the face of these very human-
centric views of what constitutes For more information about the work of
appropriate marine habitat. A separate CARE visit the website:
advocacy group was going to be needed www.calreefs.org/
to make an argument for the fish.
The California Artificial Reef
Enhancement Program (CARE) was
founded as a non-profit organisation in
1999. It represents a broad
constituency of ocean users who
believe that the platforms are valuable
habitat and that alternatives to full-
removal should be considered.
Credits
The edge Winter 2006 9
Into the
Michael Hay from the British Wind Energy Association takes
a look at the latest from UK wind, wave and tidal technologies
and their potential contribution to a carbon-free energy
resource.
T
he UK has the most powerful
wind and wave resource in
Europe and is equally
blessed with a land mass
that channels tidal currents into
focused areas of potential energy. This
is fortunate since a diverse portfolio of
renewable energy sources will be
needed to deliver clean energy security
in the future. The unique location of
each individual nation making up the
British Isles also allows for more
focused strategies to evolve around
technologies that can empower the
natural strengths available. In relation
to offshore wind, wave and tidal
stream energy, any country with a
coastline has a substantial power
source on its doorstep. Wave energy is
more concentrated along west coasts
and tidal stream tends to be localised
around particular hot spots. Between
them, they could provide a substantial
amount of electricity globally. When
combining this with the strong air
currents off the UK coast, recent work
by Oxford University has shown that
the result is significant, secure,
constant energy. Many countries are
now looking to the sea in order to
assess how to deliver this energy into
their electricity grid effectively
and with minimal environmental
impact.
10 The edge Winter 2006
Wild and windy
Currently, due to significant
deployment globally, wind turbines
are the most economically attractive
option to harness the available power
around the UK. Three strategic areas
in the UK have been allocated for the
development of offshore wind farms.
These are around the Wash, the
Thames and the Northern Irish Sea.
Three farms have now been built,
amounting to some 210MWs of
energy, the equivalent of supplying
around 137,000 UK homes. By 2010
this number is expected to rise to
around 3,000MWs, over three per cent
of UK electricity supply. One project
alone, the London Array in the
Thames Gateway will provide 25 per
cent of London’s domestic electricity
requirements by the time the
Olympics comes to the Capital in
2012.
Wave and tide
Wave and tidal technologies are less
developed but no less exciting in
terms of prospective power providers.
A number of countries have put
substantial amounts of support into
R&D to assess the likelihood of cost-
competitive marine energy, with the
UK presently at the forefront of this
global challenge.
© Ian Berry, Magnum Photography, www.embracewind.com
North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm
There are currently only a handful of
full-scale wave energy devices in the
seas around the world, two of which
are located in UK waters. One is a
shoreline device called Limpet on the
Isle of Islay, the other is a deep water
converter called Pelamis, located off
the Orkney coast. Ocean Power
Delivery, developers of Pelamis, have
received a large amount of interest in
their technology and are due to build
the first offshore wave project off the
Portuguese coast in 2006. This will be
around 3MWs in size but should
trigger enough confidence in this area
to see up to 100MWs of both wave
and tidal stream technologies in UK
waters alone by 2010, rising to around
500MWs by 2015, the equivalent of
 Ocean Power Delivery Ltd

Marine Current Turbines Ltd

Pelamis Wave Energy Converter by Ocean Power Delivery Seaflow Tidal Turbine by Marine Current Turbines

supplying 325,000 UK homes. Given a
substantial development programme
in the electricity grid network that
would allow access into the powerful
resource areas of the north-west coast,
this figure could rise significantly.
At present there is, however, only one
tidal device operating in UK waters
and the next phase of its development
will be to increase in size from 300kW
to 1MW before deployment in
numbers begins. This device is known
as the Seaflow project and has been
located off the north coast of Devon
since May 2003. Other concepts, such
as SMD Hydrovision’s TidEL turbine,
are being designed for deeper water
tidal currents, reflecting the different
resources available.
The benefits of this energy available
off the UK is not just the delivery of
renewable power into the grid system.
It is also the significant market
opportunities available in becoming a
global leader in offshore renewable
energy technologies. Countries
including South Africa, Japan,
Australia and many in Europe,
together with a number of States in
the US, are beginning to push ahead
with their own policies for renewable
energy generation as part of a global
realisation of the need for more
indigenous sources of clean power.
With this comes not just the
opportunity to sell technologies but
also the ability to help with
supportive knowledge around the
reduction of adverse impacts that has
been built through experience.
In order to understand these
impacts, all wave and tidal energy
devices are being monitored
independently. This monitoring
programme will ensure that all
potential implications of building
such power stations are fully
considered prior to construction and
that any unforeseen impacts can be
dealt with accordingly. A similar
programme operates around offshore
wind projects, whereby a fund
financed by developers is utilised by
The Crown Estate to facilitate
independent research into any
effects of such projects during
construction, operation and
decommissioning.
This knowledge is vital for developers,
stakeholders and Government when it
comes to assessing sites for
construction and, as it becomes more
robust over time, will help in the
creation of larger and more benign
projects with greater confidence.
Likewise this learning will be crucial
for other countries looking to harness
the huge power resource off their
coast. Indeed, with increasing
evidence showing climate change to
be the biggest threat to the marine
environment, the quicker these
technologies can be developed and
deployed in a sustainable manner the
better.
Michael Hay is Marine Renewables Development
Manager at BWEA, the UK's largest renewable
energy trade association representing the wind, wave
and tidal energy sectors. For more information go to:
www.bwea.com/marine

The edge Winter 2006 11

A sea of change
The seas are not only rising, their temperature is increasing thanks to climate
change. But what effect will this have on the creatures that live around the UK
coasts? Pippa Moore and her colleagues at the Marine Biological Association
take a plunge into the Big Blue.
I
t is widely accepted that the
planet is experiencing a period of
rapid climate change, primarily
driven by human activities. Sea
surface temperatures (SST) around the
British coastline have increased. In
fact, data for the English Channel
0
show a 1 C rise in SST since 1990,
greater than any other change
recorded over the past 100 years
(Hawkins et al 2003). Because of this,
climate change impacts on our marine
biodiversity are of strategic concern
to the scientific community,
government, NGOs and the general
public.
The British Isles, particularly south-
west Britain, are ideally situated for
investigating the effects of climate
change as they straddle two major
marine biogeographic zones. This
Winner – Strawberry anemone
12 The edge Winter 2006
results in both warm (lusitanian) and
cool (boreal) species co-existing, living
at the northern or southern edge of
their biogeographic ranges. These
species have been shown to respond to
previous natural climate shifts and as
such are expected to respond to the
current rapid climate changes
affecting our seas.
Effects of global change on
plankton and fish
Early work carried out by researchers at
the Marine Biological Association of
the UK (MBA), for example, linked
fluctuations in the abundance of cold-
water planktonic herring larvae and
warm-water pilchard eggs with
fluctuations in climatic conditions
(Southward 1980). More recently a
northward shift of 10˚ latitude in the
distribution of southern species of
copepod in the eastern Atlantic has
been found (Beaugrand et al. 2002).
These species shifts could potentially
have large impacts on fish
communities as there will be a
mismatch in plankton availability at
the time of the year when food is
needed.
In the English Channel, work on both
commercial and non-commercial fish
populations found that changes in
mean annual sea surface temperature
(SST) accounted for the greatest
variation (24 per cent) in fish
community structure. Fishing pressure
also accounted for changes in the
commercial part of the population
(Genner et al 2004). Declines have
been seen in the abundance of larger
commercial species, such as skates,
rays and brill. Large increases have also
been noted in smaller trash species
(commercially caught fish not for
human consumption), such as poor
cod, red band-fish and dragonets. Such
shifts in fish species ranges have also
been observed in the North Sea (Perry
et al 2005). There have also been
changes in species migration and
spawning times in the English
Channel (Sims et al 2001, 2004).
Intertidal indicators of
climate change
As the most readily accessible marine
habitat in Europe, rocky shores have
been the focus of formal recording of
species distributions since the first half
 1963
© MBA
The change in fish sizes caught between the 1960s and now is clearly
evident in these MBA trawl photos taken in: left, Oct 1963; right, Nov 2001.
of the 20th Century. Rocky shores
are easily surveyed and can provide
cheap indicators of changes offshore.
The Marine Biodiversity and
Climate Change (MarClim) project
has recently analysed historic data
sets from the 1950s-1980s and
contemporary data on inter-
tidal indicator species abun-
dances, distributions and population
structure. The project has observed
eastern and northern range extensions
of many intertidal species with
southern biogeographic distributions
including: limpets, topshells, barnacles
and algae. In many cases the extension
of species ranges in the eastern English
Channel has been assisted by sea
defences which act as stepping stones
for species expansion to areas where
previously suitable hard substrata has
not been present (Herbert et al 2003).
K. Telnes
Loser – common tortoiseshell limpet
2001
Sea defences are likely to increase over
the next few years, providing more
habitat for species range expansion.
More can be found out about the
rocky shore survey work at
www.mba.ac.uk/marclim
Already some species are being
recorded as ‘winners’ or ‘losers’.
‘Winners’ include the strawberry
anemone Actinia fragacea and the
topshell Gibbula umbilicalis which
have both been recorded further north
and east in recent years. In contrast,
dabberlocks seaweed Alaria esculenta
and the common tortoiseshell limpet
Tectura testudinalis have both been
classed as ‘losers’ as their ranges are
contracting in the British Isles.
Although it is not clear how all species
will respond to climate change or the
speed that they will respond, what is
clear is that species ranges will change
and change independently of each
other. Different species mixtures will
occur resulting in large impacts on the
structure and function of marine
communities. Efforts are now being
made to understand the mechanisms
behind species responses to climate
change to inform predictive models to
forecast future species ranges and
community structure.
Getting
involved
The Marine Life Information
Network (MarLIN), in conjunction
with other agencies has been at
the forefront of coordinating a
volunteer marine recording
network. Volunteer recorders are
given a variety of resources
including marine life recording
schemes and identification guides
which focus on conspicuous and
easily identifiable species, many of
which are sensitive to climate
change. Findings are reported via
the MarLIN website where the
information is verified, validated,
entered into a database and made
available to all. To find out more
about getting involved, see the
MarLIN website:
www.marlin.ac.uk/LearningZone.
It is hoped that this sort of
inititative will strengthen links
between research and education as
well as contributing to baseline
data by providing wide
geographical and temporal
coverage, tapping into local
knowledge and picking up rare
occurrences of species.
Marine Biological Association:
www.mba.ac.uk Tel 01752 633207
Authors: Pippa Moore, Post doctoral research
assistant on the MarClim project - Steve
Hawkins, Director of MBA - Keith Hiscock,
Programme Director, MarLIN - Alan Southward,
Associate research fellow, MBA
The edge Winter 2006 13

Groundworks
Climate change
Climate change is one of the most
serious pressures facing our coasts. It
is not surprising then, that many
coastal partnerships are actively
involved in initiatives that seek to
raise awareness, improve
communication and further our
understanding of this issue.
Thames Estuary Partnership
In the South East, the Thames Estuary
Partnership has worked with a range
of partners, including wind farm
developers and The Crown Estate, to
develop the innovative Thames
Estuary Education Pod (TEEP). TEEP is
an attractive, portable display that
makes the concept of renewable
energy more tangible to young people
in a fun and informative way. The
TEEP is composed of elements
including a miniature wind turbine,
to help children improve their
understanding of energy efficiency
The Thames Estuary Education
Pod (TEEP)
14 The edge Winter 2006
A regular look at the work of
coastal partnerships
and government policy. This issue is
particularly pertinent around the
Thames Estuary as the outer estuary is
considered an ideal location for
various forms of renewable energies
planned or in development.
Partnerships strive to assess issues
from an integrated viewpoint and
they provide a unique neutral
brokering role on complex coastal
issues. In a separate project, The State
of the Thames Estuary, the Thames
Estuary Partnership is reviewing the
current ‘health’ of the estuary in
terms of the economic, social and
natural environment. As part of an
interdisciplinary review of the key
pressures facing the Thames, the
report will outline the threats and
opportunities presented by climate
change and start to address the
management responses needed.
Thanet Coast Project
A core element of partnerships’ work
is to enable community participation.
Along the South Coast, the voluntary
Thanet Coast Warden Scheme, a
fantastic project run by the Thanet
Coast Project, is helping to monitor
the effects of climate change. The
scheme involves local volunteers
adopting a stretch of coast and being
trained to identify coastal and marine
wildlife, while recording valuable
information that will be used to
protect the coastal wildlife. As part of
this scheme the coastal wardens are
trained to look out for particular
indicator species to illustrate possible
changes in distribution in response to
climate change and global warming.
For example, volunteers are asked to
look out for the Purple Topshell
(Gibbula umbilicalis), although at
present this has not been recorded as
far east up the English Channel as the
Thanet Coast.
Severn Estuary Partnership
In Wales, the Severn Estuary
Partnership new, improved newsletter
Severn Tidings has helped to raise
public awareness of just how dynamic
our coastlines are (see
www.severnestuary.net/sep/publicatio
ns.html for more information). In
the first issue the impact of climate
change and associated sea level rise
on the Severn shoreline is clearly
highlighted. As the article aptly
points out, more than ever there is a
need for joined-up thinking and
cooperation between us all, both of
which coastal partnerships are ever
striving to achieve.
Partnership news in brief…
Partnership Standing
Conference
CoastNET has brought Coastal
Partnerships together through three
annual Partnership Standing
Conferences to date (London, 2003;
Leeds, 2004; Durham, 2005). The
next Partnership Standing Conference
will take place in March 2006. To
register your interest please contact
Dr Theresa Redding at
theresa.redding@coastnet.org.uk.
Creating better integration
between partnerships
Defra has been approached by some
partnership officers and CoastNET to
discuss the possibilities for enabling
partnerships to exchange ideas more
regularly and support one another.
Watch this space for developments on
identifying mechanisms to facilitate
these discussions between
partnerships.
Many thanks go to the following
organisations that provided the
information for this issue:
Thames Estuary Partnership, Thanet Coast
Project and the Severn Estuary Partnership.
If you’d like to contribute to
Groundworks and submit a case
study on the important work your
partnership does please contact
Erin at
erin.pettifer@coastnet.org.uk.
The next issue of The edge will
focus on the Marine Bill.
We b w i s e
Look for any information on climate change on the web and you’re
inundated. Here’s CoastNET’s quick guide to what’s out there.
Reducing energy
impacts
■ Carbon neutral company
www.carbonneutral.com
Includes a carbon calculator to work
out your home, travel or business
emissions.
■ The carbon trust
www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/carbontrust
Government-funded independent
company provides advice for business
and public sectors in reducing carbon
use.
■ The climate group
www.theclimategroup.org
NGO dedicated to advancing
business and government leadership
on climate change.
■ The climate network
www.climatenetwork.org
Worldwide network of over 300
NGOs working to limit climate
change.
■ Defra cimate change website
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/
climatechange
■ DTI
www.dti.gov.uk/renewables
The DTI renewable energy website.
■ Rising tide
http://risingtide.org.uk
Network for taking local action
against climate change.
■ Stop climate chaos
www.stopclimatechaos.org
understanding climate change and
its impacts.
■ Tyndall centre
http://tyndall.e-collaboration.co.uk
Brings together scientists, economists,
engineers and social scientists, to
develop sustainable responses to
climate change through trans-
disciplinary research and dialogue.
■ UK Climate Impacts Programme
www.ukcip.org.uk
Provides scenarios that show how our
climate might change and coordinates
research on dealing with our future
climate.
■ UK Environmental Change Network
www.ecn.ac.uk
Data, monitoring and research to
detect and interpret environmental
change.
Sites for children

■ Energy saving trust

www.est.org.uk/myhome/
Lots of useful information for energy
saving at home.
Coalition of organisations working to
mobilise public concern and stop www.coolkidsforacoolclimate.com
climate change.
■ UN framework

■ Friends of the earth

convention on climate change
http://unfccc.int
www.foe.co.uk/living
Friends of the Earth’s lifestyle
website – includes energy saving tips
and how to reduce bills. Research
■ Carbon dioxide information
analysis center
http://cdiac.ornl.gov

■ Climate Research Unit, University

of East Anglia
www.cru.uea.ac.uk

■ Greenhouse gas online www.epa.gov.globalwarming/kids/gw.

Policy
and lobbying
■ Climate change projects office
www.dti.gov.uk/ccpo
Government advisory office set up to
assist UK businesses to pursue
opportunities arising from the Kyoto
Protocol.
www.ghgonline.org
■ Hadley Centre for Climate
Prediction and Research
www.meto.gov.uk/research/hadleyc
entre
■ Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change
www.ipcc.ch
Established by WMO and UNEP to
assess scientific, technical and
socio-economic information for
html
www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climat
echange/schools/
Public awareness
■ Tomorrow’s climate today’s challenge
www.climatechallenge.gov.uk
The Government’s new site aimed to
raise public awareness about climate
change.

The edge Winter 2006 15

 CoastNET events
Regional Conference Other upcoming
workshops CoastNET
Engaging the public in Involving actors and conferences:
coastal issues combining instruments – NW Europe ‘Centre of
CoastNET is organising a series of making the best use of Excellence’ in ICZM –
six regional workshops for coastal challenges and
policy tools for ICZM
practitioners to share ideas on how
Location: France opportunities
best to engage the public in coastal
issues. There will be presentations
Date: June 2006 Location: Cork
and facilitated discussions in the Date: September 2006
One of the fundamental principles
exploration of good practice in
public engagement. Delegates will
of ICZM is to bring together local Water framework
institutions, agencies and users to directive and spatial
also bring along examples of the
agree common management
resources they have developed
objectives and appropriate
planning on the coast
which others can adapt and use in Location: Cardiff
management measures. However,
their work. Date: December 2006
to ensure consistency in
■ Pilot workshop in the South East management between different
Date: 16 January 2006 regions it is important to have SEA Directive and
Location: Maidstone common strategic frameworks at coastal spatial strategies
Fully booked
higher levels. In this conference Location: Newcastle
■ South West we bring together local issues, by Date: Jan 2007
Date: 3 March 2006 examining local case studies with
Location: Newton Abbott respect to the national response to
Places available
the EU ICZM Recommendation. Partnership Forum
■ Wales
Date: 10 March 2006 Speakers will consider the
Date: March 2006
Location: Llenlli
adequacy of management tools The annual gathering of coastal and
Places available
available at the local level in the
■ North West
estuary partnerships and fora is
context of the French national being planned to take place in March
Date: 13 March 2006 ICZM strategy and the challenges 2006. The content will be planned
Location: Lancaster
Places available on implementing a new national around responses gathered from

■ Scotland
policy. Further details will be partnerships in the UK – CoastNET
available shortly. will be in touch with all partnerships
Date: 17 March 2006
Location: Dundee and fora over the next month to
Places available seek their views. This will be the

■ North East
Date: 16 March 2006
Location: Durham
Places available
■ If you are interested in attending
one of the five workshops on
which places are still available,
please contact Erin Pettifer on
01206 728644 or at
erin.pettifer@coastnet.org.uk
fourth conference/forum for
partnerships organised and run by
CoastNET, the reports for the last
three (2003, 2004, 2005) can be
found on the CoastNET website
www.coastnet.org.uk
■ For information on any of the conferences listed please contact
CoastNET on 01206 728644 or by email events@coastnet.org.uk

CoastNET emails have changed: This publication is partially funded through the Corepoint
project under the Interrreg 3B Programme. Corepoint aims
Theresa Redding; to establish North West Europe as an internationally
theresa.redding@coastnet.org.uk recognised region of excellence in coastal management
by encouraging full implementation of ICZM, highlighting
Pat Stitt; best practice, providing education by influencing national
pat.stitt@coastnet.org.uk spatial policies – for further details please see
http://corepoint.ucc.ie
Lesley Smeardon;
lesley.smeardon@coastnet.org.uk
Erin Pettifer;
erin.pettifer@coastnet.org.uk
Events;
events@coastnet.org.uk