The ecological effects of deep sand extraction on the Dutch continental shelf: implications for future sand extraction
de Jong , M.F. (2016). The ecological effects of deep sand extraction on the Dutch continental shelf: implications for future sand extraction. Wageningen University: Wageningen. ISBN 978-94-6257-683-4. 164 pp.
The Dutch coastal zone is intensively used for activities such as fishing, shipping, wind farming, dredging, disposal of dredged sediment, beach nourishment, and the extraction and transport of gas and aggregates. In the Netherlands, approximately 26 million m3 of sand is used annually for coastal nourishments and for construction. A possible increase of annual coastline nourishments from 12.5 up to 40–85 million m3 for counteracting effects of future sea level rise is anticipated (Deltacommissie, 2008). In the last decades, shallow sand extraction up to 2 m below the seabed was employed. Due to the increasing pressure of the activities in the intensively used Dutch coastal zone, well-considered use of space is necessary. For a 20 km2 seaward harbour expansion Maasvlakte 2 (MV2) of the Port of Rotterdam (PoR), the Dutch authorities permitted for the first time deep sand extraction to decrease the surface area of direct impact. The ecological effects of deep sand extraction (20 m), however, were largely unknown and therefore investigated in this PhD project. The main objective of this PhD project was to investigate the short-term effects of deep sand extraction and ecological landscaping on macrozoobenthos, demersal fish and habitat characteristics on the Dutch continental shelf (DCS). Effects of different sand extraction depths on the DCS are compared and ecosystem-based design rules for future borrow pits are developed which simultaneously maximise the sand yield and minimise the surface area of direct impact.
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