Reply #1: This situation is being exarcebated by off shore dredging

[fedsron2us]

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Coastal erosion may also be exacerbated by offshore dredging. In 1995 more than 26 million tonnes of sand and gravel were dredged from offshore Britain with more than 10 million tonnes dredged off the East Anglian coast<23>. Both the roads programme and the construction industry are heavily dependent on supplies of marine aggregates. For every kilometre of motorway, for example, 100,000 tonnes of aggregate are needed <24>. Sourcing aggregate from marine deposits is increasingly seen as a means to partially meet such demand.


The full impact of offshore dredging is unknown but it is implicated in starving the coast of the sediment needed for beach building. Yet in addition to providing building aggregate it is being used to rebuild eroding beaches. Sand has been taken off the Norfolk coast to replace losses at Skegness and Mablethorpe. But this may just encourage erosion further down the East Anglian coast requiring sand to be taken from somewhere else to replace these losses. By the turn of the century the average demand for marine aggregate in the UK is predicted to be 2 million m3 per year just for beach building. On top of this there is likely to be an annual UK demand for 14 million m3 for the construction industry<25>.


Although the links are unproven, dredging is thought not only to add to coastal erosion problems but also to damage and destroy coastal fisheries and spawning grounds. People who live on the coast or who depend on fishing for their livelihoods are increasingly questioning the wisdom of offshore dredging.


Yet at the moment the Government view is that until there is clear proof of damage from dredging, no moratorium can be considered <26>.

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http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/briefings/html/19971215150205.html

People living around the coasts of England soon learn that much of the land they occupy is leased from the sea. It can reclaim it at any time.