Foulness SSSI is a 10,702 hectare biological

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

covering the shoreline between Southend-on-Sea and the Crouch estuary in Essex.

Site of Special Scientific Interest

It is a key site in '' A Nature Conservation Review'', and is part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation. It covers two Ramsar wetland sites of international importance, 'Crouch and Roach Estuaries' and 'Foulness'. An area of 6.4 hectares is

Shoeburyness Old Ranges Shoeburyness Old Ranges or Shoebury Ranges is a 6.4 hectare Local Nature Reserve in Shoeburyness in Essex. It is part of the Foulness Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or ...

, a Local Nature Reserve managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. Most of the site is owned and managed by the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...

. Natural England describes it as "extensive intertidal sand-silt flats, saltmarsh, beaches, grazing marshes, rough grass and scrubland". The flats are of international importance for nine species of wildfowl and waders, such as dark-bellied brent geese. Rare plants include

soft hornwort ''Ceratophyllum submersum'', commonly known as the soft hornwort or tropical hornwort, is a species of ''Ceratophyllum''. It is a submerged, free-floating aquatic plant. It has been reported from Europe, Central Asia, northern Africa, scattered ...

and spiral tasselwood, and the site is also important for invertebrates, with 71 nationally rare species.

References

{{SSSIs Essex Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex Special Protection Areas in England Nature Conservation Review sites