The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has warned that if sailors fail to comply with the new voluntary no anchor zone at Studland Bay then it will consider introducing bylaws banning anchoring altogether.

From 17 December 2021, boat owners will be unable to anchor off South Beach.

The no anchor zone will be extended further north and east from 1 June 2022.

This area is extremely popular with skippers as it provides excellent protection.

The MMO is working with the UK Hydrographic Office to ensure the area is clearly marked on Admiralty charts.

The voluntary measures are being introduced as part of efforts to protect the eel grass that grows in Studland Bay, which is a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ).

The MMO has said it will be looking to ‘inform and educate’ sailors about the new restrictions in 2021 and 2022, and this will be the first step before bylaws are considered.

‘It is ultimately the decision of the MMO to determine the level of non-compliance with the voluntary measure that will trigger the need for a statutory measure to be introduced. This will depend on the level of non-compliance over a period of time,’ it said, adding that ‘one act of non-compliance’ will not result in tighter restrictions.

The MMO will be actively monitoring the no anchor zone during 2021 and a review will take place in the spring before it is extended in June 2022.

Sailors and other stakeholders will be asked their views.

Existing moorings will remain on the site but must be replaced with eco-moorings when they come to the end of their life.

Continues below…

New eco-moorings can be applied for but the MMO highlights that the site will not be able to support more than 100 moorings.

It will also not fund new moorings for the site.

Further details about the voluntary no anchor zones can be found in the Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone Habitat Protection Strategy, available here.

29 July 2021

Eight eco-moorings have been installed at Studland Bay in Dorset by The Seahorse Trust and the marina group, boatfolk.

A further two will be installed by the 11 August 2021 after windy conditions this week forced the team to stop work on safety grounds.

The moorings will be free to use, although sailors can donate money towards the installation of further eco-moorings in the bay, which is a Marine Conservation Zone.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) approved the installation of the moorings.

It is hoped the new moorings will protect the bay’s seagrass beds and its resident long-snouted seahorse population.

Due to its location and sheltered conditions, Studland is a popular anchorage for recreational sailors.

Each eco-mooring has a helical screw anchor which is driven into the seabed and attached to the mooring buoy via an elastic rode.

The elastic rode stretches at higher tides and contracts at lower tides, avoiding the scouring of the seabed.

The founder and executive director of The Seahorse Trust, Neil Garrick-Maidment said the trust and boatfolk were ‘united in a clear belief that eco-moorings are the way forward for Studland, allowing boaters to continue enjoying the site while seagrass and seahorses thrive alongside.’

‘A test of the helical screw has been conducted on site and shown to work. We are thrilled to announce that the MMO has approved our proposal, which we believe provides a practical and collaborative roadmap to finally giving Studland Bay the effective protection it deserves,’ he added.

The MMO is currently looking at introducing anchoring management measures at Studland Bay and has unveiled three options, although no final decision has been made.

These include banning anchoring from the south west end of the Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), stretching from Old Harry Rocks to Middle Beach.

The MMO is consulting with the local sailing community and other organisations before a final decision is made.

7 April 2021

The RYA is calling for voluntary management measures at Studland Bay in Dorset.

It follows the announcement by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) that it is looking to introduce anchoring management measures at the site.

Studland Bay was designated an MCZ in 2019 because of its seagrass beds and its resident long-snouted seahorse population.

Due to its location and sheltered conditions, Studland is a popular anchorage for recreational sailors.

The MMO has unveiled three options for no anchoring zones at Studland, although stresses that no final decision has been made.

These included banning anchoring from the south west end of the Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), stretching from Old Harry Rocks to Middle Beach.

The RYA has released a position statement calling for the establishment of a mooring area at Studland that uses Advanced Mooring Systems which prevent damage to the seagrass.

It also wants an anchoring area where recreational users can safely stop without damaging the seagrass beds.

The RYA planning and environment officer, Richard Hill said the RYA was ‘fully committed to protecting our seabed habitats and recognises the need to put in place measures to better protect the marine ecosystem which recreational boaters enjoy.’

‘However, any mitigative measures that are introduced must not only be effective, but also appropriate to address the needs of the users of the area. Introducing anchoring restrictions without providing users alternative environmentally friendly moorings may do more harm than good,’ he continued.

‘The RYA position statement outlines our main concern: that to resolve the conservation issues in Studland Bay will require a joint approach with the introduction of no-anchoring and anchoring areas alongside a sustainable mooring area which protects the seagrass beds.

‘It is unfortunate that the MMO is only concentrating on the anchoring issue, whilst delaying the use of moorings until they have a strategy. The use of anchoring zones and moorings should be jointly developed to address the conservation issues, whilst enabling continued safe recreational boating.

‘We have suggested recommendations that we feel are pragmatic and suitable for the Bay’s environmental importance, as well as the area’s popular recreational use,’ added Hill.

1 April 2021

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has confirmed that there will be no changes ‘at this stage’ to mooring at Studland Bay in Dorset, but it is looking at introducing anchoring management measures.

It held two consultation meetings in March to develop suitable management measures.

Proposals include voluntary or enforceable no-anchor zones or the banning of anchoring on the site.

Three options for no anchoring zones were unveiled at last month’s online public consultation and stakeholder meetings, hosted by the Dorset Coast Forum.

These included banning anchoring from the south west end of the Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ), stretching from Old Harry Rocks to Middle Beach.

In option one, the anchoring ban would extend beyond the Knoll Beach slipway.

The MMO is still considering options before announcing its final plans for the site.

In a statement to Yachting Monthly, it said it had received ‘extremely valuable feedback’ from both of the consultation meetings.

‘The MMO are now currently considering amendments to the draft management options. No decisions have been made yet and the MMO will communicate the next steps to stakeholders in the coming weeks,’ it added.

Studland Bay was designated an MCZ in 2019 because of its seagrass beds and its resident long-snouted seahorse population.

Due to its location and sheltered conditions, Studland is a popular anchorage for recreational sailors and many of the businesses in the area rely on visiting crews for income.

The MMO has already stated that due ‘to the levels of anchoring activity occurring at the site as well as the evidence for the damage caused by anchoring on the features of the site’ no anchoring management was not an option.

A report – Natural England Commissioned Report NECR111 – by Natural England published in 2013 highlighted the damage anchoring can cause to seagrass, although it did acknowledge that evidence of anchor damage on seagrass beds is limited for the Zostera Marina variety of seagrass, which is found in Studland Bay, but extensive for other species of seagrass.

Most damage is done during the lifting of the anchor. It also highlighted seagrass loss as a result of boat moorings, with chains causing circular scaring within the seagrass beds.

In the MMO’s draft Studland Bay MCZ Activity Assessment, it concludes that the ‘impacts by abrasion or penetration from anchoring on the seagrass feature may result in a significant risk of hindering the achievement of the site’s conservation objectives’ and would also have indirect impacts to long-snouted seahorses.

The Boat Owners Response Group (BORG), which promotes the right of navigation, anchoring and mooring for boaters in the context of MCZs, has said there is little research on the impact of anchoring on the seagrass at Studland, with much of the scientific data using the more fragile Mediterranean seagrass Posidona Oceanica as the reference model for predictions about the bay, rather than the ‘robust, fast growing’ Zostera Marina variety which is found there.

It argues that seagrass beds in Studland Bay have actually expanded between 1972-2011, and highlights the Seastar Survey of the Studland seagrass beds which ‘clearly demonstrates that they are not highly sensitive to anchoring pressures, as no consistent statistically significant difference was found between anchored and non-anchored areas over two years.’

The Seastar Survey was carried out for The Crown Estate and Natural England between October 2009-October 2011.

BORG has raised concerns about the limited anchorage area available to 30-40ft yachts in the draft anchoring management options being considered.

It also argues that no anchoring zones should only include areas where seagrass is present and that the water in the bay is ‘reasonably clear’ so sailors can clearly see where to safely drop the anchor.

It says voluntary no anchoring zones will only work if this is the case.

The RYA has already asked for voluntary protective measures for Studland, and that sensitive areas should be clearly identified both on navigational maps and in the water.

A recent study looking at seagrass loss in the UK has revealed that at least 44% has disappeared since 1936; 39% of that loss has occurred since the 1980s.

Pollution, mining, farming as well as dredging, bottom trawling, anchoring and coastal development have all contributed to the decline.

Scientists behind the paper – Historical Analysis Exposes Catastrophic Seagrass Loss for the United Kingdom – published in the journal Frontiers in Plant Science, have also found that seagrass can recover and believe this should help encourage seagrass restoration.

Work is also ongoing to raise awareness of the steps sailors can take to protect seagrass meadows.

The £2.5 million LIFE Recreation ReMEDIES project, which is led by Natural England, aims to examine the pros and cons of environmentally friendly moorings, as well as provide voluntary codes, targeted training and habitat restoration.

It is focused on five Marine Protected Areas in southern England: Isles of Scilly, Fal & Helford, Plymouth Sound & Estuaries, Solent Maritime, and Essex Estuaries Special Areas of Conservation.

The project, which runs until October 2023, has already collaborated with The Green Blue to publish The Green Guide to Anchoring and Moorings.

It is free and available here

NB This article has been updated after the Marine Management Organisation provided Yachting Monthly with original copies of the three charts outlining the draft anchoring management options.

The publication of these charts came with the following caveat:

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) are currently engaging about potential management measures for anchoring in Studland Bay Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ). Dorset Coast Forum have recently hosted two engagement events to allow MMO to present some draft options and gather feedback. A meeting with representatives from key stakeholder groups took place on 18 March and three draft anchoring management options were proposed at this meeting. The MMO received valuable feedback from this meeting which helped shape our thinking. The following week, a public event took place on 25 March. The same information about the proposed options was communicated to the public, as well as how the MMO are responding to the feedback from the first event. You can view the presentation from the public event on the Dorset Coast Have Your Say website. Following extremely valuable feedback from both engagement events, the MMO are now currently considering amendments to the draft management options. No decisions have been made yet and the MMO will communicate the next steps to stakeholders in the coming weeks.

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