Blakeney Harbour Netting – Sheringham Shoal Community Fund

Blakeney marsh and harbour offer an unusual habitat and provide the vital link between the sea and the Rivers Glaven and Stiffkey, offering potentially important nursery areas for several marine species such as Sea Bass, Sand Smelt, Flounder and European Eel. It is our objective to conduct a comprehensive survey of the harbour to aid future conservation activities.

To date, no all-encompassing fish survey has ever been commissioned within the harbour. Such a lack of data is restricting conservation activities within both the harbour and the connecting Rivers (Stiffkey and Glaven). The surveys will identify the species that use the harbour at different times of year and investigate the possibility of improving their stocks. We aim to make this the catalyst for a much longer-term project that will deliver longer term benefits to all within the local communities, increasing fishing yields, tourism opportunities and benefiting the local wildlife.

We are set to begin surveying late May and will continue to do so on a once per month basis for the following eight months. Not only that, we have already made plans to engage school age children with the harbour and will be taking groups out this June, demonstrating survey techniques and fish identification.