This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA3) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). It provides an overview of the various management plans which have been developed for the coastal zone, coastal defence, estuaries, biodiversity and coastal habitats in the SEA3 area of the North Sea. Numerous dynamic processes, both natural and man-made, affect the SEA3 coastline. After reviewing these processes, the report reviews the various coastal initiatives and management strategies which have been established to minimise their detrimental effects. Various coastal fora provide a lead in developing management strategies for the enhancement and protection of the environment in their areas. Plans include European marine site management schemes, shoreline management plans prepared by coastal defence authorities, estuary management plans, coastal habitat management plans and biodiversity action plans.

This report is a contribution to the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA2, which covers the mature oil and gas fields of the Southern, Central and Northern North Sea. The report reviews the impact of human activity on fish and fisheries in the North Sea and is relevant to both SEA 2 and SEA 3 areas. The North Sea is one of the world's most important fishing grounds. In the central and northern parts there is a mixed demersal fishery that targets cod, haddock and whiting; plaice and sole are trawled in the southern and southeastern North Sea; there are extensive pelagic fisheries for herring and mackerel; crustaceans fisheries for Norway lobster, crab and scallop; and industrial fisheries for sandeel and Norway pout. Commercial fishing itself has the highest impact on fish populations. The various impacts of the offshore oil and gas industry (e.g. seismic surveys, drilling discharges, produced water discharges) are classified as intermediate in scale. The biology of the commercially important fish and shellfish that occur in the offshore waters of the North Sea is discussed. Numerous maps, showing the location of spawning activity and the location of fishing effort, are included.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA5) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). An integral element of any environmental assessment for offshore oil and gas exploration, and for possible nearshore renewable energy proposals, involves a review of potential sites of conservational importance within the region of interest. For the purpose of SEA 5, this is especially important given the scale of the area in question and the fact that it includes the coastal zone which is known to support a large number of conservation sites. The SEA 5 area displays a wide variety of habitat types such as coastal cliffs, rock platforms, beaches and dunes. The area also includes major estuaries such as the Tay and the Forth. Some of these habitats are rare in a national and/or international context, and many support important numbers of bird colonies, seals and, in the Moray Firth, dolphins. This report identifies and locates coastal and nearshore sites within the SEA 5 area which are protected by international, national and local conservation designations as well as describing the sites and reasons for their protected status. The coastal conservation sites are listed according to whether they are of international, national or local importance.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report provides a synthesis of current knowledge of the benthic communities and seabed habitats in the SEA6 area. The area is a predominantly shallow, well flushed, fully saline, partially enclosed, temperate sea. The seabed is predominantly sedimentary, ranging between mud and cobbles but consisting mainly of sand. The coastal fringe hosts excellent examples of a broad range of habitat types including exposed rocky shores, sheltered rias, highly productive sand flats, estuaries and areas exposed to rapid tidal currents. This diverse range of habitats supports a broad range of animals and plants with numerous species. The focus of the report is on dominant species and broad descriptions of community types (biotopes). The benthos associated with the littoral (intertidal) and sublittoral zones from the Mull of Kintyre and the Northern Irish coast in the north to Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire in the south are discussed. This area includes the important industrial estuaries of Morecambe, Liverpool and the Mersey, together with a number of minor estuaries, and the major islands of Anglesey and the Isle of Man. The deep water (depth greater than 50 m) and offshore areas are also discussed. Where appropriate, details of rare or unusual species are included, together with the threat offered by oil and gas related activities. Other major human activities in the SEA6 area that are currently affecting the benthos are also discussed.

As part of the Department of Trade and Industry's (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) Strategic Environmental Assessment 5 (SEA5) a geophysical survey was undertaken on the survey vessel R/V Jean Charcot. The geophysical survey comprised the first phase of a scientific research project devoted to acquiring information about specific aspects of the North Sea Environment and its seafloor habitats. The geophysical survey was required to provide high resolution maps of the seafloor in SEA 5 areas of interest. Swath bathymetry, side scan sonar and shallow geophysical reflection data were acquired as part of the geophysical survey. No seabed samples were collected.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA3) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report summarises the large number of existing conservation sites and potential sites of conservation importance in the SEA3 area of the North Sea. The SEA 3 area displays a wide variety of habitat types, from those of a coastal nature, such as estuarine mudflats and sandflats, saltmarsh, sea cliffs and reef habitats, to those associated with the offshore environment. Some of these habitats are rare in a national and/or international context, and many support important numbers of birds, insects and other animals. Existing coastal and nearshore conservation sites are protected by international, national and local conservation designations. Statutory sites are legally protected whilst non-statutory sites rely on the planning process to confer protection. The UK Government is currently taking steps to implement the EC Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive in offshore waters. A process to designate Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas, both within territorial waters and out to the limits of the UKCS, is under way. Potential offshore conservation sites are reviewed.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report discusses the seabed geology and the surficial geology and processes of the SEA6 region of the Irish Sea. The East Irish Sea Basin is at a mature exploration phase, having produced oil and predominantly gas since 1985. The hydrocarbon geology of the region is reviewed. Other prospectivity plays in the SEA6 area are the Caernarfon Bay Basin and the Cardigan Bay Basin. The seabed sediments, seabed sedimentary processes and the corresponding diverse range of seabed habitats in the area are described, drawing upon published data and on the new information acquired from surveys specifically conducted for this SEA in 2004.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA4) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The report identifies coastal and near-shore conservation sites within the SEA4 area which are protected by international, national and local conservation designations as well as describing the sites and reasons for their protected status. At the northern extremity of Britain, the SEA4 area combines very productive waters with spectacular and distinctive coastal scenery. The combination of rich food sources and relative lack of disturbance make it host to abundant bird populations, including rare species not found elsewhere in the United Kingdom. Among the conservation sites are sea inlets, mud and sand flats, lagoons, salt marshes, sand dunes, shingle, sea cliffs, fresh water bogs and marshes, heath, scrub and grassland.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA6) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). This report provides a synthesis of current knowledge of the benthic communities and seabed habitats in the Clyde Sea, which abuts the northern end of the SEA6 area. The Clyde Sea is a fjordic system consisting of drowned, glacially over-deepened, valleys separated by sills. The southern limit of the area, and the ultimate sill for the Clyde Sea lochs, is formed by a broad sill termed the Great Plateau. The Great Plateau is predominantly less than 50 m deep and is overlooked by the volcanic plug of Ailsa Craig. The report is presented in the context of the hydrography and sedimentology of the area. The focus is on dominant species and broad descriptions of community types (biotopes). It also reviews existing major human activities in the area that are currently affecting the benthos.

This report is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA5) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). The purpose of this report is to present an up-to-date synthesis of current information on the benthic environment and the benthic communities and associations in the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) region 5 and, additionally, to highlight areas considered to be particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic influences. The synthesis has been prepared from the information available on seabed habitats, species and communities to the east of Orkney and Shetland and extending down the east coast of Scotland. The area includes the major east coast features, the Moray Firth, the Firth of Forth, and the Tay estuary, and the inner Firths of Dornoch, Cromarty and Inverness, the Ythan Estuary and the Montrose basin.