Projects

Our Recent Work

The Marine EcoSol team has a diverse project portfolio dating back over 20 years. We have worked in intertidal and subtidal environments surveying and monitoring many key and protected ecosystem species and habitats for a varied client base. Scroll over the images for project examples, with more details below.

Habitats

Maerl

• Surveys in Cornwall, Pembrokeshire, Skye and Arran.
• Advice on feature condition assessment, natural capital and sampling design.
• Community data analysis and reporting.

Seagrass

• Surveys for the ReMEDIES project, data analysis and reporting.
• Mapping seagrass presence and extent, Kyle of Lochalsh.
• Translocation of seagrass from the Fal to Helford Estuary as development mitigation.

Kelp

• SAC condition feature assessment and fish population monitoring in Cornwall, Devon and the Farnes for Natural England.

Fragile Sponges

• MNCR Phase II surveys to gather evidence in support of an SAC designation.
• Surveys for potential fisheries impacts in collaboration with SEAFISH and Bangor University.

Rocky Reefs

• Infralittoral and circalittoral surveys nationwide.
• MNCR Phase II, quadrat monitoring, biotope mapping, photogrammetry.

Flameshells

• Monitoring of flameshell communities and bed extent - compliance monitoring following construction of a pier.

Client Projects

Coastal Power

• Over 15 years of compliance and impact monitoring for power stations at Pembroke and Wylfa - subtidal benthic impacts and fish screen monitoring.
• Additional experience at Fawley, Tilbury, Blyth, Sizewell, Hinkley and Dungeness power stations.

Welsh SACs

• Providing expertise to Natural Resources Wales with cross-Wales subtidal monitoring in marine SACs throughout Wales since 2004.

Marine Natural Capital

• Development and implementation of monitoring protocols for inshore fish in seagrass, maerl and kelp.
• Analysis and reporting of survey data.
• Summary of maerl bed natural capital value.

Sentinel Site Monitoring

• Survey expertise, data analysis and reporting services to Natural England in the Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC and the Plymouth Sound and Estuaries SAC.

Fisheries Impacts Study

• Collaboration with SEAFISH and Bangor University to investigate the potential impact of potting on fragile horse mussel and sponge habitats off Anglesey and the Llyn Peninsula.

ReMEDIES

Seagrass survey and reporting services to Natural England from seagrass beds in Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Dorset and Cornwall.

Team Project Experience

Site condition monitoring

NRW monitoring subtidal reefs: Joined NRW diving team in monitoring subtidal reefs in marine protected sites across Wales 2004 to 2025. Llyn a’r Sarnau SAC, Menai Strait & Conwy Bay SAC, and Pembrokeshire Marine SAC.

NE sentinel site monitoring surveys: Joined NE dive team in monitoring subtidal reefs at the Farnes Islands in Berwickshire and North Northumberland Coast SAC (2022-2024).

NE sentinel site monitoring surveys: Joined NE dive team in monitoring of circalittoral reef communities in Plymouth Sound & Estuaries SAC (2018-2021; 2025). Data analysis and reporting to Natural England. Northen, K. & Doggett, M. 2022. Plymouth Sound and Estuaries Special Area of Conservation: circalittoral reef surveys July 2017-21. Natural England Commissioned Report.

NatureScot: 2023 diving survey of maerl habitats around Arran. Doggett, M., Baldock, L. & Owen, N. 2024. 2023 South Arran maerl and seagrass dive survey. Survey report to NatureScot

NatureScot: 2022, maerl survey data analysis and advice on future monitoring. Doggett, M., Morris-Webb, L. & Baldock, L. 2021. Time series analysis to determine change in maerl beds. NatureScot Research Report.

Impact studies

Pembrokeshire Power station: 2011-present, monitoring for potential impacts of cooling water outfall from Pembroke Power Station on rocky reef features in the Pembrokeshire Marine SAC. Doggett, M. 2017 – 2024. 8x reports: Pembroke Environmental Monitoring 2016 to 2024: Subtidal reefs monitoring reports.

Wylfa Power Station: 2011-2016, determining the extent of the cooling water impacts from Wylfa power station on infralittoral benthic rocky reef communities. Cooling water screens fish surveys. Doggett, M., Collins, E. & Trigg, C. 2012 to 2016. 3x reports: Impacts of the cooling water discharge on rocky reef benthos at Wylfa Power Station

Mapping and sampling flameshell bedsin the Kyle of Lochalsh in relation to a new jetty construction. Doggett, M. 2021. Survey Report: Kyleakin Feed Plant construction: sublittoral Limaria bed impact survey – Year Three. Report to ABPmer.

Detailed Phase II benthic surveys / habitat mapping

Subtidal reef surveys for fragile sponge and anthozoan communities: A survey for NRW around Anglesey to gather detailed baseline data to support the proposed MPA off Anglesey. Northen KO, Doggett M, 2023. West Anglesey fragile sponge and anthozoan communities dive survey, 2023: final report. NRW Evidence Report No: 742, 144pp, Natural Resources Wales, Bangor

NRW Menai Strait Survey: Joined the NRW diving team in assessing sponge communities as part of NRW/ NatureNetworks Project (in collaboration with Bangor University) to investigate the decline in sponge species in the Menai Strait – Phase II survey techniques, alongside specimen collections for bacteria biome investigations by Bangor University.

Wylfa, Anglesey: Infralittoral habitat mapping in shallow inshore areas within the footprint of a proposed breakwater development.

Fish populations

Method trials: method development to compare different methods of fish community surveys using divers and remote cameras in south Devon and Cornwall for Natural England. Doggett, M. & Northen, K.O. 2023. Viability of fish monitoring techniques in inshore areas of the south-west of England: Diving surveys field report. [NECRXXX]. Natural England

Natural England: Diver and remote camera surveys of inshore fish communities over kelp, maerl and seagrass beds – Solent (2023), Cornwall (2024), Farnes (2024). Doggett, M. and Northen, K., 2024. South Cornwall SCUBA surveys for fish and cephalopod species: field report. Natural England.

Wylfa Power Station: Diver surveys to determine the extent of any cooling water discharge impacts from Wylfa power station on infralittoral fish communities (2011).

Extensive experience using multi-method techniques to survey intertidal and subtidal fish populations in England and Wales in estuarine and coastal environments to inform EIAs, for compliance monitoring and voluntarily with Southern IFCA.

Expert advice and monitoring of black bream reproductive behaviour in Dorset and Sussex. Annual compliance monitoring for marine industries. Desk-based review of nesting locations for Natural England. Doggett, M. Annually, 2018 – present. Assessment of black bream (Spondyliosoma cantharus) nesting activity in and around Kingmere Marine Conservation Zone.Doggett, M. & Baldock, L. 2022. Mapping black bream nesting locations in the UK. Natural England Commissioned Report.

Seagrass surveys

Surveys of the extent, density and community diversity of Zostera beds in Studland Bay MCZ, the Solent and Falmouth and (2021), data analysis and reporting to Natural England. Northen, K. & Doggett, M. 2022. Solent Maritime Special Area of Conservation: seagrass surveys June 2021. Natural England Commissioned Report.Northen, K. & Doggett, M. 2022. Studland Bay MCZ: seagrass surveys July 2021. Natural England Commissioned Report.

Mapping seagrass-mearl mosaic habitat in the Kyle of Lochalsh for ABPmer and supply of survey data.

Drone survey of seagrass beds in the Fleet Lagoon, Dorset. Baldock, L. & Doggett, M. 2021. Aerial survey of seagrass habitats, Chesil and the Fleet SAC, Dorset, 2019. April 2021. Natural England Commissioned Report.

Maerl beds

Maerl Beds(Falmouth and St Austell Bay 2023 and 2024). Doggett, M. and Northen, K.O. 2024. 2023 Fal, Helford and St Austell Bay maerl habitat surveys. Natural England.

Mapping seagrass-mearl mosaic habitat in the Kyle of Lochalsh for ABPmer and supply of survey data.

Data and image analysis, reporting and monitoring adviceto NatureScot with regard to maerl beds surveys around the Isle of Arran. Doggett, M., Baldock, L. & Owen, N. 2024. 2023 South Arran maerl and seagrass dive survey. Survey report to NatureScot.Doggett, M., Morris-Webb, L. & Baldock, L. 2021. Time series analysis to determine change in maerl beds. NatureScot Research Report.

Non-native species

Data mining and GIS mappingof Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) across Wales for Welsh Government. Involved mapping the current known distribution of INNS and horizon species and acquiring GIS data for potential vectors of spread of INNS.

Non-native species risk assessments for marine development activities.

Fisheries impacts

Fisheries Impacts on Fragile Habitats: in collaboration with SEAFISH & Bangor University – Investigating the potential impact of potting on fragile habitats: horse mussel Modiolus modiolus beds off the Llyn Peninsula (2023), and fragile sponge and anthozoan communities around Anglesey and the Llyn Peninsula (2024).

Experience in ecological impact assessments (Principal 2) of various fisheries (clam, mussel, bottom trawl and potting) for Marine Stewardship Council fishery accreditations.