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ICES Journal of Marine Science: Journal du Conseil 2003 60(2):381-392; doi:10.1016/S1054-3139(03)00015-8
© 2003 by ICES/CIEM International Council for the Exploration of the Sea/Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer
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An experimental study of the ecological impacts of hydraulic bivalve dredging on maerl

C Hautona,*, J.M Hall-Spencerb and P.G Moorea

a University Marine Biological Station Millport (UMBSM) Millport, Isle of Cumbrae, Scotland KA28 0EG, UK
b Department of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK

*Correspondence to C. Hauton: Gatty Marine Laboratory, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, Scotland, KY16 8LB; tel: +44 1334 467210; fax: +44 1334 463443. e-mail: ch40{at}st-andrews.ac.uk.

A short-term experiment to assess the ecological impact of a hydraulic blade dredge on a maerl community was carried out during November 2001 in the Clyde Sea area on the west coast of Scotland. A fluorescent sediment tracer was used to label dead maerl, which was then spread out on the surface of sediment to act as a proxy for living maerl. The fauna collected by the dredge was dominated by the bivalves Dosinia exoleta and Tapes rhomboides, which were found to be intact. The target razor clams Ensis spp. were caught in low numbers, which reflected the low abundance of this genus within the maerl habitat. The hydraulic dredge removed, dispersed and buried the fluorescent maerl at a rate of 5.2 kg m–2 and suspended a large cloud of sediment into the water column, which settled out and blanketed the seabed to a distance of at least 8 m either side of the dredge track. The likely ecological consequences of hydraulic dredging on maerl grounds are discussed, and a case is made for protecting all maerl grounds from hydraulic dredging and establishing them as reservoirs to allow for the recruitment of commercial bivalve populations at adjacent fished sites.

Keywords: hydraulic dredge, maerl, Ensis spp., Dosinia exoleta

Received 27 May 2002; accepted 25 January 2003.


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