Offshore MPA Conservation
Advice
Conservation advice for each of the offshore
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) is delivered through Site Information Centres. Advice on
individual applications for plans and projects within or near
offshore MPAs is delivered by our offshore industry advice
team.
JNCC conservation advice is useful
if you are:
- developing or proposing any activity that may
affect the site;
- undertaking an assessment of impacts on the
site from a proposed activity, for example a Habitats Regulations
Appraisal (HRA);
- planning measures to manage the site and its
qualifying features to ensure the delivery of its conservation
objectives; or;
- monitoring and/or assessing the condition of the protected
features.
Improving offshore MPA Conservation
Advice
Recommendations from a
review of how the EU Habitats and Wild Birds Directives are
implemented in England and guidance
issued by the European Commission for Natura 2000
sites, recommends that conservation objectives ‘should remain
up-to-date, be easily accessible and should allow applicants to
assess the impacts of their proposed development against them’.
Furthermore, an effort should be made to make them 'operational in
practice and be specified in concrete terms and wherever possible
be quantifiable in numbers and/or size'.
JNCC have been working on improving the
conservation advice we provide for offshore Marine Protected Areas
in line with the above principles. The new approach is based on
recommended best practise and feedback from current users, and is
outlined in the following paper:
JNCC's updated conservation advice is available to access via
the Conservation Advice tab on the MPA Site Information
Centres. Please click on the site names below to access the
relevant Site Information Centre.
| Site
name |
Status of updated conservation advice |
| Dogger
Bank cSAC/SCI |
Draft updated advice available. Formal advice will be published
summer 2017. |
| Haisborough, Hammond and Winterton cSAC/SCI |
Draft advice prepared in collaboration with Natural
England available on their Designated Sites System. The
period to provide feedback on this advice has now closed and JNCC
will be working with Natural England to address
comments. |
| Inner Dowsing, Race Bank and North Ridge
cSAC/SCI |
Draft advice prepared in collaboration with Natural
England available on their Designated Sites System. The
period to provide feedback on this advice has now closed and JNCC
will be working with Natural England to address
comments. |
Further information is available on obtaining
a license for operations in UK waters or for conservation in
nearshore waters.
