Greater protection for English waters
Plans to increase protection for waters around England and Northern Ireland have been announced, which would see a ban on all activities considered to have a damaging effect on wildlife or marine habitats.
Five Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAS) are to be trialled at inshore and offshore sites in England. These could be in or outside of existing Marine Protected Areas, and will be identified by Natural England and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee following public consultation. The management of waters off Scotland and Wales is devolved regionally.
The announcement follows the independent Benyon Review, which recommended that HPMAS would have an important role in helping the UK’S marine ecosystem recover.
The RYA supports HPMAS in principle. Its Environment and Sustainability Manager, Phil Horton, said the selection of HPMAS needed to take into account users, and consulting local sailors was vital.
‘The government has said it will give careful consideration to the existing activity on the site. It is important to highlight that HPMAS are designed to prevent damaging activity and not all activity, and the vast majority of boating activity is not damaging,’ he said, adding that there were plenty of potential sites not used by recreational sailors, and generally people were supportive of conservation measures as long as restrictions were proportional.
Horton said funding was critical to the success of HPMAS, describing the government’s financial commitment as ‘woolly’. He wants to see the government identify funding sources to cover the capital cost of proper mooring infrastructure in HPMAS, such as eco moorings.
He also stressed the need to measure the current recreational activity on the proposed sites, and to monitor the environmental impact of designating HPMAS to ensure ‘conservation objectives are met before expanding and designating more HPMAS.’ He said currently most monitoring was being done by NGOS rather than the government.
There are 178 Marine Protected Areas (MPAS) in England. Some environmentalists have raised concerns about their effectiveness, as damaging fishing methods, such as dredging and trawling, are still taking place within protected areas. Earlier this year, the Marine Conservation Society published its Marine unprotected Areas report which detailed the findings of a yearlong study into fishing activities within MPAS. It revealed that bottom trawling was happening in 98% of the UK’S offshore MPAS. The society, and the charity Blue Marine Foundation have called for better enforcement. The BMF is campaigning for 10 National Marine Parks to be created in the UK over the next decade. Sites include the Solent, Isles of Scilly, south Essex, Jersey and Pembrokeshire, Wales.