Tom Hooper, Finding Sanctuary’s Project Manager said: “The Marine and Coastal Access Act offers the most important opportunity for marine protection there has ever been, because it paves the way for the designation of new Marine Conservation Zones to protect marine wildlife and habitats. Our challenge in the south-west is to make sure these are protected whilst taking people’s livelihoods and leisure activities into consideration.”
Finding Sanctuary was set up to work with fishermen, sea anglers, conservationists and other sea users across the south-west to identify these new Marine Conservation Zones and recommend them to Government.
Tom continued: “We believe that the people and groups that could be affected by Marine Conservation Zones should be involved in deciding where they are located and how they are managed. We have therefore brought together a balanced and representative Steering Group of stakeholder interests to plan Marine Conservation Zones for the south-west. This will ensure that decisions are made collaboratively and will encourage stronger local support.”
The Finding Sanctuary Steering Group will make its Marine Conservation Zones recommendations to Government in June 2011.
Tom continued: “At Finding Sanctuary we are working on behalf of everyone to achieve the best possible outcome, both in terms of conservation and people’s livelihoods and leisure interests. However, we can only achieve this if sea users get involved in planning Marine Conservation Zones. You can do this by coming to a Finding Sanctuary drop in day, using our Interactive Map on our website www.finding-sanctuary.org , or by getting in touch with us directly.”
The next Finding Sanctuary drop in days will be held at:
- Exmouth, 18 November, 10am – 8pm Elizabeth Hall, Exmouth Seafront, Exmouth, EX8 2BA
- Ilfracombe, 26 November 10am – 8pm Ilfracombe Yacht Club, The Quay, Ilfracombe, EX34 9EQ
Further drop in days are being planned for Dartmouth, Bude, Weymouth and Plymouth.
For further information contact Joana Smith, Finding Sanctuary, Tel: 01392 878328 / 07968 434108
Fishingmagic Notes –
Finding Sanctuary is a partnership project between South West Food and Drink, the South West Wildlife Trusts, RSPB, National Trust, Natural England, JNCC and the County Councils of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are a new type of Marine Protected Area (MPA) being introduced through the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act. MCZs will be implemented to protect nationally important marine wildlife, habitats, geology and geomorphology. Sites will be selected both inshore and offshore, up to mean high water to protect the full range of marine life. MCZs will have a range of protection levels that reflect the level to which a particular habitat or wider ecosystem needs to be safeguarded.
MCZs together with other types of MPA, will make up an ecologically coherent network of Marine Protected Areas. This means the MPA network will be a collection of areas that work together to provide more benefits than an individual area could on its own.
Finding Sanctuary is one of four regional projects which together make up the Marine Conservation Zone Project. The Marine Conservation Zone project has been established by Defra, Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to identify and recommend Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) to Government. The four regional MCZ projects cover the south-west (Finding Sanctuary), Irish Sea (Irish Sea Conservation Zones), North Sea (Net Gain) and south-east (Balanced Seas). These regional MCZ projects will work with sea users and interest groups to identify MCZs and provide recommendations for sites within their regions to Government.
