General Description Of The Company

Marine Ecological Surveys Ltd was established in 1975 with the express aim of providing authoritative scientific advice on the impacts of major industrial and construction proposals in the marine environment. Since that time legislative pressures on companies operating in the marine environment have increased exponentially and we have expanded our business and range of skills accordingly to incorporate a wealth of new services that meet the diverse needs of our clients.  In 2006 The Gardline Group became MES's parent company giving MES the benefit of being part of a diverse group of multi-disciplinary organisations involved in a range of activities that include satellite communications, security, ship building, dry dock engineering, geographical information systems, digital mapping and vessel charters.
Marine Ecological Surveys Ltd.  As an organisation MESL has specialist expertise in the design and implementation of monitoring programmes, the provision of EIAs and Environmental Statements, and primary research.  With our in-house laboratories and expert staff MES are renowned for conducting benthic, epibenthic and fisheries studies in a range of marine habitats. Our expertise also includes spatial analysis and mapping using GIS and the latest 4-D visualisation technologies.  We routinely prepare high quality fully interactive electronic reports to meet the needs of our clients.
Marine Ecological Surveys Ltd. Our reputation has been established through the provision of professional consultancy services to a range of clients in the private and public sectors. Our client base includes prestigious companies from a number of different industries including aggregates, chemicals, leisure and tourism and port and harbour development. We also provide technical and marine policy advice to government departments and agencies such as Defra, Cefas, Natural England and the JNCC.
Marine Ecological Surveys Ltd works at the cutting edge of the marine consultancy sector, enabling us to respond rapidly and effectively to the changing needs of our clients. We have a rich tradition of conducting scientifically based commercial and academic research, often in collaboration with other organisations. We take pride in being at the forefront of the marine ecology industry and maintain strong links with our clients, industry regulators, universities and agencies.

MES specialise in the following areas:

• Design and implementation of seabed sampling programmes
• Faunal analysis - our staff participate in the NMBAQC (National Marine Biological Analytical Quality Control) scheme.
• Data handling and interpretation
• Preparation of Terms of Reference
• Scoping/feasibility studies
• Environmental Impact Assessments
• Environmental Statements
• Development of mitigation protocol
• Monitoring programmes
• Expert advice to government and industry
• Primary research

Our company has a wide range of project experience including major ports and harbour developments, marine aggregates, offshore wind farm development, leisure and tourism, the chemical industry and primary research projects.  MES are world leaders in the field of research into the impacts of marine aggregate extraction on marine biological resources.  In the last five years MES have completed three major research projects and a series of peer reviewed scientific publications.

RESOURCES

MES is equipped with all necessary apparatus for the separation/identification of macrobenthic fauna and subsequent analyses. Our staff are fully qualified to carry out faunal analysis using the facilities available in our well-equipped on-site laboratory. This information is assimilated using the latest computer software including the statistical software package PRIMER for community analysis and GIS (MapInfo and ArcGIS) for resource mapping and data presentation. All MES Survey data (including survey logs and biological data) are stored within our specially tailored UNICORN data management system.

For projects which require extensive geophysical work, we have collaborated with Gardline Environmental Ltd of Great Yarmouth, UK. They have extensive expertise in bathymetry, side scan and mosaic techniques, sediment core sampling, current monitoring and other methods of sampling the seabed environment. These data are fed into our biological analyses of seabed communities, to produce GIS images that relate the physical environment to the distribution of biological resources of conservation and economic significance. The work includes sophisticated multi-dimensional modelling techniques to predict changes in the physical environment associated with major infrastructure developments, and the impacts on biological community composition.

INSURANCE

Marine Ecological Surveys Limited is currently insured for £5 million public liability, £2 million professional indemnity and £10 million for employers liability. Policy summaries can be supplied on request.