Castle cove now has a seagrass anchoring ban

[ryanroberts]

Makes the 10 quid a night a little more painful, you can now only anchor out west. There are still old school moorings everywhere though

 

[LadyInBed]

A good headline but where are the details?

 

[ryanroberts]

Notice here, I got a bollocking

https://www.portland-port.co.uk/pub...LNTM/07-2021(T) CASTLE COVE SEAGRASS AREA.pdf

 

[doug748]

Makes the 10 quid a night a little more painful, you can now only anchor out west. There are still old school moorings everywhere though

Looks like they are aware that they can't enforce it:

"All mariners are advised not anchor within the high-lighted area above"

Not that it matters, I guess we will have a spate of such backside covering now. Thanks for letting us know.

.

 

[robertj]

At least on behalf of the tax man they will ban all the free anchorages into paid moorings etc.
I feel our boating is under real threat.

 

[ryanroberts]

Mr snotty in the rib was definitely not treating it as advice

 

[Tranona]

I guess that is probably open to challenge as the Authority probably does not have the power to enforce a ban unilaterally, hence the use of the word "advise". If it is a statutory prohibition then it would have penalties linked to it. The no anchoring zone in Studland a few years ago was advisory despite being "officially" marked with buoys.

 

[Sandy]

Remind me how big Portland Harbour is and the percentage that we are advised not to anchor in?

 

[LadyInBed]

I wouldn't want to anchor there anyway, too many moorings and quite exposed from SW.

 

[oldharry]

Portland Harbour Authority is a Statutory Harbour Authority and as such has extensive powers an responsibilities which include 'particular responsibilities in relation to the safety
of vessels and people within the harbour, efficient navigation and the protection of the port environment'. so are within their brief protecting eelgrass and controlling where vessels can anchor Google. Harbour directions. Gov.uk

We can fully expect to see a great deal more of this rou d the country once campaigners realise HM's have to protect the 'port environment.'

The battle for Studland is because it is open sea, therefore under direct control of MMO whose statutory powers are less clearly defined.

 

[doug748]

Like recent reactions to the corona virus, we can expect a range of responses from the "knee jerk" to the carefully measured, as recent information from Portland and Plymouth illustrates. Projecting it as a ban is just the wrong thing to do if you actually want people to care about seagrass or anything else.

Portland will have to consider buoyage and other measures if they want to enforce a real ban with luck they may get bored with it if it is a popular area. I have no idea if it's a crummy anchorage or not but the worry is, when restrictions start they are rarely removed and often act as a first step, as we know from Studland bay.

.

 

[ryanroberts]

I was a good boy (I wouldn't be in Studland), pulled the anchor up at breakfast o clock and it was well fouled with ceramic and ..algae. Popped over to the west and south a tad and ended up with seagrass on the anchor. Was this surveyed with more than green bits on sat photos?

 

[penfold]

Field studies of such depth(pun intended) don't seem to feature in this sudden spurt of concern for seagrass.

 

[oldharry]

Field studies of such depth(pun intended) don't seem to feature in this sudden spurt of concern for seagrass.

'In depth surveys' are difficult, time consuming and expensive and can only be conducted by trained divers. That's why NE rely on 'expert opinion' it's cheaper and a whole lot quicker! It's unlikely to come up with results that don't suit the party line, too. If it does, just ask another expert with the right political views!

Somebody from NE likened doing seabed surveys to bird spotting in fog!