Dover to Deal MCZ

Site Overview

Located off the Kent coast, to the east of the Strait of Dover in the eastern English Channel, Dover to Deal MCZ protects an area of 10km. The site contains a high diversity of habitat types and species which is reflected in the high number of designated features. The majority of the MCZ is dominated by chalk, a relatively rare coastal habitat in Europe. Chalk platforms located at the base of the famous white cliffs form reefs with deep gullies, supporting one of the richest algal communities in the south east. As well as chalk reefs several different types of biogenic or living reefs are distributed across the site engineered by Ross worms, Blue mussels and Native oysters. Four new features were added to the site in 2019: ross worm reefs, blue mussel beds, high energy circalittoral rock and moderate energy circalittoral rock.