Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | West Sussex |
---|---|
Grid reference | SZ 872 968[1] |
Interest | Biological Geological |
Area | 629.0 hectares (1,554 acres)[1] |
Notification | 1986[1] |
Location map | Magic Map |
Pagham Harbour is a 629-hectare (1,550-acre) biological and geological Site of Special Scientific Interest on the western outskirts of Bognor Regis in West Sussex.[1][2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site,[3] a Nature Conservation Review site,[1] a Ramsar site,[4] a Special Protection Area[5] and a Marine Conservation Zone.[6] An area of 599.1 hectares (1,480 acres) is a RSPB Local Nature Reserve.[7][8]
Land owners of the harbour include the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the Crown Estate and the Church Commissioners.[9]
The harbour forms an area of saltmarsh and shallow lagoons. It is not an estuary, as no major streams enter the harbour with the only freshwater inflow a few small streams draining surrounding fields.[10][11]