BBC News 20 Dec 07;
Public consultation has begun on proposals to extend protection for marine life around Britain.
Seven areas, totalling 10,000sq km (4,000sq miles) of sea, have been earmarked as sites for the UK's first offshore Special Areas of Conservation.
They include habitats of important sea life, such as sandbanks, sand volcanoes and cold water coral reefs, found in the seas surrounding the UK.
Currently, only coastal and inshore areas are protected.
The government says areas rich in wildlife further out to sea face a different kind of threat.
Jonathan Shaw, the minister for marine, landscape and rural affairs, said: "The UK has one of the richest marine environments in the world.
"We want to bring conservation standards at sea up to the level of those that we have on land, to give greater protection to sea life.
"I want to see a network of marine protected areas around the UK by 2012, and these seven new proposed offshore areas would be a big part of that."
The sites will be presented to the European Commission in September 2008.
Included sites
The projected conservation areas include the Darwin Mounds, an exceptional cold water coral reef to the north-west of Scotland, and the Scanner and Braemar Pockmarks in the North Sea where methane seeps from the sea floor, sustaining communities of worms and other organisms.
Around 380 organisations will be contacted for their views on these proposals, but comments from any interested parties are welcome.
Charlotte Johnston, the Marine Site and Strategy Team Leader at the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) told BBC News: "We have attempted to include all stakeholders in this consultation, such as sea users, conservation organisations and offshore government departments."
Environmental groups have campaigned for a move like this for more than five years.
Dr Simon Walmsley, head of marine programmes at the conservation group WWF-UK, welcomed the news.
However, he said he was concerned over the time it had taken to make the announcement and urged the government to meet its 2012 deadline.
He also said he was anxious about how the sites had been selected and in particular why areas like Dogger Bank in the North Sea, an important spawning ground for fish and dolphins, had not been recommended for protection.
Ms Johnston said the area had not been included "as more time is required for the science to establish where the site boundary needs to lie".
Level of protection
Dr Walmsley also expressed concern over what level of protection the sites would have.
"Will any become highly protected marine reserves where no level of activity can happen and there is a no-take policy?" he asked.
Protected areas can bring benefits to the fishing industry by creating places where young fish can grow. The UK's only "no-take zone" around the Isle of Lundy has brought local shellfish populations back from their overfished state.
The JNCC decision, to determine if a marine industry activity will be permitted, depends on the features at the site, the level of protection required and the type of activity.
Ms Johnston said: "After an appropriate assessment, if it is likely the development will have significant adverse effects on the habitat then it will not be permitted, except on the grounds of overriding public interest."
Marine bill to 'protect UK seas'
BBC News 15 Mar 07;
The government has launched its long-awaited Marine Bill which aims to protect Britain's seas and marine life.
As well as creating protected areas, ministers plan to improve the regulation of inshore fisheries and ease planning for offshore industry.
Environment groups have generally given the move a guarded welcome.
The bill, a manifesto commitment at the 2005 general election, goes out for consultation with the aim of passing legislation next year.
"Protecting our seas is one of the biggest environmental challenges after climate change, and the two are closely linked," said Environment Secretary David Miliband.
"The proposals in the Marine Bill White Paper are a first for the UK, and would raise planning for the management and protection of our seas to a world-leading level."
'Vital tool'
The bill would create up to eight new Special Areas of Conservation, including features such as the Dogger Bank in the North Sea which are important spawning grounds for fish and dolphins.
Other projected conservation areas include the Darwin Mounds, an exceptional cold coral reef to the north-west of Scotland, and the Scanner and Braemar Pockmarks in the North Sea where methane seeps from the sea floor, sustaining communities of worms and other organisms.
Protected areas can bring benefits to the fishing industry by creating places where young fish can grow. The UK's only "no-take zone" around the Isle of Lundy has brought local shellfish populations back from their overfished state.
Meanwhile, companies wanting to exploit non-protected zones of the sea would find their progress eased.
Environmental groups began campaigning for a bill like this more than five years ago.
They were delighted when Labour included it in its manifesto for the last general election, but dismayed when it did not make the 2006 Queen's Speech.
"There is a lot in the Marine Bill White Paper that we are excited about," said WWF's campaign director Paul King.
"It is a vital tool for restoring our seas to good health, and it is now crucial that the government introduces legislation in the 2007 Queen's Speech if it is to meet its national and international targets on biodiversity and climate change."
Those targets include the commitment, made by every government signed up to the UN biodiversity convention, to halt the global loss of biodiversity by 2010.
On climate change, the renewables industry has been lobbying hard for streamlining of the planning process for offshore wind farms, and the Marine Bill promises to meet that need.
Protection urged for UK sea life
BBC News 16 Jan 07;
Conservation scientists have identified eight "biodiversity hotspots" around Britain's coast which they say ought to be priorities for protection.
The Marine Biological Association (MBA) and WWF want these areas to be given protected status under the government's proposed Marine Bill.
They include areas of importance for fish, mammals, birds and shellfish.
The government says it remains committed to introducing a Marine Bill within this term of Parliament.
Its absence from the Queen's Speech surprised and angered conservation groups. Publication of a white paper could come as early as March.
Special sites
Currently, the UK has 56 Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) which include marine habitat, with a further five under consideration.
Development is restricted in these areas; but WWF believes hotspots need a higher level of protection, as has recently been implemented around the Isle of Lundy, the UK's first "no-take zone" where fishing is banned.
"It's part of our international commitments (on biodiversity), and if the government doesn't now come forward with the bill we will be immensely upset," said WWF's marine policy officer Kate Reeves.
"These are particularly diverse areas, and we want them to be highly protected marine reserves," she told the BBC News website.
With such a range of habitats around the coast, scientists need a way of identifying which ones should be priorities for protection.
The Marine Biological Association and partners have used a complex set of criteria. Broadly speaking, an area is considered special if:
* it includes a high proportion of the global or regional population of a species
* it is home to organisms that do not move
* decline has been identified
* decline is likely
* it is manageable as a coherent unit
They assessed more than 120 sites around the UK, and detailed eight areas which they feel are especially deserving of protection.
These include Plymouth Reefs in the southwest of England, Rathlin Island in Northern Ireland and the Menai Strait in Wales.
All are notable for a huge richness of species. Unst in the Shetlands contains the only British representatives of species that thrive in the Arctic, including some sea urchins and sea cucumbers.
The estuary of the Blackwater in Essex is important for wading birds, yet threatened by human development; while the Dogger Bank in the North Sea is important for the harbour porpoise and as a spawning ground for herring.
The government acknowledged the need for marine protected areas in the consultation which it ran last year on the scheduled Marine Bill.
Protection can have benefits for people as well as nature. The Isle of Lundy no-take zone has led to a significant rise in the number of lobsters, which could provide a boost to the local fishing industry.
