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The effects of marinas and swinging moorings
Wave energy and sediment disturbance
Management considerations
Swinging moorings in coastal areas are preferred
by some boaters because of their informality and relatively
low price. They are also considered, by many people, to offer
a more aesthetically pleasing mooring than a berth in a marina
shared by many other boats.
There is much debate on the relative environmental
merits and disadvantages of different types of mooring provision
and these issues are discussed below.
Wave energy and sediment disturbance
It has been claimed that boats on swinging
moorings and on-line moorings break up the wash of passing motorised
craft and therefore reduce the incidence of erosion in those
areas. This is possible in narrow channels with banks consisting
of easily erodible material. However, it is unlikely to have
a major effect overall. It is also said that the obstruction
such moorings cause to part of a channel acts as an informal
speed limiter.
The anchoring of individual swing moorings,
particularly where they have been in place for a long period
of time, is unlikely to have much of an effect on sediment disturbance
as they use ‘clumps’ or sometimes chains which are buried and
very rarely drag. However, any drag which may be caused by anchorages
can have localised impacts on sediment and benthic communities
and this may be amplified in those areas which experience a
large increase in swing mooring provision. This issue may also
have some relevance to temporary anchorages. However, most locations
are not currently experiencing significant growth in such provision.
Management Considerations
A modern, well-equipped marina is able to provide
a large number of facilities not available to a boater moored
at informal moorings. For example, waste disposal facilities,
toilet pump-out and dry storage may all contribute to reducing
the potential environmental impacts of boating activities. In
addition, it is easier, in a marina, to restrict any actions
by a boater which have the potential to damage the environment.
For example, the scraping of anti-fouling paints can be, although
is not always, better controlled on land in marinas and boatyards
than on mudbanks at low tide. Some of these issues are expanded
on in the management section below.
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