Hornwrack (Credit Rob Spray)
Hornwrack, a bryozoan often mistakenly identified as a seaweed, can be found carpeting large areas of the seabed in the Lincs Belt and is often found washed up on Lincolnshire's beaches.
When fresh, hornwrack has a distinctive lemon smell.
Located along the length of the Lincolnshire coast, is characterised by
coarse and mixed sediment, sand, peat and clay. Patches of Ross Worm and subtidal chalk are also found here. At its deepest the site reaches 10metres, making it relatively shallow.
Life found on both the seabed and in the water column is extremely rich and characterised by brown shrimps, bristleworms and dense mats of hydroids and
bryozoans such as hornwrack - often mistake for seaweed. Important spawning and nursery grounds are found here for fish such as sprat, lesser pipefish, lemon sole, plaice and herring. Home to a key UK grey seal breeding ground, which annually sees 1,300 pups born, and a nationally important colony of little terns, lincs belt is a real wildlife gem.
This recommended Marine Conservation Zone is ON HOLD at the moment as Defra has indicated that there is not enough evidence to support designation.
We need you to urge Defra to use this data gathered as soon as possible to consider designation of this site in a future tranche:
Defra have indicated that they require additional evidence for all habitats and species recommended by stakeholders for protection within the site. The peat and clay exposures found within the site are not protected within any site in the region and the site also contains spawning grounds for commercially important fish species and provides foraging opportunities for the little tern which is a species in decline across Europe. Defra have carried out additional survey work in this site in 2012 which has not been taken into account in this consultation.
We need you to urge Defra to use this data as soon as possible to consider designation of this site in a future tranche.
Other nearby MCZs
Location
Lincs Belt recommended MCZ is located in the map below.
Contains UKHO Law of the Sea data. Crown copyright and database right and contains Ordnance Survey Data Crown copyright and database 2012
Downloads
| Filename | File size |
|---|---|
| Lincs Belt.pdf | 217.04 KB |