Cefas, executive agency of Defra acting on behalf of the UK Government, has been tasked with delivering a programme of R&D data collection to support implementation of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) within the UK Continental Shelf. MCZs are intended to conserve or improve the UK marine environment.
A number of contracts (LOTs) have been awarded by Cefas to Gardline companies to gather marine acoustic and environmental validation data for proposed MCZ sites on the East, South and West coast of UK. Field operations commenced in February and are expected to complete by end March 2012.
Gardline will employ a number of survey vessels to achieve the objective: ranging from the 61m length MV Tridens 1 for exposed sites off the Scilly Isles, through 30m length coastal vessels MV Confidante and MV Ivero for operations off the East Coast Norfolk and Yorkshire, to 10m survey launches operated by Titan Environmental Surveys Ltd for coastal surveys on the South Coast.
Gardline Geosurvey Limited, Gardline Environmental Limited and Titan Environmental Surveys Ltd are members of the Gardline Marine Sciences group of companies – one of the world’s largest independently owned marine geophysical, hydrographic, geotechnical, environmental and oceanographic survey companies.
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Offshore WIND Staff, March 13, 2012; Image: gardlinemarinesciences