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.

A revised approach to 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:

• Updated JNCC's Offshore Marine Protected Area Conservation Advice

A Glossary of Terms used in JNCC Conservation Advice is available in the following document:

• JNCC Conservation Advice Glossary of Terms

JNCC have created a short video explaining how to use the updated conservation advice packages, available on the JNCC YouTube account using the following link:

• Video on how to use JNCC Conservation Advice packages

To access a package for a site, click on the relevant site link provided below. You will be directed to the Site’s Information Centre on JNCC’s website. Once there, you need to scroll down to the conservation advice tab from where the advice package can be viewed and readily downloaded.

Further information

Further information is available on obtaining a license for operations in UK waters or for conservation in nearshore waters.