Marine Conservation Zone


A Marine Conservation Zone is a type of marine nature reserve in UK waters. They were established under the Marine and Coastal Access Act and are areas designated with the aim to protect nationally important, rare or threatened habitats and species. Approximately 20% of UK waters now have some protection although some conservation, fisherman and wildlife groups are concerned that there are no management plans for each zone.
Following Brexit, legislation was introduced into Parliament in January 2020 which would give new powers to the Marine Management Organisation in English waters.

No Take Zones

MCZs generally do not provide "no-take" protection banning fishing. However,
Lundy Island MCZ includes a preexisting "no-take zone", which was established in 2003.
Two more no-take zones were established in UK waters by 2010 :, and an additional one in 2016
There has been criticism of the MCZs for not providing "no-take" protection for a higher proportion of UK waters; for example, the environmentalist George Monbiot has raised the issue in his column in The Guardian. Bottom trawling remains permitted in many of the UK's marine protected areas, including its MCZs.

Highly Protected Marine Areas

off the Solway Firth, Cumbria, North East of Farnes Deep off Northumberland, and Dolphin Head, West Sussex, have been chosen as Highly Protected Marine Areas, which give greater protection to the marine environment, with prohibitions against activity such as dredging and trawling. The new status came into force in July 2023. Joan Edwards, speaking on behalf of The Wildlife Trusts, said, "These three tiny spots cover just 0.4% of English seas - and we're looking forward to seeing further designations so that we can safeguard our seas for the future." A plan to create HPMAs in 10% of Scotland's seas was rejected by the Scottish government following pressure from the fishing industry and some island communities.

England

On 21 November 2013 the first twenty-seven Marine Conservation Zones were designated, a further twenty-three were announced on 17 January 2016 followed by a further forty-one on 31 May 2019.

2013 Marine Conservation Zones

  1. Aln Estuary
  2. Beachy Head West
  3. Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Colne Estuaries
  4. The Canyons
  5. Chesil Beach and Stennis Ledges
  6. Cumbria Coast
  7. East of Haig Fras
  8. Folkestone Pomerania
  9. Fylde
  10. Isles of Scilly
  11. Kingmere
  12. Lundy
  13. The Manacles
  14. Medway Estuary
  15. North East of Farnes Deep
  16. Padstow Bay and Surrounds
  17. Pagham Harbour
  18. Poole Rocks
  19. Skerries Bank and Surrounds
  20. South Dorset
  21. South-West Deeps
  22. Swallow Sand
  23. Tamar Estuary
  24. Thanet Coast
  25. Torbay
  26. Upper Fowey and Pont Pill
  27. Whitsand and Looe Bay

    2016 Marine Conservation Zones

  28. Allonby Bay
  29. Bideford to Foreland Bay
  30. Coquet to St Mary's
  31. Cromer Shoal Chalk Beds
  32. Dover to Deal
  33. Dover to Folkestone
  34. Farnes East
  35. Fulmar
  36. Greater Haig Fras
  37. Hartland Point to Tintagel
  38. Holderness Inshore
  39. North-west of Jones Bank
  40. Land's End
  41. Mount's Bay
  42. The Needles
  43. Newquay and The Gannel
  44. Offshore Brighton
  45. Offshore Overfalls
  46. Runswick Bay
  47. Swale Estuary
  48. Utopia
  49. Western Channel
  50. West of Walney co-location zone

    2019 Marine Conservation Zones

  51. Albert Field
  52. Axe Estuary
  53. Beachy Head East
  54. Bembridge
  55. Berwick to St. Mary's
  56. Camel Estuary
  57. Cape Bank
  58. Dart Estuary
  59. Devon Avon Estuary
  60. East of Start Point
  61. Erme Estuary
  62. Foreland
  63. Goodwin Sands
  64. Helford Estuary
  65. Holderness Offshore
  66. Inner Bank
  67. Kentish Knock East
  68. Markham's Triangle
  69. Morte Platform
  70. North East of Haig Fras
  71. North West of Lundy
  72. Orford Inshore
  73. Otter Estuary
  74. Purbeck Coast
  75. Queenie Corner
  76. Ribble Estuary
  77. Selsey Bill and the Hounds
  78. Solway Firth
  79. South of Celtic Deep
  80. South of Portland
  81. South of the Isles of Scilly
  82. South Rigg
  83. South West Approaches to the Bristol Channel
  84. South West Deeps
  85. Southbourne Rough
  86. Studland Bay
  87. Swanscombe
  88. West of Copeland
  89. West of Wight Barfleur
  90. Wyre-Lune
  91. Yarmouth to Cowes

    Northern Ireland

Following the passing of the Marine Act 2013 only Strangford Lough was designated as a Marine Conservation Zone. In 2015 consultations for a further four proposed MCZs were announced.
The consultations ended in March 2016 and the four MCZs were designated in December 2016.

Proposed Marine Conservation Zones

  1. Carlingford
  2. Outer Belfast Lough
  3. Rathlin
  4. Waterfoot

    Scotland

In the summer of 2014 the Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Food and the Environment announced thirty new Marine Protected Areas. Along with thirty Special Areas of Conservation, forty-seven Special Protection Areas and sixty-one Sites of Special Scientific Interest, 20% of Scottish waters have differing levels of protection.

Nature Conservation Marine Protected Areas

There are seventeen protected areas within Scotland's territorial waters
  1. Clyde Sea Sill
  2. East Caithness Cliffs
  3. Fetlar to Haroldswick
  4. Loch Creran
  5. Loch Sunart
  6. Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura
  7. Loch Sween
  8. Lochs Duich, Long and Alsh
  9. Monarch Isles
  10. Mousa to Boddam
  11. Noss Head
  12. Papa Westray
  13. Small Isles
  14. South Arran
  15. Upper Loch Fyne and Loch Goil
  16. Wester Ross
  17. Wyre and Rousay Sounds
A further thirteen protected areas are outside Scottish territorial waters
  1. Central Fladen
  2. East of Gannet and Montrose Fields
  3. Faroe-Shetland Sponge Belt
  4. Firth of Forth Banks Complex
  5. Geikie Slide and Hebridean Slope
  6. Hatton-Rockall Basin
  7. North-east Faroe-Shetland Channel
  8. North-west Orkney
  9. Norwegian Boundary Sediment Plain
  10. Rosemary Bank Seamount
  11. Barra Fan and Hebrides Terrace Seamount
  12. Turbot Bank
  13. West Shetland Shelf

    Wales

is the only site in Wales designated as a Marine Conservation Zone. There are 128 marine protected areas in Welsh seas and Natural Resources Wales is consulting with the Welsh Government and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee to consider if anymore areas need protecting.