2008-2011, CEFAS, Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (MALSF), Dredging Impacts Verified in Relation to Scientific Evidence (DIVERSE)

"This project comprises two scientific papers. The first paper attempts to determine the effects of dredging for aggregate on benthic function diversity. Recovery was assessed. Insitu sediment screening were permitted during dredging operations; a difference in the sedimentary profile of the seabed between dredged and undisturbed reference sites was also observed. The second paper attempts to determine what extent changes to the sediment composition, as a resulting of marine aggregate dredging, matter for the structure and function of benthic communities. A dataset of 361 samples of macrofauna and sediment particle size was compiled."