171. Benthic communities are distributed on the basis of substrate type and are typical of the region;
172. This document describes the benthic ecological and sediment contaminant conditions along the proposed cable route as determined by grab, epibenthic trawl and drop down camera surveys. The document also presents information with regard to the distribution of Annex I habitat within the study area. From the results and interpretations of the data analyses the following conclusions can be drawn:
Dominant seabed habitats were found to comprise slightly gravelly sand and gravelly sands and are continuous with those of the wider southern North Sea region;
Benthic communities are distributed on the basis of substrate type and are typical of the region;
Formal assessment was made for Sabellaria reef at three sites (sites 2, 43 and 46), with the latter two discrete locations identified as having medium to high resemblance to Sabellaria reef. Site two was classified as not reef;
Levels of sediment contaminants were largely below guideline limits and in all cases typical of the region.
Benthic Characterisation Report November 2013
East Anglia THREE and FOUR Offshore Cable Corridor
