The Blackwater Estuary is the estuary of the River Blackwater between Maldon and West Mersea in Essex. It is a 5,538 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).[2][3] An area of 4,395 hectares is also designated a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance,[4][5] and a Special Protection Area[5][6] 1,099 hectares is a National Nature Reserve.[5][7] Tollesbury Wick and part of Abbotts Hall Farm, both nature reserve managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust, are in the SSSI.[3][8][9]
Oysters have been harvested from the estuary for more than a thousand years and there are remains of fish weirs from the Anglo-Saxon era. At the head of the estuary is the town of Maldon, which is a centre of salt production. The other major settlement is the town West Mersea, of Mersea Island, on the northern seaward side. Numerous other villages are on its banks.
Within the estuary is Northey Island which was the location for the first experiments in the UK in 'managed retreat', i.e. creating saltmarsh by setting sea walls back from what are perceived to be unsustainable positions. The area is notable as a breeding area for little tern (Sternula albifrons) and as a transit point for ringed plover (Charadrius hiaticula).
The estuary is also the current mooring location for the radio ship Ross Revenge, the home of former pirate station Radio Caroline
^"Blackwater Estuary". Ramsar Sites Information Service. Retrieved 25 April 2018.
^"Blackwater Estuary citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
^ ab"Map of Blackwater Estuary". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
^"Blackwater Estuary (Mid-Essex Coast Phase 4)" (PDF). Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
^ abc"Magic Map". DEFRA. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
^"Blackwater Estuary (Mid-Essex Coast Phase 4)". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
^"Essex's National Nature Reserves". Natural England. Retrieved 28 November 2015.
^"Abbotts Hall Farm". Essex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
^"Tollesbury Wick". Essex Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
and 24 Related for: Blackwater Estuary information
The BlackwaterEstuary is the estuary of the River Blackwater between Maldon and West Mersea in Essex. It is a 5,538 hectare biological Site of Special...
parish on the Blackwaterestuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It...
Northey Island is an island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex. It is linked to the south bank of the river by a causeway, covered for up to...
tributary of the River Axe in Devon and Dorset River Blackwater, Essex BlackwaterEstuary River Blackwater (River Loddon), a tributary of the Loddon forming...
BBC Essex have broadcast. On 31 July 2014 the ship was moved to the BlackwaterEstuary in Essex. Former offshore broadcasters who continue on the station...
south of Maldon and the Thurstable Hundred area to the north of the BlackwaterEstuary, a total area of 358.78 km2. The majority of people live in the small...
and main watercourses. There are many smaller estuaries in Essex, including the rivers Colne, Blackwater and Crouch. Small coastal villages depend on an...
estuaries in England: Adur Estuary Alde and Ore Estuary Alnmouth Estuary Alt Estuary Arun Estuary Avon Estuary Axe Estuary Beaulieu River Blackwater Estuary...
the village of Steeple, Essex, on the southern side of the River Blackwaterestuary. The village has been home to several generations of the Benn family...
Mersea Island /ˈmɜːrzi/ is an island in Essex, England, in the Blackwater and Colne estuaries to the south-east of Colchester. Its name comes from the Old...
Radiological Significance of Silver-110m in Oysters in the Irish Sea and the BlackwaterEstuary". Nature. 218 (5142): 689–690. Bibcode:1968Natur.218..689P. doi:10...
October 1993 Ross Revenge was anchored off Bradwell-On-Sea in the BlackwaterEstuary in Essex, within sight of the Bradwell nuclear power station. In August...
soil; these rivers are black mud rivers. There are also black mud estuaries. Blackwater rivers are lower in nutrients than whitewater rivers and have ionic...
Essex Wildlife Trust, which manages the site. It is also part of the BlackwaterEstuary National Nature Reserve, Site of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar...
Essex. It is on the estuary of the River Blackwater, approximately 12 km (7.5 mi) south of Colchester. The Blackwaterestuary is a major sailing centre...
in height, females seem to dominate. Another study undertaken in BlackwaterEstuary, Essex showed growth reaching up to 8 mm (3⁄8 in) the first winter...
Maldon until it meets the River Blackwater east of Maldon. It discharges into the North Sea via the BlackwaterEstuary. Chelmer is not the original name...
today. Located in the village of Tolleshunt Knights and close to the BlackwaterEstuary National Nature Reserve, the site originally opened in 1974 as Manifold...
is where the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation Canal merges into the tidal BlackwaterEstuary, fed by the rivers Blackwater and Chelmer. The two rivers...
producer, and owner of the 380 acres (1.5 km2) Osea Island in the estuary of the River Blackwater, Essex. Nigel Quentin Frieda was born in August 1952, the son...
rejoined its original course in southern Essex, near the present River Blackwaterestuary. Here it entered a substantial freshwater lake in the southern North...
Great Cob island is a small island in the estuary of the River Blackwater in Essex, England, the United Kingdom. The island is an area of low-lying salt...
Global Information