New marine channel opens up

The MPA Coalition will be important channel for dialogue with fishing industry

24 February 2010

The JNCC and Natural England welcomed the launch yesterday (23 February) of the Fishing Coalition for Marine Protected Areas (MPAs).  This new alliance represents much of the UK fishing industry and will provide a vital point of contact for Government and nature conservation organisations as they work with the industry in developing the growing network of MPAs. With the government required by European law to introduce a network of MPAs by the end of 2012, streamlined, efficient communication between all parties is essential – the MPA Coalition marks a big step forward in helping achieve this.

John Goold, JNCC’s Marine Director said: “This is an extremely active time for marine conservation with many important and far reaching decisions to be taken over the next few years. We welcome the establishment of the MPA Coalition, which will provide a unified voice from the fishing industry across the UK, and we look forward to close collaboration across all of our offshore MPA work. MPAs should allow society to reap the benefits from our seas while at the same time protecting them for future generations. We want to ensure that our approach is fully inclusive and it is vital to include the views of people that value and make a living from the sea."

James Marsden, Natural England’s Director Marine, said: “Natural England welcomes the creation of the MPA Coalition and we look forward to working together to discuss how the MPA network can achieve better marine protection alongside a more vibrant fishing industry in England’s inshore waters.  We understand the concerns of the fishing industry and it is vital that there is always clarity, transparency and trust between us. Ongoing dialogue with the MPA Coalition will be an important way in which we can achieve this.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

About MPAs

The network of Marine Protected Areas will consist of Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas, Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Ramsar sites, Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) and Scottish MPAs. The Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 and forthcoming Marine (Scotland) Bill, as well as European legislation, mean that in law the Government is required to introduce MPAs in UK inshore and offshore waters. MPAs apply right across the UK, although the way that MCZs will be implemented in England is slightly different from the approach being taken in Wales and Scotland.

1. For more information, please contact: 

Natural England: for English inshore waters (0 – 12 nautical miles)

Michelle Hawkins, Press Officer, Natural England
0300 060 1109 / 07775 585 935

 / http://www.naturalengland.org.uk/

Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC): for UK offshore waters (12 – 200 nautical miles)

Communications Team, JNCC
01733 866839

 / www.jncc.gov.uk/marineprotectedsites

2. Natural England is the statutory nature conservation adviser for Government for England (including territorial waters from 0 to 12 nautical miles) and is committed to delivering an ecologically coherent and representative network of MPAs. It will commit time from its own specialist staff and research products to support The MCZ Project as well as providing funding. www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/marine/protectandmanage/mpa/conservationzones.aspx

3. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee is the statutory adviser to Government on UK and international nature conservation, on behalf of the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside, the Countryside Council for Wales, Natural England and Scottish Natural Heritage. Its work contributes to maintaining and enriching biological diversity, conserving geological features and sustaining natural systems. JNCC is also the statutory conservation adviser to Government for UK offshore waters.
http://www.jncc.gov.uk/

4. The Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) Project
The MCZ Project has been established by Defra, Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to identify and recommend Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) to Government. The Marine Conservation Zone Project will be delivered through four Regional MCZ Projects covering the south-east (Balanced Seas), south-west (Finding Sanctuary), Irish Sea (Irish Sea Conservation Zone) and North Sea (Net Gain). These four independent Regional MCZ Projects will work with sea users and interest groups to identify MCZs and provide recommendations for MCZs within their regions to Government.

MCZs are a new national designation as proposed in the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. MCZs will be designated to protect nationally important and representative habitats and species and, together with the Natura 2000 sites, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), Ramsar sites and new national MPAs in Scotland and Northern Ireland will create the UK MPA network.

The four Regional Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) Projects are:

a) Balanced Seas: south-east Regional MCZ Project
Sally Moore, Communications Coordinator
 /  01227 827 839  /  http://www.balancedseas.org/

b) Finding Sanctuary: south-west Regional MCZ Project
Joana Smith. Communications Coordinator
 / 01392 878 328 /  http://www.finding-sanctuary.org/

c) Irish Sea Conservation Zones: Irish Sea Regional MCZ Project
Matthew Sutcliffe, Communications Coordinator
 /  01925 813 200 / http://www.irishseaconservation.org.uk/

d) Net Gain: North Sea Regional MCZ Project
Dani Sewell, PR and Communications Manager
  / 01482 216 222 / http://www.netgainmcz.org/

5. The Scottish MPA Project
The Scottish MPA project has been established by Marine Scotland (Scottish Government), Scottish Natural Heritage and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) to identify and recommend MPAs for the conservation of nationally important features of marine biodiversity and geodiversity to Government. Scottish MPAs will be identified using science-based selection criteria, but socio-economic information may be taken into account when selecting between sites of equal scientific merit and to identify likely management issues.

Scottish MPAs are a new national designation under the forthcoming Marine (Scotland) Bill for inshore waters and the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 for offshore waters, where Scottish Ministers have executive devolution of authority.
Contact: