c1b81e85-278c-4185-b7c3-3bf5d045c89a English dataset Marine Data JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough Office marinedata@jncc.gov.uk pointOfContact 2026-08-31 MEDIN 3.1.2 EPSG Geodetic Parameter Registry 2021-01-06 revision WGS 84 2016 JNCC/CEFAS Swallow Sand MCZ monitoring survey CEND1016 RV Cefas Endeavour CEND1016 Swallow Sand MCZ 2026-08-31 publication CEND1016 The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS) carried out a survey at Swallow Sand Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) between the 17th – 29th May 2016 on the RV Cefas Endeavour (cruise CEND1016). The aim of the Swallow Sands MCZ survey was to gather the initial dataset of a site monitoring time-series, that will contribute information on the habitats found at this site to inform habitat specific assessments. The survey focused on Type 1 monitoring of the designated broadscale habitat features of this site. The following data types were collected: multibeam (bathymetry and backscatter), mini Hamon grab samples (PSA and infauna), video (camera sledge) and still (drop camera) imagery (habitat and epifauna). Cefas Data Manager Cefas Data Manager data.manager@cefas.co.uk owner Marine Data JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough Office Data manager marinedata@jncc.gov.uk owner Cefas Data Manager Cefas Data Manager data.manager@cefas.co.uk custodian Marine Data JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough Office Data manager marinedata@jncc.gov.uk custodian Cefas Data Manager Cefas Data Manager data.manager@cefas.co.uk originator Marine Data JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough Office Data manager marinedata@jncc.gov.uk originator Cefas Data Manager Cefas Data Manager data.manager@cefas.co.uk distributor Marine Data JNCC Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough Office Data manager marinedata@jncc.gov.uk distributor asNeeded Marine Environmental Data and Information Network MEDIN metadata record availability 2026-08-31 revision Elevation Geology Habitats and biotopes Oceanographic geographical features Species distribution GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2021-09-28 revision Bathymetry and Elevation Fauna abundance per unit area of the bed Habitat characterisation Habitat extent Seabed photography Sediment grain size parameters Zoobenthos generic abundance Zoobenthos taxonomy-related counts SeaDataNet Parameter Discovery Vocabulary 2021-09-28 revision otherRestrictions Available under Open Government Licence v3.0: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ otherRestrictions No restrictions to public access English 8-bit variable size UCS Transfer Format, based on ISO/IEC 10646 biota environment geoscientificInformation oceans -0.765079 1.299734 55.519791 55.990348 SeaVox salt and freshwater body gazetteer 2021-01-06 creation North Sea Charting Progress 2 Sea Areas 2021-01-06 creation Northern North Sea ICES Rectangles 2021-01-06 creation 40F0 ICES Rectangles 2021-01-06 creation 40F1 ICES Statistical Areas 2021-01-06 creation Ivb 2016-05-17 2016-05-29 SeaVoX Vertical Co-ordinate Coverages 2021-01-06 revision unknown Database https://hub.jncc.gov.uk/assets/3fbf6d68-bc1b-40d3-a76b-de47ba1ed440 CEND1016 Swallow Sand monitoring report URL accesses a landing page to download the CEND1016 Swallow Sand Monitoring Report download https://jncc.gov.uk/resources/0bc13426-fc82-4e4e-b85c-8717a01424f9 CEND1016 Swallow Sand cruise report URL accesses a landing page to download the CEND1016 Swallow Sand cruise Report download https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/swallow-sand-mpa/ Swallow Sand Site Information Centre URL accesses a JNCC webpage for Swallow Sands MCZ, providing more information on the site and its evidence. information dataset MEDIN data guideline for Bathymetry data 2018-10-08 publication Not fully evaluated, but MEDIN guidelines used true MEDIN data guideline for sediment sampling by grab or core for benthos 2011-01-28 publication Not fully evaluated, but MEDIN guidelines and proformas used true MEDIN data guideline for video surveys of species and benthos 2023-05-11 publication Not fully evaluated, but MEDIN guidelines and proformas used true Commission Regulation (EU) No 1089/2010 of 23 November 2010 implementing Directive 2007/2/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards interoperability of spatial data sets and services 2010-12-08 publication Not evaluated The grab system used during the survey was a 0.1m2 mini Hamon grab. Samples were collected from anywhere within a 100m radius bullring centred on the target location. On recovery, the grab was emptied into a large plastic bin and a representative sub-sample of sediment (approx. 0.5 litres) taken for Particle Size Analysis (PSA). The sample was stored in a labelled plastic container and frozen ready for transfer to a laboratory ashore. The remaining sample was photographed and the volume of sediment measured and recorded. Benthic fauna were collected by washing the sample with seawater over a 1mm sieve. The retained >1mm fraction was transferred to a labelled container and preserved in buffered 4 % formaldehyde for later analysis ashore. For each grab, a preliminary visual assessment of sediment type was performed on board the vessel and noted on the field records. PSA methodology: Subsample removed and laser diffraction completed on <1mm fraction. The rest of the sample was split at 1mm and the >1mm dry sieved at 0.5 intervals. The <1mm is dried and weighed and used to calculate proportion of <1mm:>1mm.Sieve and laser data are merged to produce a complete Particle Size (PS) distribution at 0.5 intervals. The sediment samples were processed following the PSA methodology recommended by the National Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control (NMBAQC) Scheme: Mason, C. 2016. NMBAQC's Best Practice Guidance. Particle Size Analysis (PSA) for Supporting Biological Analysis. National Marine Biological AQC Coordinating Committee, 77pp, First published 2011, updated January 2016. Infaunal QC protocol: NMBAQC Own Sample procedure used. The sledge was fitted with an STR Seaspyder Telemetry (Canon EOS) 18 megapixel digital stills camera with quartz corrected dome lens and STR MP-F through-the-lens-controlled flash. It was controlled through a dual role copper/fibre multiplexor custom built to Cefas specification. The video footage was shot using an STR SP-IPC-3000a 1080p video camera with a 0.1 Lux colour 5 megapixel sensor. Illumination was provided by four to six STR MP-3 LED lights running at 1500 Lumens light intensity per unit. Laser scaling was provided by two green dot class 3r laser pointers providing a reference width of 21cm on the seabed. The sledge was also fitted with a digital heading/pitch/roll sensor, altimeter and water temperature sensor. This was recorded in real time along with GPS time and position using a video overlay. Set-up and operation followed the MESH ‘Recommended Operating Guidelines (ROG) for underwater video and photographic imaging techniques’ (Coggan et al. 2007). The digital stream was captured by a surface PC and recorded direct to MP4 format video files. The stills camera fitted to the drop frame was an STR Seaspyder Telemetry (Canon EOS) 18 megapixel digital stills camera with flat lens and STR MP-F through-the-lens-controlled flash. It was controlled through a dual role copper/fibre multiplexor custom built to Cefas specification. The video footage was shot using an STR SP-HDC-3000aw 1080p video camera with a 1 Lux colour 2 megapixel sensor. It was run at 1080p (25 frames per second) video resolution along with all other control signals over a dual fibre optic cable. The digital stream was captured by the surface PC and recorded direct to MP4 format video files. Lighting was provided by four STR MP-3 LED lights running at 1500 Lumens light intensity per unit. Laser scaling was provided by two green dot class 3r laser pointers providing a reference width of 21cm on the seabed. The drop frame was also fitted with a digital heading/pitch/roll sensor, altimeter and water temperature sensor. This was recorded in real time along with GPS time and position using a video overlay. Set-up and operation followed the MESH ‘Recommended Operating Guidelines (ROG) for underwater video and photographic imaging techniques’ (Coggan et al. 2007). Field notes were made during each camera deployment, noting station and sample metadata, real-time observations of substrate and taxa, and an initial assessment of the range BSHs that had been seen MBES bathymetry and backscatter data were acquired using the Kongsberg EM2040 system operated at 300kHz and deployed on the drop keel of RV Cefas Endeavour, which was lowered to its full extent to minimise the effect of bad weather on the acoustic signal. Variations of sound velocity with water depth were determined using a Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) probe and applied during MBES data acquisition. The raw MBES bathymetry data was processed using CARIS HIPS. Tidal information was gathered using a CNAV 3050 DGPS receiver. Tide height data was smoothed and extracted to reduce the tide on the bathymetry. The soundings were cleaned and smoothed using CARIS in accordance with the International Hydrographic Organisation (IHO) Standards for Hydrographic Surveys - Order 1 (IHO 2008). MBES backscatter data were processed with Fledermaus Geocoder Toolbox (GT) to produce standard and floating point (FP) geotiffs.