Abstract
Abstract A survey of benthic macrofauna in the vicinity of a coastal marine aggregate dredging site off the south coast of UK was carried out in 1999. The object of the survey was to determine impact of marine aggregate dredging on community composition, the extent of impact outside the boundaries of the dredge site, and the rate of recolonization and recovery of the fauna following cessation of dredging. Part of the site was intensively dredged by vessels at anchor whilst other parts were less intensively exploited by trailer dredger. The impact of dredging within the intensively exploited anchor dredge site was limited to the dredged area. Impacts included a suppression of species variety, population density and biomass, as well as differences in species composition compared with the surrounding deposits. In contrast, trailer dredging had no impact on community composition of macrofauna within the dredge site. No suppression of benthic community structure was recorded beyond 100 m from the dredge site. ...
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