Habitat point records from 1988 OPRU HRE Loughor Estuary/Burry Inlet survey

The Loughor Estuary is situated on the south coast of Wales, forming the north side of the gower and opening into Camarthen Bay. The industrial town of Llanelli lies on the north side of the lower estuary. The area of the middle and lower estuary, which is very broad, is known as the Burry Inlet, and is aligned east-west with the mouth facing west. The mouth is partly occluded by Whiteford Point and the habitats within the estuary are mostly sheltered from wave action. At Loughor the estuary turns north and becomes very narrow, remaining so for most of the upper estuary. The whole estuary is essentially sedimentary and very shallow with large expanses of sediment flats and fringing saltmarshes, and relatively narrow channels. Tidal range is high, at around 8.2 m, and this creates a very energetic environment in the channels. The sand flats below mid tide level are subject to considerable tidal movement and these sands are usually very mobile. Above mid tide level the sands become more stable, and the upper shore areas are often very muddy. The sediments in the upper estuary above Loughor are also mostly muddy. Hard substrata are rare, but there are areas of boulder and mussel scars in the inlet, and the scar at Whiteford Point is quite extensive. The north side of the inlet is considerably affected by man, with harbour walls, sea defences and slag from the industrial furnaces providing some hard substrata on the middle and upper shores. Freshwater flow is quite high and salinities fluctuate greatly between high and low water, throughout the estuary. Boating and other water sports in the estuary are limited by the shallowness of the channels, and the ports of Burry Port and Llanelli are used by relatively small numbers of boats. Large volumes of industrial waste water and sewage are discharged from the Llanelli area with high heavy metal loads, particularly Chromium. The Burry Inlet is famous for its cockle fishery, which is the third largest in the British Isles. Annual landings for 1987 totalled 65, 163 cwt. The fishery is strictly controlled by the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee, but there has recently been some conflict with bait-diggers who dig the same area. the area of Whiteford scar has been identified as a potentially important mussel fishery, and negotiations between the sea fisheries committee and NCC are in progress. The whole of the Burry Inlet is covered by Site of Special Scientific Interest designations, and Whiteford Point dunes and saltmarsh is managed as a National Nature Reserve. The main conservation interest is ornithological, and the inlet is internationally important for its large populations of waders and wildfowl. The inlet has been proposed as a Ramsar site and a special protection area for birds. Twenty three intertidal and three subtidal dredge sites were sampled during this survey, with fifteen habitats and associated communities described from them. Descriptions of these are given, and lists of species found are tabulated. The habitats and communities are similar to those found in other sedimentary estuaries, with few species of particularly interest. The areas of rich bivalve dominated sediment communities in the Burry Inlet are very extensive, and as such are of great interest. The communities of algae and animals on the mussel scars at Whiteford Point, particularly those on the Lower Shore, are very rich and diverse. Hard substrata elsewhere in the estuary are colonised by typical estuarine communities, and are generally of low diversity. Above Loughor the muddy sediments are colonised by typical upper estuarine communities with low diversity and no species of particular interest. The scientific interest and conservation importance of the area has been assessed using scientific criteria, and the conservation importance of habitats and communities in the area have been provisionally graded as of local, regional or national importance. The mussel scar at Whiteford Point is considered to be of Regional or possibly National importance as are the large areas of rich bivalve dominated sediments in the inlet. The communities colonising the boulders and cobbles at Carreg-fach and the training wall off Machynys Point are also considerd to be of regional interest. Only one species of conservation / scientific interest was recorded, which was the rarely recorded polychaete Ophelia bicornis, found in well drained fine sand at the west of Llanrhidian Sands. It is considered to be of regional importance.

洛戈尔湾位于威尔士南部海岸，构成戈乌尔半岛的北岸，并通向卡马森湾。工业城镇兰尼利位于下河口北侧。中下游河口区域宽广，被称为伯里湾，东西走向，河口朝西。河口部分被怀特福德岬所遮挡，湾内的栖息地大多免受波浪作用的影响。在洛戈尔湾，河口转向北方，变得非常狭窄，这种情况在上河口的大部分区域中持续存在。整个湾口基本为沉积物构成，非常浅，有大片沉积平原和边缘盐沼，以及相对狭窄的航道。潮差较大，约为8.2米，这使航道环境极具活力。中潮位以下的沙地受到相当大的潮汐运动影响，这些沙地通常非常活跃。中潮位以上的沙地则更加稳定，上部岸区的泥土往往非常泥泞。洛戈尔湾上游的沉积物也大多是泥质的。硬质基底较为罕见，但在湾口有砾石和贻贝痕迹区域，怀特福德岬的痕迹相当广泛。湾口北侧受到人类活动的显著影响，港口墙壁、海堤和工业熔炉的炉渣为中部和上部的岸边提供了一些硬质基底。淡水流量相当高，盐度在高潮位和低潮位之间波动很大，整个湾口都是如此。由于航道浅，湾内的划船和其他水上运动受到限制，伯里港和兰尼利港的船只数量相对较少。来自兰尼利地区的大量工业废水和污水排放，重金属含量高，尤其是铬。伯里湾以其蛤蜊渔业而闻名，是英吉利海峡群岛中第三大渔业。1987年的年捕捞量总计为65,163英担。该渔业受到南威尔士海洋渔业委员会的严格管理，但最近与挖贝者之间发生了一些冲突。怀特福德湾的痕迹区域已被认定为有潜力的贻贝渔业，海洋渔业委员会与NCC正在进行谈判。整个伯里湾被指定为具有特殊科学兴趣的区域，怀特福德岬沙丘和盐沼被管理为国家自然保护区。该区域的保护兴趣主要集中在鸟类学方面，对迁徙鸟类和野生水禽的国际重要性尤为显著。该湾已被提议为拉姆萨尔湿地和鸟类特殊保护区。在本项调查中，对二十三个潮间带和三个潮下带疏浚点进行了采样，并从这些采样点中描述了十五种栖息地和相关的群落。对这些栖息地和群落的描述如下，并附上发现的物种列表。栖息地和群落与其他沉积物湾的相似，特别感兴趣的物种较少。伯里湾中丰富的双壳类沉积群落区域非常广泛，因此具有极大的研究兴趣。怀特福德岬贻贝痕迹上，尤其是下岸的藻类和动物群落非常丰富和多样。湾内其他地区的硬质基底被典型的河口群落所占据，多样性通常较低。在洛戈尔湾以上，泥质沉积物被典型的上河口群落所占据，多样性低，没有特别感兴趣的物种。该区域的科学兴趣和保护重要性已根据科学标准进行评估，该区域栖息地和群落的保护重要性被初步分级为地方、区域或国家重要性。怀特福德岬的贻贝痕迹被认为具有区域或可能的国家重要性，湾内丰富的双壳类沉积物区域也是如此。占据卡雷格法奇和马奇尼斯岬训练墙的砾石和鹅卵石群落也被认为是具有区域兴趣的。只有一种具有保护/科学意义的物种被记录，即罕见的多毛纲环节动物Ophelia bicornis，在兰尼迪安沙地西部的良好排水细沙中发现。它被认为具有区域重要性。