East Anglia Offshore Windfarm: Zonal Environmental Assessment Benthic Report
C.3 Targeted Sampling
Following a detailed ecological review of the acoustic data by MES L in order to identi fy potentially ecologically sensitive areas across the EAOW zone, an a dditional 77 grab stations were allocated to the grid. These stations are to provide EAOW wi th robust information on potential Annex I habitats in the form of either mussel beds or Sabellaria spinulosa reefs.
Note that the data for these addi tional 77 stations have not been included in the multivariate statistical analysis of data presented in the previous section so as to not transgress sampling theory boundaries. These targeted stations are shown i n Figure 20. A discussion of the fi ndings of the EAOW zonal Sabellaria assessment is presented in Section E.
Figure 20. The distribution of targeted stations from which 0.1m²
mini-Hamon
grab samples were acquired across the EAOW zone. These stations were allocated following
careful
analysis of the acoustic data for seabed rugosity indicating the potential presence of Annex I habitats.
