CHASM: Crustaceans, Habitat And Sediment Movement.

The CHASM project aims to identify causes behind reductions in crab and lobster catch, changes in sea water and habitat quality, and the increase in marine sediment. Questions were initially asked by the fishers of Selsey Bill, which proved to be the starting point for issues that first emerged well over 10 years ago but to which we are only starting to gain insight now. The work of CHASM includes acquiring and processing environmental samples and establishing correlation with other environmental and geospatial data from the region.

The wellbeing of crabs and lobsters is largely determined by how good conditions are in the sea and on the seabed. It is thought that falling catch is an indicator of many changes currently taking place in coastal seas - crabs and lobsters are the canaries in the coal mine in this respect.

Something has affected the marine environment, but it isn’t clear what that is. Observations indicate a huge range of environmental stressors potentially making the issues extremely complex. Some are likely to be seen globally, others will be local. The CHASM project is using an inclusive, partnership approach to look at the combined effect of stressors on the animals and plants along our coast to try and ensure mitigation measures are based not on hunches but facts.