exam summary

The coastal zone plays a major role in our everyday lives, whether situated on the coastline itself or in the heart of the busiest cities, evidence of the coastal zone can be seen everyday. From aggregates used to make buildings to the fish purchased in supermarkets, the coastal zone provides a large proportion of the things we see around us.
Unfortunately, the coastal zone we have come to rely on is under threat, some of these threats being natural and others being generated by man, these threats can be seen below
· Fishing practices (dredging and trawling damages the seabed)
· Over fishing (leading to the diminishing levels of fish in the ocean)
· Ocean acidification
· Coastal land reclamation
· Shipping industry (oil spills and invasive species etc)
· Aggregate dredging (affects currents and coastal erosion)
· Offshore resource development (oil and gas)
· Aquaculture (spreads disease and destroy coastlines)
· Tourism industry (leads to litter etc)
· Climate change (increased storms etc)
· Sea level rise (increased erosion and change in coastal topography)

There are many governmental, scientific and public organisations which are involved in the management of these pressures and threats, a few examples of these can be seen below
· Governmental organisations (DEFRA)
· Non governmental organisations (National trust, Cornwall wildlife trust)
· Stakeholders
· Scientific companies
· Multi national organisations (UN, IPCC)
· Environmental groups
· The fishing industry
· The tourism industry
· The public

In many cases the management of an issue can be achieved in many ways, the Devon maritime forum aims to provide an overview of coastal issues in Devon and hopes to form greater understanding amongst authorities and agencies involved in the planning and management of the coastal zone, the forum covers a lot of factors concerning the coastal zone however one area of particular area of interest is the problems concerning Lyme bay. Lyme bay contains protected species of sea pink fan, this is under threat from the scallop dredging which is also taking place in the area, the area clearly needs management, the successful implementation of this can be done in a variety of ways
· Create coastal user groups
· Obtain sufficient NGO support for the area
· Create a grass roots system of management
· Involve the community for participation and support
· Build a good scientific base of knowledge about impacts etc
· Conservation zones
· Improve awareness and understanding in the area