Plans have been unveiled today for 127 Marine Conservation Zones in England’s waters, enacting a requirement of the 2009 Marine and Coastal Access Act. Four regional projects have engaged stakeholders from local communities, industry and the Government over the past two years in order to develop these proposals, which now go forward to an independent panel for assessment.

The ultimate aim of the four regional projects is to create an ecologically coherent network of marine protected areas which will protect scarce species, geological sites and significant heritage sites, whilst also safeguarding species representative of biodiversity in England. The final network will cover 37,000 sq km, or almost a quarter of England’s waters.

The Marine Protected Area Science Advisory Panel will examine the proposals and in October will provide an assessment of the extent to which the resulting composite network of MCZs will achieve the goal of ecological coherence. The Government will then make a final decision on the final location of sites in 2012.

The Guardian is reporting this morning that although no decision has yet been made about the activities which will be allowed or prohibited within each site, it is likely that only 20 sites will receive a high degree of protection, meaning that all extractive or damaging activities will be prohibited. However, the article also suggests that half of the sites designated will include highly protected areas within them.

Meanwhile, Dogger Bank has become the largest marine protected area in Europe after the Government put this forward to the European Commission for consideration the site’s subsequent designation as a ‘candidate Special Protected Area’. The site is the largest sandbank in UK waters and is home to significant populations of sand eels, which provide a food resource for seabirds, cetaceans and other commercial fish species, such as cod. The UK site links up with Special Protected Areas already designated in German and Dutch waters.

Original articles:
BBC News, Marine Protection Bids Unveiled (Richard Black)
Guardian, 127 areas to be proposed as English marine conservation zones (John Vidal)

The report of the BES – UK BRAG joint session on ‘The UK Marine and Coastal Act- what does it mean for biodiversity research?‘ has been published online. The session saw speakers from Defra, the JNCC, Marine Biological Association and University of Bangor join participants for a wide-ranging discussion at the University of Leeds, taking place as part of the BES Annual Meeting (6-9 September).

Our speakers, and their topics, were:

Alison Reeves, Deputy Director, Marine Stewardship Team, Defra: An introduction to the Marine and Coastal Access Act
Prof. Mike Kaiser, University of Bangor: Managing Conflicts and Conflict Resolution
Dr Matt Frost, Executive Secretary, Marine Biological Association: Ecosystem Services from the Marine and Coastal Environment

The session was Chaired by Dr John Goold, Marine Director at JNCC.

In consultation with partners and stakeholders, the Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has selected the sea areas off the coast between Flamborough Head in East Riding of Yorkshire to Felixstowe in Suffolk (known formally as East Inshore and East Offshore) as the first two English marine plan areas that will be developed from April 2011.

These two area plans will be the first in a series that will, over the coming years, grow to become a comprehensive marine planning system around England, enabling the effective integration of economic, social and environmental factors and promoting the sustainable development of our seas.

See more at http://www.marinemanagement.org.uk/news.

Taken from the Society of Biology’s weekly Science Policy News digest.

The UK Marine and Coastal Access Bill was granted Royal Assent yesterday (12th November), meaning that it has now become law. It has taken many years of work by the ecological and environmental community, but a network of Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) will now be created in UK seas. We would like to thank all our members who contributed their considerable scientific expertise and advice to our work on this Bill.

Looking forwards, much work is now underway to identify where MCZs should be located. To coincide with the Bill’s enactment, the Marine Conservation Society has launched a new website with an interactive map showing the location and characteristics of 73 sites which they believe merit full protection. Members of the public are invited to vote for the sites which they believe should become reserves; the results will be presented to the regional bodies charged with making recommendations to the Government. Readers with marine expertise may also be interested in the facility which allows them to nominate their own sites for protection.

To vote for the protection of specific marine areas, visit: http://www.yourseasyourvoice.com/mpa/

If you would like to read a review of all the changes which have been made to the Bill during its passage through Parliament, please visit here.

At 11.20am today, the House of Lords witnessed the State Opening of Parliament marking the beginning of the parliamentary session.

Here, the Queen’s Speech was delivered, outlining the Government’s plans for the coming Parliamentary year.

Given the current global economic climate, it was no surprise that the Government’s main priority is to ensure the stability of the economy during the global economic downturn. Many of the commitments and proposed legislation mentioned in the Queen’s speech, understandably centred around helping people and families through hard economic times.

The main highlight for the British Ecological Society was the Marine Bill receiving Royal Assent. The science policy team are particularly pleased that many of the recommendations made to Government to strengthen the bill were taken into consideration. The Queen said:

“To protect the environment for future generations – a bill will be brought forward to manage marine resources and protect access to the coastline.”

The speech also described the Government’s intention to work closer with the devolved administrations – a requirement for the Marine Bill to be effective.

The science policy team would be delighted to receive comments from readers of the blog

A proposal launched yesterday to build a barrier across The Wash has been met with widespread condemnation from numerous conservation bodies. Businessman Peter Dawes has launched the Wash Tidal Barrier Corporation, which proposes to build a tidal barrage from Hunstanton to Skegness.

The proposals are in apparent defiance of an internationally recognised agreement, the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands as well as the fact the region is recognised as a Site of Special Scientific Interest and designated under European Law as a Special Protection Area and a Special Area for Conservation. It is anticipated The Wash will receive even greater protection under the forthcoming Marine Bill.

Richard Powell, regional director of the RSPB said: ‘This scheme should be dismissed as a non-starter… …we’re talking about a site that supports a phenomenal amount of wildlife.’

The British Ecological Society invites members and readers of the blog to comment on this issue.