Some of UK’S waters ‘should be off limits’ to all activity
● Independent review backs ban on fishing, dredging and anchoring
Stretches of UK waters should be off limits to all forms of damaging human activity – including fishing, dredging and anchoring – to improve the health of our oceans, a report has claimed.
About 40 per cent of our seas are already protected but only from the most damaging activities, meaning they can only return to what ecologists deem “a favourable condition” but not a full recovery.
A year-long investigation found increasing the level of protection for some areas would improve biodiversity and help the Government reach its net-zero carbon commitments.
The new Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAS), if implemented, would offer total protection for all species and habitats within their boundaries in a bid to return them to pristine condition.
The independent review, led by former fisheries minister Richard Benyon, recommended identifying new pilot sites in English waters where all dredging, fishing, sewage discharge and anchoring would be banned.
It concluded that HPMAS are essential for marine recovery after a 2019 assessment found that the UK is failing to meet its targets in 11 out of 15 indicators used to measure the health of our oceans.
The main pressures on marine biodiversity were climate change, fishing and litter, causing huge damage to bird and fish numbers, seabed habitats and commercial fishing stocks.
Published on World Ocean Day, the report was commissioned on the same day last year by the then environment secretary Michael Gove.
The review recommended introducing HMPAS in conjunction with existing protected area networks, and in many cases upgrading protected areas to meet the new standards.
It advised that each site have specific conservation objectives so its recovery can be monitored.
Healthier marine zones can also provide much greater carbon sequestration than degraded areas, helping the Government’s commitment for the UK to be carbon-neutral by 2050.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “Our ‘blue belt’ of marine protected areas has already raised the bar for marine protection and we are committed to the highest standards of sustainability for our seas that set a gold standard around the world.
“We will now carefully consider the recommendations set out in the review.”
The review warned that the introduction of such sites would need close engagement with local people and businesses, particularly small fisheries that may suffer financially. It also recommended locating some HPMAS within offshore wind farms and wreck sites to make them more acceptable to people who fear their livelihoods might be affected.