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Key actions to enhance saline lagoons
At Blacktoft Sands, accumulated silt has been removed from three of the lagoons and the main feeder ditch. The lagoon beds have been reshaped to improve access for feeding waders, new nesting islands have been created, and new sluices have been installed.
At Reads Island, sections of the sea wall that are vulnerable to tidal erosion have been rebuilt, and the old sluice system has been replaced with a more efficient and reliable system.
The perimeter fence at Snettisham has been replaced to prevent people from accessing the lagoon shore and disturbing the tens of thousands of birds that roost there.
At Titchwell, the aging main sluice that connects the Brackish Lagoon with the sea has been replaced.
At Minsmere the North Girder Lagoon has been extended by 2.5 ha, new islands have been created, new sluices installed, and the anti-predator fence that surrounds the Scrape has been replaced. The East Hide has been replaced and visitor access tracks upgraded for disabled access.
The seawall at Havergate Island has been built up and strengthened to withstand the increased erosion that is anticipated from sea-level rise.
At Old Hall Marshes, a fence has been installed to allow cattle to graze the lagoon margins to control encroaching vegetation.
At the Langstone Oysterbeds, the tern nesting island has been raised to prevent flooding of nests on high tides and visitor facilities have been upgraded. Three of the tidal weirs have been in-filled to reduce the level of exchange and improve conditions for rare lagoon invertebrates.
At the Lymington-Keyhaven Nature Reserve one of the lagoons has been extended, new sluices installed and new channels created to move water between the lagoons. Anti-predator fencing has been installed around the largest lagoon.
| Problem being addressed | Action |
|---|
| Potential breach in seawall. | Bank protection work at three sites. |
| Silt accretion, in-filling of lagoons and feeder-creeks. | Silt removal at two sites. |
| Old and under-sized water control facilities, with poor control of levels and salinity levels, or failure risk. | Replace, or refurbish water control sluices at eight sites. |
| Loss or reduction of invertebrate species due to changes in water salinity levels. | Manage water exchange to achieve target salinity at six sites. |
| Loss of bird feeding areas and lagoon volume due to undesirable water levels. | Manage water levels at seven sites. |
| Loss of nesting sites for priority birds through vegetation encroachment or erosion. | Nesting islands managed at 10 sites. |
| Loss of open water to vegetation encroachment. | Vegetation control on lagoon margins at four sites. |
| Predation on ground-nesting birds by mammals. | Predator exclusion by fencing at two sites. |
| Human disturbance of nesting birds. | Manage public access at two sites; provide new hides, redirect paths, providing fences. |
| Low populations of invertebrates. | Manage the lagoon bed for invertebrates at two sites. |
| Under valuing of saline lagoons by the public. | Raise awareness at eight sites through interpretation and visitor events. |
| Low understanding of saline lagoon ecology and management. | Produce a saline lagoon management handbook and hold a seminar on saline lagoon management. |
| Lack of data on the effects of Saline Lagoon management . | Monitor salinity levels, water levels, birds nesting success, and changes in invertebrate and plants. |