» Marine Reserves



South Arran MPA approved by Scottish Parliament

The Community of Arran Seabed Trust (C.O.A.S.T.) reports 10th February 2016: Representatives from coastal communities, scallop divers, sea anglers and  conservation organisations showed their passion and support for MPAs at Holyrood last month, coinciding with a Rural Affairs Committee debate on the future of MPAs. To the delight of thousands of MPA supporters on Arran and […]

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A further MCZ under threat from aggregate dredging

The Guardian reports, 19th January, 2016: A stretch of sandbars and shoalsshoal A sandbank or sandbar that makes the water shallow off the Kent coast which is home to seals, famous for shipwrecks and is a proposed as a marine conservation zone, is at risk from dredging, conservationists warn. Dover Harbour Board is considering dredging […]

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Map of 23 new Marine Conservation Zones in English seas

Based on data provided by HM Government and the Marine Conservation Society, we provide here a map below which shows which sites are now designated as Marine Conservation Zones in English waters. The map also shows those MCZsMCZ Marine Conservation Zone proposed in 2012 which have not yet been designated. New Marine Conservation Zones 2016 […]

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UK Government doubles the number of MCZs, but is it real conservation?

The Observer reports, 17th January 2016: A series of 23 new marine conservation zones (MCZsMCZ Marine Conservation Zone) have been announced by the UK Government. But some experts fear this will not be enough to safeguard the future of our wildlife The zones stretch from the coast of Northumberland down to Land’s End and include […]

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UK Government News Release announces new list of MCZs

The UK Government issued a News Release, 16th January 2016, concerning the new list of Marine Conservation Zones which it is establishing. The introduction to the News Release states: “As set out in the manifesto, the government is committed to delivering a Blue Belt of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around our coasts. These will protect […]

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Four new marine reserves proposed in Northern Ireland

BBC News reports, 14th December 2015: Northern Ireland is to get four new protected marine areas to conserve important habitats and species, including one of the slowest growing shellfish in the world. They are: Rathlin Island : at Rathlin, the entire island and the seas around it are covered. It is intended to conserve the […]

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NEF launches coastal economic regeneration project, titled “New Blue Deal”

The New Economics Foundation reports: On 24th November 2015, the New Economics Foundation (NEF) hosted a cross-party parliamentary briefing at the House of Commons about the Blue New Deal initiative. Thanks to Peter Aldous MP for Waveney, Suffolk, for making this possible. The Blue New Deal aims to deliver more and better jobs for coastal […]

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C.O.A.S.T. struggles with the fishing industry’s view of the management for Scottish MPAs

The Community of Arran Seabed Trust (C.O.A.S.T.) reports in its November 2015 newsletter: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are designed to protect marine species and habitats (many of which are also fish nursery grounds), while at the same time allowing nearly all of the marine activities which already occur in these areas to continue. They are […]

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Palau creates world’s sixth largest marine reserve in the Pacific

The Guardian reports, 2nd October 2015: The tiny western Pacific archipelago of Palau has approved the creation of a marine sanctuary twice the size of Mexico. Conservationists said the 500,000 sq km (193,000 sq mile) sanctuary would be the world’s sixth-largest fully protected area — meaning no fishing, or other uses such as drilling for […]

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Ancient Forest unveiled off Norfolk Coast

Seasearch divers Rob Spray and Dawn Watson have discovered a large part of the huge oak forest that existed 10,000 years ago, long since totally submerged only 30 metres off Cley in North Norfolk. It would appear that it has become exposed due to a deep covering of sand over the years that has been […]

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94% of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) allow fishing

Mark Costello and Bill Ballantine report in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, September 2015: Conservation needs places where nature is left wild; but, only a quarter of coastal countries have no-take Marine Reserves. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) have been used to indicate conservation progress, but we found that 94% allow fishing and thus cannot protect […]

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New Zealand creates a marine reserve twice as big as its own land mass

Eco Magazine and the Otago Daily Times report 29th September 2015: The waters around the Kermadec Islands to the north of New Zealand will become one of the largest ocean sanctuaries in the world, Prime Minister John Key has announced at the United Nations. “This is an area twice the size of our land mass […]

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Blackwater Estuary MCZ faces double challenge from Bradwell nuclear power station

The Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Colne Estuaries Marine Conservation Zone in Essex (see map below) was designated a MCZMCZ Marine Conservation Zone in December 2013 on account, primarily, of its native oyster beds. The MCZ incorporates the Colne Estuary SPASPA Special Protection Areas (SPAs) are strictly protected sites classified in accordance with Article 4 of […]

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Scottish fishermen alleged to be illegally scallop dredging in marine SAC

The Sunday Herald reports, 6th September 2015: Fishermen are facing prosecution for allegedly breaching a ban on scallop dredging designed to protect a wealth of seabed wildlife off the west coast of Scotland. The Scottish Government’s marine watchdog has seized dredging gear and submitted a report to the Procurator Fiscal accusing fishermen of illegally scraping […]

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Irish Sea needs more MCZs to protect biodiversity and fisheries, says N.W. Wildlife Trust

The Independent reports, 25th August 2015: A habitat as diverse as that in the Amazon rainforest will face ecological disaster unless the Government takes urgent action to restrict access to prime fishing grounds in the Irish Sea, marine conservationists have warned. They say ocean floor habitats are at high risk of deterioration because of “unsustainable” […]

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British Prime Minister learns he has been swimming in sewage contaminated sea water

The Guardian reports, 28th August 2015: David Cameron, chillaxing with his wife Samantha in Cornwall, presumably thought he was safe from a shower of excrement — at least until PMQs begins again in September. But the unlucky PM chose the wrong moment to bodyboard with his wife Samantha, as the surf was riven with diluted […]

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SW MEP and Cornish campaigners meet EU Commissioner to lobby over waste plastics

Clare Moody, Labour MEP for SW England, reports July 2015: Discarded plastic has devastating effects on our marine environment, but changing waste into a resource could help limit the damage. Earlier this month, I joined constituents from Cornwall, in the west of my region, for a meeting with European environment, maritime affairs and fisheries commissioner […]

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Ocean acidification is a planetary emergency : University of California video

We provide here the link to the University of California YouTube video which explains why ocean acidification, caused by CO2 released into the atmosphere from fossil fuel burning which in turn is absorbed from the atmosphere into the oceans, is causing a life survival crisis — in short, a planetary emergency. Ocean acidification (a reduction […]

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UN considers a Treaty to protect biodiversity on the high seas

The New York Times reports, 31st July 2015: Suppose a group of scientists wanted to dump 100 tons of iron dust into the sea based on a controversial climate-change theory that the ore might spur the growth of planktonplankton Plankton is a generic term for a wide variety of the smallest yet most important organisms […]

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Debate on Arctic sea ice “hots up”

Dana Nuccitelli reports in The Guardian, 27th July 2015: Cherry-picking is one of the five telltale techniques of climate change denial. By focusing on short-term blips in noisy data, those who want to maintain the status quo can distract from the long-term threats posed by climate change. Climate contrarians most frequently deploy this strategy using […]

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